Fifteen horses.
Fifteen opportunities which led to heartbreak, disappointment, close calls, and questioning—”Am I good enough?”
As the first Saturday in May would roll around, year after year Venezuelan jockey Javier Castellano would put a leg up onto a Kentucky Derby (G1) contender only to come back minutes later empty handed.
Bellamy Road , Bwana Bull , Big Truck, Discreetly Mine , Derby Kitten , Gemologist , Normandy Invasion , We Miss Artie , Materiality, Destin , Gunnevera , Audible , Vekoma , Money Moves , and Highly Motivated .
Fifteen shots, none could hit the mark.
Sitting in the jocks room May 6 at Churchill Downs before his 16th try, Castellano saw his statistics spelled out before him across the TV screen, “0-15 Javier Castellano.” It was all he needed.
“In that moment it gave me so much inspiration myself. And I think this is the year. I’m going to break the year, and I’m going to win the race,” Castellano said. “I feel a lot of confidence in myself. I have been describing the race. I have been dreaming that way for many years.”
As fate would have it, Castellano partnered with Mage , a son of Good Magic trained by Venezuelan Gustavo Delgado Sr., who had also ridden Castellano’s father Abel Castellano Sr.
“Javier is almost family; his father rode for (Delgado Sr.). The exercise rider (J.J. Delgado) rode with Javier’s dad. We are from the same country, but same town as well,” said Delgado Sr.’s son Gustavo Delgado Jr. “It felt like our own little family in this.”
After spending the week ahead discussing various game plans with the connections, on the first Saturday in May of 2023 Castellano was aboard Mage as the colt defeated runner-up Two Phil’s to give his Hall of Fame rider an elusive first Kentucky Derby win in front of 150,335 people.
“Sometimes you feel embarrassed when you have tried so many times and you don’t see the results, and sometimes you go down a little bit,” Castellano said. “But I didn’t give up. I always tried to be positive and tried to find the right horse to participate in one of the biggest races in the world.”
Jockey Javier Castellano wins the Kentucky Derby with Mage at Churchill Downs
As chaos ensued following the end of the race, with everyone cramming to get a photo of the victorious horse and rider, it was the yellow, blue, and red colors of the Venezuelan flag which flashed proudly in the winner’s circle for all to see.
“I feel amazing. I feel like I’m on top of the world. … I try to do the best for the horse and try to win it for the connections,” Castellano said. “And they believe me. They hired me to do the job. I got to do the best I can do to win—to bring the horse to win the Kentucky Derby.
“Thank God we’re here. We celebrate and try to bring the race to my country, Venezuela. It’s really important for us, our country.”
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