Castellano on the turf

[porchy44]

IMHO Javier Castellano is the best turf rider of all time. (I am talking North American jockeys). BTW he is excellent on dirt also.

I seriously start my handicapping with him if he is listed in a turf race. I do not do that for anyone else, grass or dirt.

Can you name any other turf riders of years past or present that are equal or better than him ?

[NJ Stinks]

Jose Santos. The difference between the two is that Jose was competing against guys like Angel Cordero for mounts.

[Fager Fan]

Rene Douglas.

[Thebigguy]

IMHO Javier Castellano is the best turf rider of all time. (I am talking North American jockeys). BTW he is excellent on dirt also.

I seriously start my handicapping with him if he is listed in a turf race. I do not do that for anyone else, grass or dirt.

Can you name any other turf riders of years past or present that are equal or better than him ?

I would take Lezcano over him right now.
What about Ramon and Bailey for all timers??

[EMD4ME]

I would take Lezcano over him right now.
What about Ramon and Bailey for all timers??


2010, alive in the pick 6 at Belmont. Somehow some way (humbly), it's paying the whole pool. 16 of my 17 tickets have both the horse Ramon is riding and that castecockroach is riding. The 17th ticket got alive to just castecockroach. How? Sheer stupidity. I somehow didn't click the number of ramon's horse on that 1 ticket and missed it.

My dad who is rarely at the track those days, shows up as a surprise. I tell him: Dad, I'm alive again, in the pick 6. He says, you have Ramon's horse, right? I explain my dilemma and he says, well Javier's horse looks better, has the better post as well. Let's pray Ramon doesn't outride your horse. I laughed and said :are you kidding? Of course Ramon will kill me out of this pick 6. Not because of my mistake but because of his talents.

Fast forward, Javier gets better position (good flow from weaker horses up front-it was a turf route). Javier doesn't realize what a super spot he has and vacates his spot. Ramon takes the spot castecockroach vacated. Beats castecockroach with a less talented horse by a neck.

I understand one example does not make a trend but castellano (I've learned to call him castecockroach because he's as smart as a cock roach) has done this countless countless countless countless countless times. He's certifiably brain dead. Ramon was by far, in his worst days, INFINETLY MORE INTELLIGENT than every other comatose imbecile that mounts a thoroughbred COMBINED.

I don't bet jockeys. I bet everything but jockeys. Ramon is the first jockey that seriously affected my handicapping (in a positive way as he was soooo smart, so prepared, so good at what if scenarios that he could elevate a horse CONSISTENTLY) LONG TERM. EVERY OTHER OVER RATED NUMBSKULL COULD ONLY SNATCH DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY.

[Tall One]

Corey Nakatani ...Alex Solis too.

Samyn on the Green.. ;)


Castellano is a great rider turf or dirt. No intention of hijacking, but I love seeing him in the SB get out races.

[BMustang]

Castellano is certainly a great turf rider and presently perhaps the best. IMO Leparoux is also pretty good.

Jerry Bailey was sensational in his day, and Julie Krone was one of my all-time favorites on the grass. And then there was Samyn "on the green."

[Tall One]

Can't forget Jean "On the Lawn" Cruguet.

[uncbossfan]

I have used this angle for at least 5 yrs now. Every turf race it starts with who Castellano is on. Hit some big prices on horses I would never bet if he wasn't on them.

[Knowclew]

Chicago racing fans had Earlie Fires to deal with for years, back in the 80's and 90's he was at his best, esp. on the AP turf.

He was deadly there....PETA would not have been a big fan of his, he loved his whip, and boy could he hit hard.

We rode him many times, and the welts our horses came back with were legendary.

He is a Hall of Famer, and could ride any surface, but on the turf he was the man. He was a good old southern boy....and for the most part everyone on the track loved him.

[Arapola]

Who could forget Fernando Toro in Cali?

[SandyW]

Heliodoro Gustines in is a retired Panamanian-born jockey and horse trainer. In 1967, TIME magazine called him "The best grass-course rider in the United States."Although Gustines is best known as a jockey on many of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Forego, the most important win in his riding career came in an American Classic Triple Crown race on June 1, 1968 when he rode Stage Door Johnny to victory in 2:27 1/5 in the Belmont Stakes. The following year, aboard Sharp-Eyed Quillo, he won the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes.After retiring as a jockey, Heliodoro Gustines took up training.

[pandy]

Kent Desormeaux is a very good turf rider, too. The toughest turf courses to ride are at Saratoga, tight turns, tough competition, and Desormeaux was amazing there, as was Ramon D., Krone, Bailey, Cornelio Velasquez, Cordero.

[tophatmert]

Bailey in his prime always seemed to get the first turn right from whatever post position he was coming from. He was rarely caught wide on the first turn and was very good at rating speed horses in behind faster early horses. Good turf riders get in trouble late in the race but rarely are finished on the first turn

[ILovetheInner]

Castellano is very strong. C Velazquez is excellent on the lawn, but played less.

Totally agree about Santos, who is my all time best. Quite a few of his rides are frozen in my head, particularly his ability to save all the ground and get through traffic. Just unreal. If I saw him in that position through the stretch close up, I never questioned if he had the horse. Santos won the BC Mile on Steinlen every bit as much as the horse did. I still miss Santos. Some of the best adrenaline rides I have seen in my lifetime on the grass.

Harvey Pack has said previously that "Samyn on the green" was more about the fun rhyme than anything else. Earlie Fires I didn't get to see much, but was legend.

Those are my memories. And of course Dominguez, whose intelligent and level headed riding would probably have led to mastery in a NYC traffic jam. I remain in withdrawal. Didn't care that he never had value....he could not have been more of a pleasure.

[salty]

Either last year or the year before on the turf at the spa I watched Castellano stand up before the wire and lose it by a head. I'm not entirely sure how long he has been riding but i know for sure it wasn't his first time on the course. Somehow he had a brainfart in the last 1/16th and lost it. Yes it stands out in my mind as one of the most stupid ways to lose a race AND Yes i had bet the exacta straight instead of boxing it.

Best of all time? I dont think so.

[Valuist]

When I saw Firespike in the entries for Sar today, I thought of this thread. In Firespike's last race, he was ridden by a 7 lb apprentice. Check out the replay; the race has to be seen to be believed. Needless to say, the decision to hit the horse right handed when he was on his way to a would be blowout win was a bad one. But some amazing athleticism on the part of the apprentice to not fall off the horse. In any event, Firespike goes from the 7 lb bug to Castellano. I'm gonna guess he will be a little bit better behaved in the stretch today.

[EMD4ME]

Either last year or the year before on the turf at the spa I watched Castellano stand up before the wire and lose it by a head. I'm not entirely sure how long he has been riding but i know for sure it wasn't his first time on the course. Somehow he had a brainfart in the last 1/16th and lost it. Yes it stands out in my mind as one of the most stupid ways to lose a race AND Yes i had bet the exacta straight instead of boxing it.

Best of all time? I dont think so.

(7th race last Friday at the SPA). After watching this, tell me he is the best and I'll open the insane asylums doors for you. If it wasn't a stiff job, it was pure incompetence.

http://www.nyra.com/saratoga/videos/race-replay/STD/2014/20140725/7/pan/

Never mind the horse was better off on the lead and the other division went much faster to the 1/4 1/2 3/4 and this race came home much faster....

Let's just focus on his DELIBERATE action of keeping his horse behind the top 2 outside the 1/8 pole for an extra 4-5 seconds. The 9 had backed up at the 3/16, the 4 was already even or passed the 2 & Javier had only 1 choice: to angle out for the win. However, due to a complete stiff job OR pure incompetence, he stayed drafting AT THE 1/16 pole.

He reminded of me talented stiff job drivers at Roosevelt who were adept at looking like they were trying and made their losses so close, that people could excuse their efforts as efforts and not stiffs.

I don't want to hear 1) how he could've been timing a short burst or 2) how if I think he stiffed a horse, I shouldn't be betting horses.

I love this game. It is an outrage that this dog maneur goes on and the outrage should be at castellano, not my capturing and communication of the truth.

To top it all off. As soon as he does angle out with 50 yards to go, he must've realized that he still might win and since that is not part of the plan, he whips hard right handed to lug in and smack the winner right at the wire. (a left hand whip would've kept his horse straight and would've could've should've gotten his nose down for the win).

Disgusting and repulsive.