Castellano to ride Raise Cain in Kentucky Derby

Four-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey Javier Castellano will ride Raise Cain in the Kentucky Derby, trainer Ben Colebrook said Tuesday.

Castellano will be the fifth jockey to ride Raise Cain, who has won twice from seven starts. Raise Cain earned his way into the Kentucky Derby by winning the Grade 3 Gotham Stakes by 7 1/2 lengths on March 4 at Aqueduct. He was ridden to victory that day by Jose Lezcano, who is currently injured with a broken hand. Joel Rosario rode Raise Cain to a fifth-place finish in the Grade 1 Blue Grass. Rosario has committed to ride Disarm in the Kentucky Derby.

"You can't go wrong with someone who has as much experience and who has won as many races as he has," Colebrook said of Castellano. "We're happy to have him and I'm glad we got it done."

Castellano , who has won 5,638 races according to Equibase, is winless with 15 mounts in the Kentucky Derby.

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Castellano rode Cyclone Mischief to a third-place finish in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, but that horse currently needs three defections to make it into the Derby field.

Colebrook said Raise Cain was scheduled to work Thursday at Keeneland.

As of Tuesday, Kingsbarns, undefeated winner of the Louisiana Derby, Mage, the Florida Derby runner-up, and Blazing Sevens, who is not considered a definite to start in the race, are without a confirmed rider. Jose Ortiz is among the leading candidates to land one of those mounts.

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