Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Where in the world is Javier Castellano?
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Javier Castellano has gone from New Orleans to Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale, with a final destination of Louisville.
It looks like one of those wacky routes on Southwest Airlines. But it’s the many steps Castellano is going through this spring to try to land in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs after the Kentucky Derby, one of the few places he hasn’t been in his brilliant career.
Castellano, 40, is in the Hall of Fame, has won eight Breeders’ Cup races, has won the Preakness twice, and is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award as champion jockey. But in 11 tries, he has yet to finish in the money in the Kentucky Derby, let alone win it.
This spring, Castellano and his agent, Mike Lakow, have landed on a number of top prospects for the May 5 Derby. Castellano already has won the Holy Bull at Gulfstream with Audible and the Lecomte at Fair Grounds with Instilled Regard, whom he rode back in the Risen Star 1 1/2 weeks ago. This Saturday here at Gulfstream Park, he will ride Marconi in the Fountain of Youth, and on March 10 he will be on Bolt d’Oro – for whom he made a special trip to California to work on Monday – in the San Felipe at Santa Anita.
The Derby is “the one thing in my career I’d like to win,” Castellano said after working Bolt d’Oro.
“It’s the dream of any jockey, or trainer,” Castellano said. “It’s like a football player who wants to win the Super Bowl.”
Castellano is well aware of the many twists and turns the Derby road can take these next two months, which is why he’s eager to have as many opportunities as possible. He said he was encouraged by a conversation he had last weekend with two-time Derby-winning jockey Jerry Bailey, who Castellano said thought it was prudent to have options aplenty.
“You never know what’s going to happen,” Castellano said. “It’s easy to say, ‘This is the horse that will go to the Derby,’ but there are still all the preps – Louisiana Derby, Florida Derby, Wood. You have to see how it develops. I’m very lucky, very fortunate, to have the opportunity to ride some of the best horses in the country.”
One of those horses will take him away from another major Derby prep. Castellano is the regular rider of West Coast, the champion 3-year-old male of last year, who most recently finished second in the Pegasus World Cup and is the favorite for the Dubai World Cup on March 31. Castellano is planning on going to Dubai, which means he will have to give up the mount on Audible that day in the Florida Derby. Trainer Todd Pletcher on Wednesday said John Velazquez would ride Audible in the Florida Derby.
“It’s hard,” Castellano said. “Everyone wants to win the Dubai World Cup. It’s a prestigious race. I’ve never won it. But I’ve never won the Derby. I could lose the horse by going out of town. You try to make the right decision, hopefully do the right thing, and hopefully it pays off.”
Castellano rode in the Derby for the first time in 2005 aboard Bellamy Road, who went off as the favorite after a 17 1/2-length victory in the Wood Memorial. He finished seventh in the Derby after taking the lead in upper stretch.
“He was just galloping,” Castellano recalled. “I thought, ‘This is my Derby.’ But from the quarter pole to the wire, he fell apart.”
Castellano’s best finish came in 2013, when he finished fourth aboard Normandy Invasion, who, like Bellamy Road, led in upper stretch.
“He couldn’t hold on,” Castellano said.
“So many things have to go right,” Castellano added, reflecting on his Derby experiences. “You can be on the best horse, but you still need the trip. There’s a lot of luck.”
Castellano is hoping his luck this year will be gleaned from hard work.
“They’re not going to come to you,” he said. “You have to work for it. I want to work extra hard, go the extra mile.”
He has praise for the Derby prospects he’s been on in recent weeks. Audible’s Holy Bull was “impressive,” Castellano said.
“Turning for home” – he makes a whooshing sound – “unbelievable,” he said. “He was so good.”
Instilled Regard, though fourth in the Risen Star, “is a good horse.”
“I like that horse,” Castellano said. “I don’t know what happened last time. For whatever reason, he didn’t show up. But he’s a good horse. It wasn’t his day, I guess.”
Bolt d’Oro struck Castellano as “very straightforward, good mind, laid back, nothing bothers him.”
And Marconi, whom he rides on Saturday, “doesn’t have any early speed, comes from behind, is very straightforward,” Castellano said.
“East Coast. West Coast. I’ll go everywhere for good opportunities,” Castellano said. “If the Derby doesn’t come this year, then hopefully next year. It keeps me motivated, excited. Hopefully, one day.”