Castellano to ride Owendale in Breeders' Cup Classic as Geroux heals

LEXINGTON, Ky. – With Florent Geroux still recovering from the sternum injury he suffered in an Oct. 13 training spill at Keeneland, trainer Brad Cox has confirmed Javier Castellano as the jockey for Owendale in the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

Geroux said Wednesday that his recovery is going well and that he is scheduled for another visit with his doctor next week.

“I should be back for Churchill” before moving to New Orleans in early December for the Fair Grounds meet, he said. “I feel very good but I can not push it. I’m staying quiet and taking care of my body.”

Owendale, owned by Rupp Racing, will be making his first start versus older horses after winning three Grade 3 stakes this year for 3-year-olds – the Lexington, Ohio Derby, and Oklahoma Derby.

Working on short rest

Ben Huffman was back early Wednesday at Keeneland after working the previous day at Santa Anita as one of eight committee members who determined the composition of lineups and alternates for the 14 Breeders’ Cup races.

“We had to make quite a few very difficult decisions,” he said.

Huffman, the racing secretary at Keeneland and Churchill, hopped a red-eye late Tuesday from Los Angeles to Cincinnati. “I got a couple hours’ sleep on the flight,” he said. “There’s a lot going on here with Keeneland closing Saturday and Churchill opening Sunday.”

All-in-one jockey-trainer

Anthony Stephen will pull double duty again Friday when he rides his own trainee Americain Joey in the fourth race. It’s the sixth time this meet that Stephen has ridden a horse he also trains across town at the Thoroughbred Training Center.

Serving as jockey and trainer is relatively rare in American racing, although not unheard of. Perhaps the best known to fill both roles was Clyde Martin, who still trains on the East Coast but retired from riding in 2013 after 34 years in the saddle. Martin won 1,920 races as a jockey and has won 52 as a trainer (2007 to present).