Went the Day Well gives connections chance at Derby glory
— again
Few in the crowd on Saturday will feel the emotional
Barry Irwin and four members of the Team Valor partnership that triumphed
Four of them –
Their participation has added a special layer to the path that brings Went
“I’ve been to Churchill every year for the last 20 and last year was very,
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“The only thing
that we were hoping for last year was for Animal Kingdom to qualify and then
that he would stay healthy so we could walk behind him from the backstretch to
the paddock, to have that enjoyment and that feeling. When he won, it was
euphoric. It was like no other feeling that maybe I’ve ever had, or at least not
in a long time.
“When you’ve been to the Derby as many times as I have and you have a horse
in it, it really changes the experience and the level of involvement. With all
the people that I know that are affiliated with Churchill and the Derby, it just
makes you feel much, much more apart of everything that is going on. It was just
a unique and very honorable experience.
“One of the things that my wife, Yurie,
and I have talked about it is ‘How do you go back the next year after that
phenomenal experience of Animal Kingdom, Barry and Graham and everyone
associated with it?’ When Howe Great and Went the Day Well started making some
noise this winter, it really re-kindled that fire and you’re almost afraid to
think about what’s possible,” added Pascarella, who now runs a private equity firm
and lives in San Francisco. “Just the idea of being able to have a horse again
is just a phenomenal thing. We pray that he stays healthy, and if he does, that
walk from the backside again will be very, very memorable. But, as my wife
pointed out, gosh, we want him to do well, too.”
Zoldan, the CEO of Northern Ohio’s B.J. Alan Company, Phantom Fireworks and
the Youngstown Phantoms of the U.S. Hockey League, points to the long odds for
reaching America’s greatest race with one colt, let alone two years in a row,
from an annual North American foal crop of around 30,000.
“Last year, the words were ‘surreal’ or ‘off the charts,’ and being back in
it with another opportunity, being one of 20 Thoroughbreds again with a chance to
win the Derby, it’s just amazing,” Zoldan said. “Some family and friends are
starting to believe that I have some sort of extraterrestrial connection. I have
to give the credit to Barry.”
Last spring, Zoldan spiced up the winner’s circle celebration, bringing along
his friends Joey Fatone of N’Sync and celebrity chef Guy Fieri.
“I’ve been going to the Kentucky Derby for 25 years, even before I partnered
with Team Valor,” Zoldan said. “It’s just a great event, and it’s hard to
imagine what it will be like having another chance to win it, being there with
my friends and family.”
Herrick is a real estate investor and Broadway and Hollywood producer. He won
a Tony Award three years ago as a producer of the revived musical “Hair.”
“Nothing comes close to the Derby; that was an unbelievable feeling,” Herrick,
who lives in Boca Raton, Florida, and New Jersey. “I’m just really
looking forward to racing this horse and bringing home a winner again, which
would be totally incredible. I can’t wait.”
Castellano, a New York native who is retired from Wall Street and lives in
Far Hills, New Jersey, has experienced a great run at Churchill dating back to
Pluck’s victory in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner. He carried a
dream of owning racehorses ever since his father would take him to Aqueduct and
Belmont Park in his childhood, giving him a deep perspective of the significance
of seeing Animal Kingdom’s name in gold above the Churchill paddock as the
reigning Derby winner, and what it would be like for Went the Day Well to
succeed him.
“Obviously everyone keeps comparing him to Animal Kingdom because of the
nearness to what just happened,” Castellano said. “It’s easy, to the point that
the horse wins the Spiral, just like Animal Kingdom, and with the same saddle
cloth number. Tell me about scary. His whole progression has been unbelievable.
At first it seemed like he started off a little slow but then all the sudden he
wins, he wins, and now he’s in. The whole thing is becoming surreal in many
ways.”
In 137 years, only 12 owners have conquered the Derby more than once. The
only back-to-back winners were Col. E.R. Bradley in 1932 and 1933, fabled Calumet
Farm in 1948 and 1949, and Meadow Stable in 1972 and 1973.