JC / Railbird - Ghostzapper Retired

Ghostzapper Retired

Ghostzapper, the 2004 Horse of the Year, has been retired with a hairline fracture in his left front ankle. Ghostzapper last raced on May 30 in the Met Mile, which he won by more than six lengths. It was then that he sustained the injury:

“After the race, he had some filling in his ankle,” trainer Bobby Frankel said. “We X-rayed it and didn’t find anything, but I wasn’t comfortable with it and wanted to make sure everything was all right. I didn’t want to take any chances, so I sent him to New Bolton (Medical Center) on Wednesday (June 8). They did a nuclear scan and found a hot spot. Then they took an X-ray of the spot and discovered a small crack. They said it was very difficult to find. He looks great and he’s walking perfect. You couldn’t tell anything was wrong with him.” (Blood-Horse)

The Blood-Horse article notes in the paragraph before Frankel’s quote that it was revealed after the Met Mile that Jess Jackson, “the California winemaker who has been extremely active in bloodstock transactions over the last year,” had purchased an interest in the horse, a juxtaposition that invites a little cynicism.
There’s not much to say about Ghostzapper, other than that he was undeniably fast:

“He is the fastest horse since we began making figures in 1982,” said Jerry Brown, who operates Thoro-Graph, a Manhattan-based company that produces speed figures for gamblers, trainers and owners. “And he is the fastest by quite a bit. There have been a couple of other horses who ran figures close to his on occasion, but three of his races produced the fastest three figures we have ever given a horse.” (New York Times)

Ghostzapper was 4-for-4 last year and had a similarly light schedule planned for this year, with all of his races to be at Belmont or Saratoga. He ends his career 9-for-11.
Related: “Great-lite to Great-great.” Before Ghostzapper’s retirement was announced, Equidaily’s Seth Merrow was wondering why the 2004 HOTY lacked appeal and decided the horse needed a hook — “A streak. A rivalry. An accomplished career.”
6/15 Addition: Alan of Left at the Gate (who I had the pleasure of meeting Saturday at Belmont) writes that there’s new meaning in graded stakes for older horses with Ghostzapper gone.
Horsemen grouse at Ghostzapper’s passing from the scene. “I’m in the game and it breaks my heart,” said trainer H. James Bond. “It’s like watching the Final Four and seeing the star center go out. We have very few heroes in our game and it’s a shame.” (Times-Union)

Posted by JC in Horses on 06/14/2005 @ 8:05 pm / Follow @railbird on Twitter