Courtesy Gulfstream Park
Though he missed the opening weekend of Gulfstream Park's 2016-2017 Championship Meet with commitments out of town, jockey Javier Castellano is gearing up for a return to South Florida with his sights set on a sixth consecutive riding title.
Currently leading the country in stakes wins, graded stakes wins and purses earned, Castellano figures to be favored again for a fourth straight trophy as North America's top jockey when Gulfstream hosts the Eclipse Awards Jan. 21.
Behind the scenes, Castellano is in the initial stages of a new journey. This will be his first Championship Meet with new agent Mike Lakow, a former racetrack executive in New York and California who replaced Matt Muzikar at the start of Belmont Park's fall meet in September.
Castellano, 39, rose to national prominence under Muzikar during their seven years together, including setting the single-season record for earnings in 2013 and topping it in 2015. Prior to that, Castellano had been represented by Mike Kelly also for seven years.
“I was very blessed to work with Matt Muzikar,” Castellano told the Gulfstream Park notes team. “He put me on the map. He was a guy that worked hard every single day, every single meet, at every single track. I give all the credit to him because he did a great job for my career, and I will always be thankful for that.”
Continued Castellano, “Now we're looking forward with a new agent. Mike Lakow knows a lot of people. He's a great horseman. He used to be a racing secretary so he knows about the horses and about the races, and I'm very lucky to be working with him. It's been great. Everything's going in the right direction. I'm really looking forward to the future.”
The Venezuelan-born Castellano enjoyed another spectacular winter at Gulfstream in 2015-2016, finishing with a meet-high 113 wins and nearly $4.3 million in purse earnings. He won 14 stakes, six of them graded including the GII Davona Dale S. with subsequent GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Cathryn Sophia (Street Boss).
No jockey has won more than three straight riding titles in Gulfstream history, and Castellano is the only one to reach triple digits in wins having done it in each of the past five years, topped by his record 132 in 2013-2014.
He entered the first week of December with 60 stakes wins, 34 of them graded, nine in Grade I company, and purses of more than $26.5 million–all tops in North America–while his 290 wins ranked fourth. He has topped 300 wins every year since 2012.
“It's always special to come to South Florida and Gulfstream,” Castellano said. “That's where I started my career and it feels like I'm coming back home to ride. To win five titles in a row is not easy, and I'm very lucky and very fortunate to be in that spot. I'm ready and willing to work to get another riding title.”
“When you are at the top you have to work even harder, because everyone is chasing you and you don't want to lose your title,” said a circumspect Castellano. “It's very competitive. I was born to be a jockey and I love to ride horses. I love the sport and I love what I do. Not too many people are in that position and I am very appreciative of that.”
Overall at Gulfstream, Castellano owns 63 career graded stakes victories led by his lone GI Florida Derby in 2014 with Constitution (Tapit).
“As always I'm very excited and looking forward to it,” concluded Castellano. “Every single year in the winter it's the greatest meet in the country with the horses and the horsemen. It's a tough colony because they come from everywhere. I don't want to take anything for granted, and I never do. I've been very blessed to be able to compete with the best jockeys in the country, and I'm very humbled and thankful to be able to ride the best horses in the country.”
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