Tag: Jena Antonucci

Decisive Delgado Could Not Wait for Castellano

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — It turned out that a non-decision is precisely what settled who would ride GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) and GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Travers.

Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano rode both horses to their victories in the Triple Crown series and had his choice of which one to ride in the Travers on Aug. 26 at Saratoga Race Course. He holds the Travers record of six wins.

Mage's trainer, Gustavo Delgado, asked Castellano on Monday to give him an answer by late Tuesday afternoon. Castellano asked for more time and when he did not contact Delgado by the deadline, Delgado announced that Luis Saez would ride the chestnut colt.

“I can't wait for him. That's no problem,” Delgado said. “He said he can't make a decision right now. I understand.”

Delgado said the owners of the colt were asking him who would ride and since he expects the $1.25- million Travers to have a large field, perhaps as many as a dozen runners, he felt it was important to act.

“The decision was not Castellano's. It was my decision,” he said. “My decision was not to wait. Not to wait until next week. Not wait until entries.”

Saez's move to Mage leaves Tapit Trice (Tapit) without a jockey for the moment. Trainer Todd Pletcher said he would talk with the colt's connections about a replacement.

Delgado and Castellano are both from Venezuela and are longtime friends. Castellano said he understands why Delgado wanted the matter settled.

“It's a hard decision. Nobody can be mad,” he said. “We shouldn't be mad. Nobody. This is the business.”

Castellano had hoped he would have more time to discuss his options with his agent and Arcangelo's trainer Jena Antonucci, but Delgado was firm. After spending Tuesday on a boat with his family, Castellano returned home to learn that Delgado had booked Saez.

“I don't blame them because they gave me the right to choose,” Castellano said. “Then they gave me the deadline and I couldn't answer that question right away. Then they took away the decision. It was good. It worked out for everybody.”

Delgado said he settled on Saez because he had ridden the colt to a second-place finish in the GI Florida Derby. Forte (Curlin) made a strong run in the stretch to catch and pass Mage.

“At that moment, he was not used to the horse,” Delgado said. “I think he was surprised with the horse because he never rode (Mage). When I talked with him after the ride, he said, 'Gustavo, this is a good horse. You can win the Derby, but right now I have a commitment to Tapit Trice.'”

Delgado turned to Castellano and he earned his first Derby victory. He also rode Mage to a third in the GI Preakness and a second in the GI Haskell.

Saez's agent Kiaran McLaughlin said they made it clear that they wanted another opportunity on Mage.

“We were always in touch with them,” he said. “We knew there was going to be a possible issue so we told them we would be happy to ride him if they needed a rider.

It wasn't an easy decision because Tapit Trice has been very good to us and Todd has been very good to us, but we just thought we would like to be on Mage in the Travers.”

McLaughlin said he got the call from the Mage camp Tuesday afternoon.

“I just waited for them,” he said. “I told Todd as soon as they told me and he was good with it. He's very, very good to deal with. He's a very close friend and I hate to ever take off a Todd Pletcher, for a claiming race or a Grade I. It's not easy.”

Antonucci said early in the meet that she would be patient and let Castellano pick who he would ride.

“You just have to give things time to breathe sometimes and not force topics and everything always works out the way it's supposed to,” she said. “I'm a big believer that there are stuff way bigger and stronger than us making things happen and watching out.

One of us was going to have Javier and one of us was going to have Luis Saez.”

Castellano is 3-for-3 aboard Arcangelo. Antonucci said she turned to him when Jose Ortiz gave up the mount after two starts. Castellano was up for the maiden victory on Mar. 18, and wins in the GIII Peter Pan on May 13 and the Belmont on June 10.

Antonucci said Castellano's patient approach suits Arcangelo's running style.

“For me, it just works,” she said. “He believes in the horse. The horse knows that. They keep forming more and more of a relationship. It just works.”

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Saez To Partner With Mage In Travers

Luis Saez will ride Mage (Good Magic) in the upcoming GI Travers S., it was announced Tuesday afternoon in a tweet from trainer Gustavo Delgado, Sr.

He replaces Javier Castellano, who won the GI Kentucky Derby aboard the colt and also guided him to a third-place finish in the GI Preakness S. and a runner-up effort in the GI Haskell S. Saez rode Mage to a second-place finish in the GI Florida Derby. Saez opted to ride Tapit Trice (Tapit) in the Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher. Tapit Trice finished seventh.

Castellano is also the regular rider of Arcangelo (Arrogate) and won the GI Belmont S. on that colt for trainer Jena Antonucci. Like Mage, Arcangelo is being pointed to the Aug. 26 Travers.

“We have a tremendous amount of love and respect for Javier and we accomplished together what is a lifetime dream for everybody in racing,” said Mage co-owner Ramiro Restrepo. “We are fully cognizant, fully aware of the difficult decision that he was facing when it came to picking between two very talented colts, both winners of American Classic races.

“It is our understanding that there will be a full field in the Travers of 11 or 12 horses. With most of those horses, they have riders spoken for them. We know Javier was having a difficult time choosing between both horses. There's not many jockeys available as the field is starting to take shape. We didn't want to be put in a position where we were left without a top rider if Javier chose otherwise. It was in our best interest to secure a rider who knows the horse and rode him to a great second-place finish in the Florida Derby.”

Restrepo said the decision was made by the Mage camp and not by Castellano.

“We spoke with Javier a few days ago and chatted about the situation,” Restrepo said. “We asked them how they were going to proceed. Several days went by since then and Javier wasn't able to give us a decision. He said he was still mulling things over. At that point, we needed to be proactive and go ahead and make a decision.”

Earlier this week, Castellano sat down with Mike Kane to discuss the decision-making process.

 

 

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Arcangelo Gets Serious In Travers Work

Blue Rose Farm's GI Belmont S. hero Arcangelo (Arrogate) tuned up for the Aug. 26 GI Travers S. with a five-furlong breeze over the Saratoga main track that was timed in 1:00.21 Sunday morning.

The gray colt was accompanied to the track by trainer Jena Antonucci on horseback and was put through his paces by Javier Castellano. Arcangelo galloped out a full half-mile after completing his move and was clocked in 1:26 1/5 for seven furlongs, 1:39 for the mile and out nine panels in 1:53.

“It was a little more serious work,” said Castellano, who faces a decision whether to stick with Arcangelo or return to Mage (Good Magic), aboard whom he won his first GI Kentucky Derby. “I usually hold him together. Today, I let him stretch out a little bit. I like the way he did it today–good fractions and a good move. The best thing for him is galloping out–he reaches out longer.

The reinsman continued, “In the turn, I asked a little bit and he took off. I just dropped my hands and let him roll. The boss wanted me to put on a good show today. I had been holding and keeping him fresh, but we are in a stage to make it serious because we are facing the best 3-year-olds in the country. You have to put a good foundation in and I think he does.”

According to Antonucci, Arcangelo wanted to do more after nearly linking up with another breezer on his gallop out.

“He swapped leads and went to go again,” said Antonucci, with a laugh. “That's a good quality for a horse to have. We finally got him pulled up over the three-eighths pole. He was kind of pleased with himself.

“He's happy and he loves it and he's enjoying it,” Antonucci added. “What better gift could I have?”

 

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Antonucci: ‘It Just Brings You Back To It’

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — Trainer Jena Antonucci could have easily stepped aside Sunday morning and passed on a question about Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic)'s catastrophic injury in Saturday's GI Test S. That's now how she handled it.

After commenting on how pleased she was with the way her GI Belmont S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) worked five furlongs in 1:00.21 Sunday morning, Antonucci turned to how trainer Melanie Giddings has to deal with the loss of her star filly.

“I get chills,” Antonucci said, then paused to compose herself.

“Any trainer that has had it happen, it just brings you back to it,” she said. “To say no one deserves it, the horse does not deserve it, we are doing everything we can to steward the best possible lives and outcomes for every horse that is in our barns. I know that that filly meant a great deal to Melanie and the team, but it is so much bigger than that. I can't imagine the amount of prayers and support and I pray that she knows that there are so many people that will rally with her. I was glad to see her at the barn this morning and how you pull yourself out of bed in the morning after that.”

Antonucci, the first woman trainer to win a Triple Crown race, said that everyone in racing feels the pain from the tragic accident that happened near the wire of the Test.

“This is what is real,” she said. “You can villainize us and villainize this industry and everything else, but you cannot fathom the failure you feel as a human that we are doing everything we can to steward the best for our horses and then something freaky happens.

“I know personally–I am not going to speak for Melanie–you feel you failed them,” she continued. “I am very aware that the general public views this sport with a terrible light and they are entitled to their opinion, but I feel strongly that they're not entitled to label everybody in the way that they do. There is not a single human that puts a horse on a race track with the intent to harm, ever. Even nefarious people. To have it happen in that situation, with all the extra layers (of safety inspections), at the end of the day, we are going to do what is absolutely right in the stewardship for that horse.”

Antonucci said it is wrong and irresponsible for critics of racing to push the narrative that the sport exists and profits from something that leads to the deaths of horses.

“The enrichment these horses bring to us and everybody else is way beyond racing,” she said. “It is a relationship that we have with no other animal, since the beginning of time. They brought us through war. It is an amazing relationship that we have with this animal. I understand it is not their cup of tea and it doesn't need to be, but it's our cup of tea. And us continuing to educate everybody and explain to everybody everything we go through and do. These horses have more health care and more exams than 98% of the human population. Shitty things are going to happen. Just like someone can walk out their front door and get hit by a car.”

Antonucci said that racing needs to keep talking about the care race horses receive. She praised the way that the New York Racing Association and the connections of the winner, trainer Brendan Walsh, jockey Tyler Gaffalione and owner Godolphin, handled the incident.

“Everyone knows that that filly was the winner of the race and it just sucks,” she said.

“This is the cruelest of sports,” she said. “I have always said the 2-by-4 that hits you doesn't care where it hits you. The sport doesn't care about how you feel. It will make you check your mettle and check your constitution time after time. That is why I continue to say that my commitment is to doing the best that I can to steward the best possible situation for every horse that is in my barn. I don't think it's much different than that with almost every other trainer on this backside. The details and the depths that we go through to foster the best possible outcomes is like no other industry.”

Antonucci said she does not know Giddings well, but that one of her former assistants is a very good friend. She noted that Giddings has been able to return to the sport after a difficult struggle with cancer.

“I know her story,” Antonucci said. “She is a very good horsewoman and I know she will get through it. She has dealt with much bigger things and more important things in life than winning horse races. This was about a relationship she had with a horse and that is the story.”

Antonucci said that it is important to tell about the equine-human connections.

“It sounds so cliche to say she lost a family member yesterday, people are going to scoff at that,” she said. “But when your life revolves around another being–whether it's an animal or whatever–and that part is then gone, I can't give you words because the feeling that you have, gutted doesn't even do it. It stays for life. I can tell you every horse that I have lost.”

Antonucci said she worries about every horse she saddles.

“I always say a prayer,” she said. “Every race. Every time. Be blessed and be safe.”

Antonucci said what she does know about Giddings is that she doesn't want anyone to feel sorry for her.

“She wants the filly to be honored, and rightly so,” Antonucci said. “She is a strong woman. I know she will find another path.”

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