Jockey Isaac Castillo settles in at Oaklawn
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The East Coast-based jockey Isaac Castillo made his Oaklawn debut on Thursday, finishing second in the opener aboard Beyond the Hype. Agent Dylan Fazio said that Castillo is set to ride at Oaklawn for the remainder of the meet, which runs through May 8.
Castillo will then return to Monmouth Park, where he finished second in the standings last year. Fazio said the jockey rode first call for Jerry Hollendorfer at Monmouth and that the trainer’s assistant Dan Ward encouraged Castillo to come to Oaklawn.
“Dan Ward was a big influence in the opportunity,” Fazio said Thursday. “We thought now was the perfect time with a lot of riders going out of town.”
Castillo turns 24 on Sunday. He won for the first time on May 29, 2017 at Monmouth, according to statistics from Daily Racing Form. Castillo’s biggest win came in September, with Dakota Gold in the $500,000 Nownownow at Monmouth.
◗ Jockey Cristian Torres, who sustained a hairline fracture in his tailbone and an ankle when thrown from his mount in a March 27 race at Oaklawn, is tentatively poised to make his comeback in late April, said agent Ruben Munoz.
“He’s coming along faster than we thought,” Munoz said Thursday. “But we’re not going to rush him.”
Munoz said his client Ricardo Santana Jr. will continue to base at Oaklawn for the rest of the month while traveling for some mounts at Keeneland. Munoz said Santana will then be based at Churchill.