ALFRED 'SONNY' PAIS & DR. VAHE MELIKYAN (INNERGY RACING CORP.) - UNRIVALED TIME
WORDS - BILL HELLER
The constant in Alfred 'Sonny' Pais's life journey from British Columbia to Santa Monica, California, has been horses. Along the way, thanks to volleyball, he became good friends with basketball immortal Wilt Chamberlain and picked up a new horse partner with his physician, Dr. Vahe Melikyan, an Armenian who practices naturopathic medicine and races as Innergy Racing Corp.
Pais and Melikyan's Unrivaled Time, a Pais homebred named to honor Chamberlain's winning harness pacer Rival Time decades ago, captured the Gr.3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes for two- year-olds on the grass at Del Mar on the final day of November. "I was thinking of his horse when I named him," Pais said. "I thought it might just bring us luck."
It did: "It wasn't my first graded stakes, but it was nice." Even better because Unrivaled Time was a homebred. His family would have loved it.
Pais' family moved from British Columbia to Santa Monica when he was three years old, then moved back to Canada for a few years.
"My dad had harness horses," Pais said. "Back in the day, Hollywood Park had night harness racing. I got involved in training horses as a teenager. I think I won a race back in 1973. When Hollywood Park harness racing disintegrated, I switched to Thoroughbreds. Then, I kind of gradually got into the breeding end of it."
And then some. Pais, who dabbles in real estate and manages an income property in Santa Monica, currently has 35 horses, including a dozen babies. His mare Margot Machance, who produced Unrivaled Time, was a French filly who finished fourth in a Gr.3 and Gr.2 stakes in her second and third starts in the United States. She didn't race in a stakes race again but finished her career three-for-23 with four seconds and one third and made $137,246.
"A bloodstock agent showed me a video of the horse in France," Pais said. "I got her for $150,000. She was a tough, little mare who was always nervous and hyper before a race."
Pais' best previous horse was his brilliant speedster Brickyard Ride, who raced from 2019 through 2024. "He was an alpha male," Pais said. "He didn't like getting passed by any horse. He didn't even like a horse to walk past him. He was a character."
Brickyard Ride's 13 victories from 31 starts included the Gr.2 San Carlos in 2021, and the Gr.3 Kona Gold in 2022 and 2023. With two seconds and six thirds, he earned $925,477.
Pais has a partner in his latest stakes winner Unrivaled Time. And it all came about during a routine medical appointment. "I saw him for an appointment and we started talking about horses," Pais said.
Melikyan practices naturopathic medicine. He described it as a "hybrid of conventional and alternative medicine. I try to minimize medication as much as possible. I focus on taking you to the next level: wellness."
Pais is 72, Melikyan is 41. They quickly became friends.
"Sonny took me to Santa Anita and I fell in love with the horses," Melikyan said. "I love horses from an energetic perspective. When I come across horses, their energy is at another level. When I'm there, I feel grounded. I'm one with the horse."
Pais told his new friend he should go to the 2023 Kentucky Derby. He did and his appreciation for Pais rose to a whole new level. "He asked me if I liked a horse," Pais said. "I said, Mage." Mage went off at 17/1 and won. "I thought he'd bet a few dollars on him, but he bet $2,000," Pais said. "I gave him three or four other horses that day. One of them won at 10/1. By that time, he thought I could walk on water.
He can't, but he can reflect on the relationship he formed with the late 7-foot-1 Wilt Chamberlain, perhaps the best player who ever walked on a basketball court. "I was best friends with Wilt," Pais said. "We were tight. We used to play volleyball at the same beach in Santa Monica. He asked me if I wanted to play volleyball. I played volleyball when I was a kid, as a teenager and through my early 20s."
Chamberlain's historic 100-point night in Hershey, Pennsylvania, has stood for decades as the most points ever scored in a game. He averaged 50 points a game for an entire season and also led the NBA in assists one year.
After Chamberlain retired from basketball in 1973, he began an exceptional volleyball career. He'd play regularly at the Muscle Beach and Sorrento Beach on the Santa Monica Pier. Chamberlain sought out Volleyball Hall of Famer Gene Selznick and quickly improved. He was the owner and a player for the Southern California Bangers in 1975 in the co-ed International Volleyball Association through its short five-year life.
Pais misses him: "We'd talk three or four times a week. I stayed with him for a couple of weeks. His house cost $4 million and was right on top of Mulholland. He had a picture of him and Billy Shoemaker (who was 4-foot-11). I traveled with him to Canada. He liked women's tennis."
Undoubtedly, Chamberlain would appreciate Pais' Thoroughbred success. Pais said, "I've finally started figuring it out after 40 years. I always had a good eye for a horse. My gut is usually right."
Unrivaled Time's connections celebrate victory in the 2025 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes at Del Mar