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Castellano scores five in a row at Saratoga

Jockey Javier Castellano got off to a blazing start Sunday at Saratoga Race Course, sweeping the early Pick 4 en route to five consecutive wins on the card, and catapulting himself to the top of the Spa jockey standings with six victories through the first three days of the meet.

After starting the day with a third-place finish in the 1ST race aboard Frivolous Buck (Catienus), Castellano kicked off his winning streak in the 2ND race, guiding New York-bred juvenile filly Yawkey Way (Grand Slam) ($7.60) to a 5 1/2-length debut victory. He went on to capture the final three legs of the early Pick 4 sequence with Cody Samora (Mayakovsky) ($3.80), Desert Key (E Dubai) ($8.80) and Fiddler's Chaparito (Northern Afleet) ($5.10), then piloted another first-time starter, three-year-old Stand Proud (Tale of the Cat), to a thrilling upset in the 6TH race ($27).

The early Pick 4 on the 2ND through 5TH races paid $181. Both of Castellano's debut winners were for trainer Chad Brown, a native of Saratoga Springs, New York, whose three wins tie him with Todd Pletcher for the lead in the trainer standings.

"I'm very lucky today with everything going the right way," Castellano said. "I am thankful, blessed, and appreciate all of the trainers giving me support to ride horses. I give a lot of credit to my agent, Matt Muzikar -- he put me on the right horses.

"(Winning in Saratoga) is very important to me. It's very prestigious with a lot of good riders. The competition is tough and hopefully we'll have good luck today, and also for the rest of the meet. We're looking forward."

Castellano previously rode five winners at Saratoga on closing day, September 3, in 2005.


 


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