Journeyman jockey Angel Castillo is usually found riding at Parx or other mid-Atlantic tracks, but on Saturday he had the call on Yo Yo Candy in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. As Yo Yo Candy's regular rider, he was happy to make the trip.
The 2-year-old colt's win marked Castillo's first graded stakes victory in North America and led to Castillo being honored as Jockey of the Week for July 10 through July 16 by a panel of racing experts. The award recognizes jockeys for riding accomplishments and who are members of the Jockeys' Guild, the organization which represents more than 1,050 active, retired and permanently disabled jockeys in the United States.
When trainer Daniel Velazquez gave a leg up to Castillo on Yo Yo Candy in the G3 Sanford, it marked just the second mount for Castillo at the storied Saratoga Race Course. His last visit was in 2012.
Off at odds of 46-1 in the field of nine, YoYo Candy broke cleanly from post position four and raced in fourth behind early leaders Dickens and Market Street. Yo Yo Candy fanned four wide into the stretch and took the lead at five furlongs, edging away to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:11.83 for the six-furlong contest. Post time favorite Gold Sweep was second after stumbling badly out of the gate.
“I'm always looking for opportunities to demonstrate my talent and I try to take my one or two opportunities,” said Castillo. “The trip was very good. I had a good start and good position in the race. In the turn, he charged outside and in the stretch he ran very good.”
Castillo, 53, is considered one of the top riders in Venezuela of all time. He moved his tack to the United States in 2000. His lifetime statistics in the United States include 957 wins and more than $25 million in purse earnings to date.
Castillo outpolled fellow riders Javier Castellano with two stakes wins including the Gr. III Schuylerville, Tyler Conner with a stakes win at Gulfstream and nine wins for the week, Flavien Prat who won the Gr. I Diana and Jaime Rodriguez who won 11 races to lead all jockeys for the week.
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