THE DOLLASE FAMILY
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The Dollases When 24-year-old trainer Craig Dollase won his first race with his first starter, Brush Storm by six lengths at Hollywood Park, December 23rd, 1995, he didn’t immediately realize that he’d just matched his dad Wally, who’d won with his first starter at Bay Meadows 28 years earlier.
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DIDN’T even think about it until the winner’s circle,” Craig said. And when he did? “That was special for me,” he said. It’s even more special now. Good memories are more important now. Wally, the retired patriarch of his unique racing family, continues to battle Lewy Body Disease, an insidious affliction which is often misdiagnosed because Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases create similar symptoms. Wally, whose list of outstanding horses include Champions Jewel Princess and Itsallgreektome, Sharp Cat, and father-andson Travers winners Deputy Commander and Ten Most Wanted, retired last year. He had moved to Louisville five years earlier. “He still remembers the good times,” Craig said. “You have to refresh his memory every now and then, but for almost being a 75-yearold man, he’s in pretty good shape.” That’s because he has Craig’s mom, Cincy, Wally’s wife of 46 years and counting. “My mom is a rock in that relationship,” Craig said. “She’s always been a real trooper supporting us.” “Us” includes Craig’s three sisters. Two of them, Michelle and Aimee, followed their dad into racing. Their sister Carrie didn’t, becoming a registered nurse. Michelle is 45, Carrie 43, Craig 41, and Aimee 39. “I think we’re the only family who had four licensed trainers,” Michelle said. “Horses were 24/7 at my house. That’s all we know.” And that is perfectly fine with the Dollases. “It wasn’t a business; it was a pleasure,” Cincy said. “We’re big proponents of the horse business. It kept our family such a unit. Those
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“It wasn’t a business; it was a pleasure. We’re big proponents of the horse business. It kept our family such a unit. Those horses gave so much back to us” Cincy Dollase horses gave so much back to us.” Maybe it’s because Wally and his children have always done what is best for their horses. “The horse always came first,” Cincy said. “He always told the kids, `It’s not about you; it’s not about ego, it’s about the horse. If you listen to the horse, you’ll be a good trainer.’ Charlie Whittingham told Wally, `Always have patience. Then turn around and have more patience. It pays off.’ Wally idolized Charlie.” Wally still idolizes Cincy. Their meeting puts the best episode of “How I Met Your Mother” to shame. Cincy – it was her older sister’s best attempt at saying her real name of Cynthia – spent most of her early childhood in the United States, then her teenage years in New Zealand, where her mom is from. One of seven children, she moved to northern California, settling in a little town near San Francisco, when she was 20 to pursue a modeling career.
“I was doing toothpaste and public health commercials in New Zealand,” she said. “I thought I was going to be the next Twiggy.” To supplement her modeling income, Cincy landed a job as a stewardess with PanAm. “They had a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii to New Zealand,” she said. “It was a fantastic job for me.” Before she started flying the skies with PanAm, she was scheduled to complete a training school course in Florida. She never made it. Riding with a friend, Cincy was in a very bad car accident and seriously injured her back and neck. She landed in the hospital, and when she was well enough to be released, she had to wear a brace stretching from her neck to her waist. “I looked like a … not very attractive,” she said. Her dad came to visit, hoping to convince Cincy to return to New Zealand. They went for a drive one day. “We saw a farm with horses and stopped there to look at the horses,” Cincy said. “My Dad and I used to go to the races.” While they were admiring the horses, the farm’s owners, Wally’s parents, spotted them and went over to say hello. Then they gave them a tour of the farm. When they were done, Wally’s mom asked Cincy if she’d like to meet her son. Cincy said, “Sure.” She’d missed him on the impromptu farm tour because he was working on the back end of the farm. “Wally was on a tractor and spreading manure,” Cincy said. Their eyes met, and, well you know how that goes. A guy spreading manure; a gal in a gruesome cast. How could they not fall in love? Cincy described it this way: “Boing!!!”
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