Kentucky Derby: Castellano makes difficult decision

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – After months of flying all over the country to ride top prospects for the Kentucky Derby, jockey Javier Castellano has wound up right where he started, choosing to ride Audible, whom he rode to victory in the Holy Bull back in January, as Castellano tries to win the Derby for the first time in his highly decorated career.

He’s in the Hall of Fame and has won multiple Eclipse Awards, a couple of Preaknesses, and plenty of Breeders’ Cup races, but it hasn’t been easy for Castellano in the Derby, where he’s 0 for 11. And he said it was not an easy decision to remain with Audible. He had to pick between that colt and Bolt d’Oro, whom he rode to a win in the San Felipe and a second-place finish in the Santa Anita Derby behind the Derby favorite, Justify. Ultimately, Castellano said, it came down to loyalty to trainer Todd Pletcher, who trains Audible as well as three others in this year’s Derby.

“Sometimes you have to think about the long-term, loyalty,” Castellano said Friday at Churchill Downs after putting Audible through his final pre-Derby workout. “Todd’s been good to me. All my business is here on the East Coast.

“I’ve won a lot of races for Todd, and Elliott Walden, and Kenny Troutt,” Castellano added, citing, respectively, the chief executive and the owner of WinStar Farm, a co-owner of Audible.

“I gave up a lot of business on Wood Memorial Day to ride Bolt d’Oro in the Santa Anita Derby. I like Bolt d’Oro. I think he’s one of the top horses in the country. People think I don’t like Bolt d’Oro, but that’s not the case. He ran a great race in the Santa Anita Derby. There was no speed to go with Justify. Bolt d’Oro never gave up. Justify never stopped. I do like him. I had to pick between two good horses.”

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Audible followed his Holy Bull win with a victory in the Florida Derby, with John Velazquez up. Velazquez subsequently chose to stick with Vino Rosso, whom he rode to a win in the Wood Memorial, thus giving Castellano the opportunity to get back on Audible.

Audible, working in company Friday with Gotham winner National Flag, was credited with a half-mile that Daily Racing Form timed in 49.43 seconds, but his work mirrored the drills of all of Pletcher’s horses on Friday in that all were asked to continue out at least a furlong past the wire.

Castellano wore a radio wire through which Pletcher told him to continue with a strong gallop-out.

“He wanted a good gallop-out,” Castellano said. “That’s what we were looking for, and I’m very happy with the way he did it. He did it the right way. I don’t think we squeezed the lemon.”

Audible has some noticeable discoloration on his front hooves, the result of the product Equilox being applied, Pletcher said, in order to “bump up” the walls of his hooves.

“He has shelly walls,” Pletcher said. “This gives the blacksmith more of a wall to work with.

“It’s a proactive approach,” Pletcher said, to guard against quarter cracks and to make sure there’s enough area to affix a shoe with nails.

Horses with similar issues sometimes wear glue-on shoes, but Pletcher said he’s had inconsistent results with glue-ons – “sometimes we get issues with their soles” – and thought this approach was best for Audible, who had the work done after the Holy Bull and prior to the Florida Derby, Pletcher said.

“He’s still in the same shoes he wore in the Florida Derby,” Pletcher said. “He’ll be reshod next week.”

All four of Pletcher’s horses worked with company on Friday. Audible and Magnum Moon were put on the inside of their workmates, while Noble Indy and Vino Rosso started outside their partners. Pletcher said the reason for doing that with Noble Indy and Vino Rosso is that he wanted a target for both.

“They tend to idle when they hit the front,” Pletcher said.

With Magnum Moon, Pletcher said putting him inside was about “controlling the work,” since Magnum Moon has drifted out in his races after making the lead. He doesn’t drift in his works, but Pletcher wanted to take no chances on Friday.

“I didn’t expect him to, but if he did, this was a way to prevent it,” Pletcher said.

Magnum Moon was timed in 47.41 seconds for his half-mile. Vino Rosso went in 47.06, while Noble Indy began his drill at the five-furlong pole and received a clocking of 1:01.47.

“The heavy lifting’s done now,” Pletcher said.

In other Derby developments Friday:

◗ Justify worked seven furlongs at Santa Anita in 1:25.20.

◗ Lone Sailor was caught by DRF going a half in 47.90 seconds at Churchill Downs.

– additional reporting by Mike Welsch

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