Ghostzapper was not precisely a workhorse.
He by no means raced greater than 4 instances in any of his 4 seasons.
But within the comparatively transient time he spent on the racetrack, Ghostzapper had few – if any – friends.
In 2004, when he was named Horse of the 12 months, he was an undefeated graded stakes winner, versatile sufficient to win at seven furlongs, 1 1/8 miles, and 1 ¼ miles whereas registering blazing quick instances in every of them.
“He dealt with any sort of racetrack, and also you couldn’t take a race away from him,” Ghostzapper’s coach, the late Bobby Frankel, mentioned to the Related Press on the time of the colt’s retirement in 2005. “In the event that they needed to go too quick, he may come from final. In the event that they had been going sluggish, he’d go proper to the lead. How do you beat a horse like that?”
They didn’t. At the least not that always. In 11 begins, he received 9 instances and earned $3,446,120 in a profession that was rewarded in 2012 with a spot within the Nationwide Museum of Racing and Corridor of Fame.
A homebred son of Superior Once more, Ghostzapper raced underneath the banner of proprietor Frank Stronach’s Stronach Stables and made his profession debut as a 2-year-old at Hollywood Park on Nov. 16, 2002, notching a nine-length victory at 11-1 odds for Frankel.
Despatched off as a 3-10 favourite in his second begin, an allowance race at Santa Anita Park on Dec. 26, Ghostzapper was squeezed again at first and completed a disappointing fourth.
Given ample time to relaxation and develop, Ghostzapper returned at 3 just some weeks after the Triple Crown ended with Humorous Cide denied a sweep by Frankel’s Empire Maker within the Belmont Stakes. He began his 3-year-old marketing campaign with a powerful 3 1/4-length victory in a June 20 allowance race at Belmont Park.
A half-length victory in an allowance race at Saratoga adopted, however then within the Grade 1 King’s Bishop Stakes, Ghostzapper dropped again to tenth within the discipline of 13 and needed to rally six large. The bottom loss got here again to hang-out him as he wound up third, denied by a pair of heads from claiming his first stakes win.
Ghostzapper returned in September and tackled older horses within the Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes. In a sign of what was to return in 2004, he romped to a 6 ½-length triumph because the 3-1 second selection.
Minor foot accidents ended his season and prevented him from working within the Breeders’ Cup, however when he lastly brushed these illnesses apart and resumed racing in July of 2004, he was higher than ever.
He began with a 4 ¼-length win within the Grade 2 Tom Idiot Handicap, masking the seven furlongs in 1:20.42, solely lacking the observe document by .46 seconds.
Although Ghostzapper appeared destined to be the 12 months’s champion sprinter, Frankel had a lot larger plans for him – specifically the Breeders’ Cup Basic.
Given his first likelihood at two turns, Ghostzapper responded with a monstrous 10 ¾-length victory within the Grade 3 Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park, falling in need of a observe document by .86 seconds with a closing time of 1:47.66 for the mile and an eighth.
A tough-fought victory by a neck over Saint Liam (who would win the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Basic) within the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes vaulted Ghostzapper to the highest of the older male division.
Frankel, who handed away in 2009, focused the Breeders’ Cup Basic at Lone Star Park subsequent, and a few puzzled if the mile-and-a-quarter distance can be too demanding for a horse with such an excellent flip of velocity.
The sector included 2003 Breeders’ Cup Basic winner Pleasantly Excellent and each he and Ghostzapper had been despatched off as co-favorites at 5-2.
It turned out to be a mismatch.
Taking the lead at first underneath jockey Javier Castellano, Ghostzapper cruised alongside on the entrance finish after which pulled away within the stretch to win by three lengths over Roses in Could, with Pleasantly Excellent one other 4 lengths again in third.
“I advised everybody, this was the perfect horse I ever skilled,” Frankel mentioned. “I do know he needed to exit and present it. In my coronary heart, I at all times felt that method.”
The ultimate time was 1:59.02, which nonetheless stands as a document for the Breeders’ Cup Basic.
“Ghostzapper is a brilliant horse,” mentioned Dale Romans, who skilled Roses in Could. “He could also be the perfect horse we have seen in a very long time. We picked a foul 12 months to have a prime horse for the Basic.”
After securing simply his third Breeders’ Cup win in 63 tries, Frankel was sure Ghostzapper had finished sufficient to be named Horse of the 12 months, regardless that earlier within the 12 months Smarty Jones had received the Kentucky Derby and Preakness earlier than ending second within the Belmont Stakes.
Other than successful all 4 of his 2004 races by a mixed 18 ¼ lengths, Ghostzapper additionally notched amazingly fast Beyer Velocity Figures of 120, 128, 114, and 124.
“Breeders’ Cup day hasn’t been a terrific day for me, however this time the dream got here true. I feel [Horse of the Year] is a no brainer,” Frankel mentioned. “[Ghostzapper] may be very versatile. He can go six furlongs with the perfect of them, and he can come from 15 or 20 lengths out of it or win on the lead. He can win going lengthy on the lead. He loves mud, and he would not must take his racetrack with him.
“He is a dream horse, and presumably a brilliant horse.”
When the Eclipse Awards had been introduced, the Corridor of Fame coach was confirmed right as Ghostzapper was named Horse of the 12 months and the champion older male.
Frankel introduced Ghostzapper again to the races at 5 and the son of Superior Once more romped by 6 1/4 lengths within the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap in a closing time of 1:33.29 for the mile.
Sadly, Ghostzapper suffered an ankle damage within the Met Mile and Stronach and Frankel determined to retire their champion.
“He went out the suitable method, in a great way,” Frankel advised the Related Press. “He did run that one good race this 12 months, and if something it gave him extra respect.”
It was respect as probably the greatest horses of his period. Ghostzapper could not have had the longest profession, however few put their time on the racetrack to make use of as brilliantly as he did.
Observe: This story initially was printed in September 2015 and has been up to date.
Enjoyable Info
- Superior Once more (1998) and Ghostzapper (2004) had been the primary sire and son to win the Breeders’ Cup Basic. Curlin (2007) and Vino Rosso (2019) duplicated that feat.
- The victory aboard Ghostzapper within the Basic was the primary for jockey Javier Castellano within the Breeders’ Cup.
- Ghostzapper is the sire of 819 winners, of 64 graded/group stakes winners, and of 127 stakes winners via Sept. 28, 2026, together with Eclipse Award champions and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Dash winners Goodnight Olive and Judy the Magnificence; Canadian Horse of the 12 months and 2024 champion turf feminine Moira; and 2021 Dubai World Cup Introduced by Emirates Airline winner Mystic Information. He was pensioned in 2025.
