Big Weekend for Javier Castellano

The resurgence continues for jockey Javier Castellano.

The Hall of Fame rider added to his solid 2023 resume over the weekend when he left Saratoga Race Course for a day and won a pair of $500,000 races at Colonial Downs in Virginia.

He rode Fev Rover  for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse to a victory in the Beverly D. Stakes (G1) and then was on Gigante  as he took the Secretariat Stakes (G2T) for Steve Asmussen, another Hall of Famer.

He did not get the Colonial hat trick because his mount in the Arlington Million Stakes (G1T), Strong Quality  for Casse, finished seventh.

The win with Gigante came as a surprise as he went off at odds of nearly 23-1, the longest price in the field of six 3-year-olds. The 5-year-old mare Fev Rover, last seen finishing third in the Diana Stakes (G1) at Saratoga July 15, won the five-horse Beverly D. and paid $3.20 as the favorite.

Castellano said he was home in Saratoga Springs by 10:30 p.m. ET  Aug. 12 and he was back at it working horses Aug. 13.

The two Colonial wins give Castellano 12 graded stakes wins this year. Last year, he was only able to win six graded stakes, the year before just seven.

Four of his graded stakes wins this year have been grade 1s. He also won the Kentucky Derby (G1) with Mage , the Belmont Stakes (G1) with Arcangelo , and the United Nations (G1T) at Monmouth Park aboard Therapist .

More good things could be coming for Castellano, who will ride Arcangelo in the $1.25 million Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Aug. 26.

"This year has been a blessing," Castellano said Sunday after visiting Arcangelo in his stall at trainer Jena Antonucci's barn at the Oklahoma Training Track. "I thank God that everything has been going the right way. It has just been a great year."

Winning two important races on the same day is something Castellano has done before. On March 11, 2017, at Santa Anita Park, he won the $400,000 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T) aboard Bal a Bali  for trainer Richard Mandella and the $750,000 Santa Anita Handicap (G1) with Shaman Ghost   for trainer Jimmy Jerkens.

"Trust me, I've been on the other side so many times when I leave town and it doesn't work out," Castellano said. "This was a good trip."