Something thats deserves watching....

[Skanoochies]

Hi folks, don`t know if this is the proper place for this, but here goes. There is a rider at Gulfstream by the name of E. Castro who lost his bug apparently, in mid Dec. His record in `03 was 242 wins in 1256 starts for 19%. Since then he is 2 for 147 for 2%. But the thing that is interesting to me is that several horses in the last week or so, have come in first or second at pretty fair prices, that were ridden by Castro last time and have had significant rider changes this time. It would appear he may have lost his confidence as well as the bug, and be worth following for a while. Just something to check out if you are playing the Gulf.

Good luck folks.

Skanoochies.;)

[kenwoodallpromos]

your thread sure makes a case for trainers trying to get a price! Any time there is a Real hint of that going on deserves followup! If 2 jocks can handle the same horse well, the trainer should go with the less bet jock! See if you can tell if the horse needs special handling, like front speed or strong hand. If not let me know! Thanks!

[Skanoochies]

Ken, I just have about five oe six forms for the Gulf back to about the 15th of Feb. Here are a few horse that were ridden by Castro that may be worth watching next time out if they have a rider switch. Is there some where you can put the horse names in, and be notified when they run again?

Kirras Toy
Top Row
Spanish Slew
Kippers an Angel
Another Moochie
Alyazuli
Pop Pop`s Hope
Rich as Croesus

If you have some way of finding out, could you post them here in case others on the forum might be interested. I live out on the west coast and don`t get the Gulfstream form all that often. Thanks in advance,

Skanoochies.:)

[nomadpat]

I wonder if his subpar record in '04 is due to not getting good mounts at GP? The majority of his rides in '03 were at Calder where you don't have as many "name" jocks taking the good mounts.
I think this is also why Maneol Cruz (Control) % is seemingly down in 04. Wait til Calder runs!

[shanta]

go to drf.com. you have to sign up first(free). then you can acess their "watch" tab on the top of the home page where i believe you can enter horses or trainers names and be emaile when they next run. hope this helps
Richie

[John]

I have to agree with nomadpat,

Castro was something special at calder.....it could be a case of being a big fish in a small pond or a litle fish in a big pond. Rosmary Homister, leading female rider in the country is not doing much there either.

I watch Castro ride at GP and he seems to try wiyh all his mounts.


How about Edgar Prado...two $25..00 winners and a $40.00 winner in the last two days. a few years ago he rode at Rockingham and looked terrible on all his mounts. Some of them won back with another rider.

It is a lot easier to handicap a horse than a jockey.

[OTM Al]

I'd have 2 guesses on the reason for this. First I'd agree with the above comment that he isn't getting the quality mounts he was before. Second, but to a much lesser extent is the weight issue. Lose the bug, lose the weight allowance. He might be getting passed on a few mounts because of that as well. As a good comparison to the first point, look at Joe Bravo's record down there and compare it to the damage he did in New Jersey this past summer. Night and day. Joe had been hurt for some time, came back down at Calder, and really wasn't winning much until recently and is still no where near his Jersey clip. There are so many good jocks down there right now that second level guys aren't going to get many top horses. Castro is probably no worse than he ever was (ego aside) and when Calder starts up again, he will likely head back up in the standings.

[Brian Flewwelling]

Skanoochies,

There certainly is something to watch here! and it is the informal information.

I did a check of races this year where Castro was the rider in the horse's previous race. There were 6 wins in Feb, at odds:/Rider

1.9 Guidry, M.
1.3 Douglas, R.R.
0.9 Velasquez, C.H.
2.2 Castro, E.
3.3 Castro, E.
4.6 Douglas, R.R.

Those were not exactly big hits. And the replacement jockies were all definitely 'moves' in a positive direction that any of us should take note of.

His record has really dropped ... comparing YTD to Past30days shows a drop from 10 wins, 50 ITM from 182 races to 4 wins, 27 ITM from 135 races.

I go with the theory that he is losing some of the live horses due to competition in the jockey colony as well as a few due to losing his bug.

When the big-names move on, he will get more chances and should have an improvement in his figs. Doubtful he will soon get back to the 18% he enjoyed in 2003 now that the bug is gone.

Fleww

[John]

OTM AL

You said it better than I did. I agree with your post

[Skanoochies]

Thanks, good stuff Nomadpat, Rocajack, and Otm Al. Wasn`t aware of his riding elsewhere. Never played Calder myself. I like to mark down the results of all the races on my form, and rehash them later. Always seems wise to look back and see why a horse may have won, and I missed something.

Shanta, thanks for the info. Will give that a try for something to do.

Good luck at the races gang.

Skanoochies.:)

[Skanoochies]

Brian, a couple more you may not have seen.

Jan 24th race 9 Secret Request Casto to Coa Paid $148.40 to win.

Feb 21 race 5 All the honor Castro to Douglas paid $11.20 to win.

Feb 22nd Race 2 Midnight Skier Castro to Belanger ran 2nd paid 10.90 to place.

Another last thurs or friday paid double figures I believe, but I got into the sauce and left my form at the track.

Like you mentioned probably nothing more than coincidence, but it doesn`t cost me anything to keep an eye on it. I like checking for stuff like this.

Good luck,
Skanoochies.

[Brian Flewwelling]

Originally posted by Skanoochies
Brian, a couple more you may not have seen.

Jan 24th race 9 Secret Request Casto to Coa Paid $148.40 to win.

Feb 21 race 5 All the honor Castro to Douglas paid $11.20 to win.

Feb 22nd Race 2 Midnight Skier Castro to Belanger ran 2nd paid 10.90 to place.

Another last thurs or friday paid double figures I believe, but I got into the sauce and left my form at the track.



i only reported Feb results since your post mentioned the last couple of weeks. And the Feb 21 race is included as the last one on the list.

i didn't include ITM, just wins


Fleww