Hall of Famer Javier Castellano looks to cap a magical season when he rides Arcangelo in the $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on Saturday at Santa Anita Park.

Castellano, 46, swept four consecutive Eclipse Awards as the nation’s leading rider from 2013-2016. He suffered a steep downturn in his business in 2020 and 2021, however, when Covid-19 and then hip surgery sidelined him for a significant period.

He returned to the top of the game this year. After failing to win the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve with his first 15 mounts, he broke through with 15-1 longshot Mage. He then teamed with Arcangelo to win his first Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets. Castellano and Arcangelo combined again when Castellano extended his record with his seventh Travers triumph.

Off the track, his fellow riders honored him with the George Woolf Award, presented annually to the jockey whose career and character elevate racing.

Castellano has won more than 5,700 races lifetime. He takes followers of America’s Best Racing through his highs and lows – revealing that he briefly considered retirement – in a diary written with Tom Pedulla.

It’s been an amazing year and I am grateful to God for it. I feel so blessed.

I have not forgotten how rough things were for me not long ago. I got Covid in March 2020. I was asymptomatic but I had to follow certain requirements before I was cleared to ride again. I wound up being out for six weeks.

Later that year, I needed hip surgery. That cost me another three months. With all of that time at home, I lost my momentum and I lost a lot of business. Even though I made a strong recovery from hip surgery, people questioned how good I might be in my comeback. I was getting older and many trainers were reluctant to give me good horses.

I got down and depressed. I felt desperate. I thought about retiring. I thought, “If nobody is going to give me an opportunity, what is the point of my being here?” There is nothing more frustrating than getting a handful of mounts and knowing those horses are not talented enough to win. You can be the best jockey in the world but, without the horse, you have no shot.

Castellano celebrates Derby win aboard Mage. (Eclipse Sportswire)

So I thought about retirement. I also knew that I did not want to go out that way. I had never won the Kentucky Derby and I did not want to retire knowing that. It was a big missing piece in my career. So was the Belmont Stakes.

I thank God for giving me the strength to persevere. I was very persistent, very disciplined. I continued to work hard and kept thinking things would change if I could only get the right horses. I kept thinking about the Kentucky Derby.

I said, “I can’t give up. This is the last cherry I need to put on my cake – the Kentucky Derby.” Doors started opening here and there.

The mount opened on Mage. I go back a long way with Gustavo Delgado, his trainer, and I was grateful for the opportunity. Even though he had not run a lot, I knew Gustavo would have him ready.

I remember sitting in the jockeys’ room at Churchill Downs as they talked about each horse and rider. I heard them say, “Javier Castellano. He’s a Hall of Fame rider. He’s won more than 5,000 races. He’s tried 15 times. He’s never won the Kentucky Derby.”

That motivated me. As I went to the paddock, I said to myself, “This has got to be the year.”

Gustavo had Mage at the top of his game and I was able to work out a beautiful trip with him. It was an incredible feeling to finally win the Derby, but I had to quickly put that behind me and start looking ahead. That is the way the game is.

I had not forgotten about Arcangelo. I rode him when he won for the first time, going a mile on March 18 at Gulfstream Park. He was very immature then, looking around and jumping around in the post parade. He had not figured everything out yet. But it impressed me that day how powerfully he finished and I said to myself, “That horse could be anything.”

I was impressed again when Jena Antonucci, Arcangelo’s trainer, asked me to work the horse before the Peter Pan Stakes. They were giving me good feedback about how far the horse had come. I could see they were right.

It did not surprise me when we swept the Peter Pan, the Belmont and then the Travers Stakes. Jena and her team have done a great job with Arcangelo. People don’t realize how good a trainer Jena is. She just needed an opportunity.

Jena does not go by the book. She adjusts to the horse. However the horse feels, she goes with the flow. She does what is best for the horse.

We have all made a great team. She trusts me, I trust her, we trust the horse and we’re enjoying the moment. All credit to her for developing one of the top horses in the world.

Antonucci and Castellano celebrate the Peter Pan win. (Eclipse Sportswire)

Arcangelo is so classy at this point in his career. He has come very far. You can see it in the post parade. He’s very focused. He knows what he needs to do. He knows his job.

I won the Classic with Ghostzapper in 2004. Big races like this depend on getting the right trip. My job is to do everything possible to give Arcangelo that. We need to get a clean break from the starting gate. Santa Anita is usually speed-favoring, so it will be important not to leave him too much to do.

Arcangelo is only 3 years old and he will be facing older horses for the first time. I believe in my horse. I know he has the talent to do this and, if he does, there is no doubt he will deserve to be Horse of the Year.

Everything I have been doing is for this moment. My wife, Abby, and our children, Kayla, 17, Sienna, 14, and Brady, 11, will be flying to California to watch one of the most important races of my career. The children did not understand much about my work years ago when I was going on stage to win the Eclipse Awards. It means so much to me that they are old enough to appreciate what is happening now.

If Arcangelo wins the Classic and we can celebrate that together, it would be priceless.