Castellano: ‘This year was meant to be’ for Mouttet Mile triumph
..Venezuelan Jockey’s 1st Jamaica ride ends in 9-length magic on Rideallday
Javier Castellano, skipping two prior Mouttet Miles, finally made the Jamaica trip and savoured a career highlight. Riding Rideallday, owned by Cassiopeia Inc and trained by Philip Feanny, he stormed to a 9-length US$300,000 Mouttet Mile win in a stakes-record 1:36.4 on December 6, 2025.
“This year was meant to be. The people are great, atmosphere wonderful. To come here and win the biggest race in the country is just great,” said Castellano, who won 5,914 races in North America.
“I didn’t want to be disappointed. I was invited to come two times before, but I couldn’t make it because I had commitment to ride horses in New York. It is a great experience riding in Jamaica for the very first time. I mean, the people are great, the atmosphere is wonderful. To come here and win the biggest race in the country is great,” Castellano added.
Commenting on the race, Castellano said: “I liked how everything developed. It seemed to me there were a lot of hot pace in the beginning and that was expected, my horse is a come-from-behind runner and I liked how he did. It was a lot of emotions. I used to ride
Vekoma, that’s his dad, in the past. It worked out for good reasons.”
