All eyes may be on Wildcat Red's owner Derby Day

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – There will likely be more than 150,000 people in attendance at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day, but it shouldn’t be hard to spot Wildcat Red’s co-owner Salvador Delfino, even amongst a crowd of that magnitude.

Delfino, who owns Wildcat Red in partnership with his wife, Josie Martino, became well known in South Florida this winter for the flamboyant outfits he wore to the races whenever his horse ran. Whether dressed in bright lime green, as he was for Wildcat Red’s easy victory in the Grade 2 Hutcheson Stakes, or in the flamingo pink suit he wore into the winner’s circle following the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, Delfino’s stylish garb was as much a topic of conversation as Wildcat Red himself.

“My husband was born in Venezuela, but he’s of Italian descent,” said Martino, speaking on behalf of Delfino, who understands little English. “I was born in Montreal, but my parents are also of Italian descent. And we both enjoy Italian fashion – bright colors or wearing a lot of white, which is very different from the way most Americans dress.”

Wildcat Red is a Cinderella story of sorts for Martino and Delfino, who is a major wine importer in Venezuela. He is only the second horse the couple, who reside in Caracas, have ever owned. In fact, they had never even heard of, let alone met, their trainer, Jose Garoffalo, until less than two years ago when introduced by a mutual friend.

“I have always been an animal lover and rode horses for pleasure in Montreal,” said Martino, who does animal rescue work in Venezuela and is also a major contributor to Florida’s growing Thoroughbred retirement program initiatives. “One day I told my husband I’d love to get a racehorse. We had a friend who knew Jose from many years ago, when he and his father had a breeding business in Caracas. He put us in touch, and we asked him to find us a horse, not a very expensive one, to purchase and race in Miami, where we own a condo and a restaurant not far from Gulfstream Park.”

The first horse Garoffalo picked out for his new clients was Trippi Honor, a mare they claimed at Calder for $6,250 in July of 2012. She won just once in eight starts for her new owners. Their second horse was Wildcat Red, purchased as a 2-year-old for $30,000 last April at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. auction.

“We gave Jose a budget, a limit of $30,000,” Martino said. “This is just a hobby for us. We’re not planning to go into the horse business full time. And we got lucky, God blessed us with Wildcat Red.”

As Wildcat Red continued to win graded stakes, and handle distances beyond the limits his pedigree suggested he might, both Garoffalo and his owners began thinking about the Kentucky Derby.

“I ran Wildcat Red in the Gulfstream Park Derby on New Year’s Day to see if he could handle a mile,” said Garoffalo, who along with his father bred Climalba, the winner of Venezuela’s most prestigious race, the Clasico Simon Bolivar, in 1991. “When he just got beat that day by General a Rod, that’s when I first started thinking about the Kentucky Derby. After that, I began galloping him more miles in the morning to build up his stamina, and planned on running him in the Holy Bull.”

A minor throat infection kept Wildcat Red out of the Holy Bull. Garoffalo, who also will be participating in his first Kentucky Derby on Saturday, called an audible and turned the son of D’wildcat back to seven furlongs to win the Hutcheson by 4 3/4 lengths. He finally got the opportunity to stretch out Wildcat Red around two turns for the first time in the 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth, a race he not only won following a protracted pace battle with General a Rod but which earned him enough points to qualify for the Kentucky Derby.

“I’ve had experience in big races before, both in Venezuela and also here at Churchill Downs, where I ran Yara, my first graded stakes winner in the U.S., in the Kentucky Oaks several years ago,” said the 50-year-old Garoffalo. “But obviously it’s nothing like having a horse in the Derby.”

Garoffalo then smiled when asked about Delfino and the fancy garb he wears whenever Wildcat Red races.

“That’s just his personality,” Garoffalo said. “He’s been that way as long as I’ve known him. But he brings a little extra fun to the races because everybody is wondering and anticipating what he’s going to wear next time.”

Martino hinted that her husband already has his outfit picked out for Derby Day.

“People are normally more interested in what the women wear to the Derby, not the men,” said Martino with a laugh. “But I’m not jealous. He’s not going to be as flamboyant this time; he’s not going to be in bright colors on Derby day. But I promise, he’s still going to catch your eye.”