1:33 and change
Unbelievable...................................
That was not a race for him that was a paid workout...
Ghostzapper
Moderators: Roguelet, hpkingjr, WaveMaster
hi guys
Respectfully...anyone who does not recognize what a MONSTER and versatile racehorse Ghostzapper is...doesn't have a clue. Ability and versatility-wise...he is nothing short of SPECTACULAR !!!
Not only did he run away from his rivals in the Metroplotan H-G1...but also he carried highweight of 123 giving away 5 to 8 pounds to all rivals...and all this in his first start after a 6+- month layoff.
If that's not enough consider this...he set the 6f fraction of 1:08 2/5 before running away and being ridden out to win by 6+ lengths over Silver Wagon in the winning time of 1:33 1/5 for the mile...ASTOUNDING !!!
He crushed 2nd favorite Forest Danger (who finished a sorry 5th) by approx 14 lengths.
Ghostzapper...
...in my book...he's definitely a horse for the ages. They might as well set the podium up for his entry into the Hall of Fame right now.
Respectfully
Respectfully...anyone who does not recognize what a MONSTER and versatile racehorse Ghostzapper is...doesn't have a clue. Ability and versatility-wise...he is nothing short of SPECTACULAR !!!
Not only did he run away from his rivals in the Metroplotan H-G1...but also he carried highweight of 123 giving away 5 to 8 pounds to all rivals...and all this in his first start after a 6+- month layoff.
If that's not enough consider this...he set the 6f fraction of 1:08 2/5 before running away and being ridden out to win by 6+ lengths over Silver Wagon in the winning time of 1:33 1/5 for the mile...ASTOUNDING !!!
He crushed 2nd favorite Forest Danger (who finished a sorry 5th) by approx 14 lengths.
Ghostzapper...
...in my book...he's definitely a horse for the ages. They might as well set the podium up for his entry into the Hall of Fame right now.
Respectfully
austique wrote:I'll admit it I was impressed, but what is with trainers complaining about carrying 123. Derby horses carry 126. Maidens carry 122 and Kelso carried a tank on his back. Ghostzapper is definitely a super horse though even with Frankel's whining.
Agreed.
Everything was impressive about that performance EXCEPT the fact that he ran it with that featherlight weight assignment.
Come back and brag about his achievements when he does it under more than 125lbs. I don't consider a horse 'great' until he wins with 127 or more.
I like the horse ... the trainer is a horse's ass.
The issue about weight is generally not the weight itself, but the spread between all the horses. Yes, Derby horses carry 126, but they ALL do. Also its early in the year and unless he stays in weight for age races, the racing secretaries can theoretically assign him higher weights next time, tho with all racing venues screaming to get Ghostzapper to run at their tracks, I think they will be very careful as to assigning weight to him. If Frankel turns down one race, there will likely be another which will be kinder to him in the weights.
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StrawberryFelidos
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louis finochio
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Congrats to Bobby Frankel and crew, Frankel is a master at bringing a TB back off a layoff, he doesnt give his charges a condition race like many trainers.
This Awesome Again (Phalaris) sire line and Relaunch mare (Fair Play) sire line is a golden cross and will leave its hoof prints etched in the history books.
This outcross mating is the same type of outcross mating that Secretariat had. Bold Ruler (Phalaris) Princequillo mare (Prince Rose) sire line.
This Awesome Again (Phalaris) sire line and Relaunch mare (Fair Play) sire line is a golden cross and will leave its hoof prints etched in the history books.
This outcross mating is the same type of outcross mating that Secretariat had. Bold Ruler (Phalaris) Princequillo mare (Prince Rose) sire line.
Those without sin cast the first stone.
Louis Finochio
Louis Finochio
Hi all,
I'm gonna brag...
I was there. It was time for me to stop equivocating because I've referred to Ghostzapper as a possibly a great horse since his scintillating victory in the BC Classic, and I wanted to be definite.
It's definite, without qualification on his ability or mantle anymore, he's a great horse, one for the ages, the brilliance of his victories reminiscent in style to Dr. Fager, the execution fast followed by an almost gentle calm. The race really lasted only about 15 seconds while Ghostzapper inhaled the leaders, but it was great 15 seconds.
I'm sorry that everyone couldn't be there, but I hope you watched it on TV and if you didn't I'd suggest putting Ghostzapper in your stable mail so you don't miss him next time. Imagine how you'll feel in 20 years when the grand kids ask if you saw Ghostzapper run and you didn't. I know you'll lie to them and tell them that you did see him, but the kids will know the truth by the lack of conviction in your voice.
I've watched the televised replay and Ghostzapper is brilliant, of course, but sadly you don't feel the quality and ease of his victory. It looked easy you say? Yes, but I assure you his victory was far more brilliant than a television has the ability to portray.
You don't feel the surge of wonder as he gaps the field with a stride so fluid he seems to be in only a light gallop, nor do you sense the collapse of will in the vanquished. You don't really grasp that the world record was his for the taking, and the margin of victory a mere function of physics.
This was not the best the champion has, perhaps someday he'll show it to us, but for now he seems content to do as much as necessary to amaze us and like all great entertainers he seems to know to leave his audience begging for more.
Regards,
Pete
P.S.: I miss the old days of great weight carriers, but weight wouldn't have been an issue in thie race unless I was up on him
. The champ doesn't assign the weights - he just carries them.
I'm gonna brag...
I was there. It was time for me to stop equivocating because I've referred to Ghostzapper as a possibly a great horse since his scintillating victory in the BC Classic, and I wanted to be definite.
It's definite, without qualification on his ability or mantle anymore, he's a great horse, one for the ages, the brilliance of his victories reminiscent in style to Dr. Fager, the execution fast followed by an almost gentle calm. The race really lasted only about 15 seconds while Ghostzapper inhaled the leaders, but it was great 15 seconds.
I'm sorry that everyone couldn't be there, but I hope you watched it on TV and if you didn't I'd suggest putting Ghostzapper in your stable mail so you don't miss him next time. Imagine how you'll feel in 20 years when the grand kids ask if you saw Ghostzapper run and you didn't. I know you'll lie to them and tell them that you did see him, but the kids will know the truth by the lack of conviction in your voice.
I've watched the televised replay and Ghostzapper is brilliant, of course, but sadly you don't feel the quality and ease of his victory. It looked easy you say? Yes, but I assure you his victory was far more brilliant than a television has the ability to portray.
You don't feel the surge of wonder as he gaps the field with a stride so fluid he seems to be in only a light gallop, nor do you sense the collapse of will in the vanquished. You don't really grasp that the world record was his for the taking, and the margin of victory a mere function of physics.
This was not the best the champion has, perhaps someday he'll show it to us, but for now he seems content to do as much as necessary to amaze us and like all great entertainers he seems to know to leave his audience begging for more.
Regards,
Pete
P.S.: I miss the old days of great weight carriers, but weight wouldn't have been an issue in thie race unless I was up on him
. The champ doesn't assign the weights - he just carries them.yeah..i agree...frankel should stop whining...123# give me a breakaustique wrote:I'll admit it I was impressed, but what is with trainers complaining about carrying 123. Derby horses carry 126. Maidens carry 122 and Kelso carried a tank on his back. Ghostzapper is definitely a super horse though even with Frankel's whining.
thats nothing. but his performance.......well simply outstanding....he is one for the record books. keeps this up...its HOTY again.A great man cannot help himself," "He can see things that other men cannot see themselves, and his greatness lies in doing whatever is necessary to make his vision real
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Tairaterces
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Thursday, May 26, 2005
Updated: May 31, 6:04 PM ET
Ghostzapper an all-time great?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
Ghostzapper picked right up where he left off, dominating the competition in an ultra-impressive victory in Monday's Met Mile at Belmont. He was every bit as good as he was last year when his undefeated four-start campaign culminated in an easy win in the Breeders' Cup Classic and took the first step toward what Bobby Frankel has said is his primary goal this year: to prove just how special this horse is.
"I would like him to be thought of as one of the great horses of all time," Frankel said.
It's an admirable goal and one that is on the drawing board only because Stronach has generously put accomplishment on the racetrack ahead of an easy and lucrative payday in the breeding shed. For that, he deserves credit. But will Ghostzapper be allowed to do enough that he can rightfully be compared to the sport's pantheons? It depends on your description of greatness.
Apparently, Frankel believes in a 2005 version. Call it greatness lite. Horses don't have to run often or carry weight or have full campaigns to prove themselves or deserve accolades. They just need to win the few times they show up in a race. Frankel intends on running Ghostzapper, who missed a scheduled start in the Oaklawn Handicap with a sinus infection, no more than five, or possibly six, times this year. And he will do his best to avoid situations where Ghostzapper would be required to carry a significant amount of weight.
He started off the year with 123 pounds in the Met, a ridiculously light assignment for a horse of this caliber and typical of an era where racing secretaries cater to star horses.
"I'm into winning," Frankel said. "I'm not into proving anything with weight carrying. Horse racing needs this horse to be a star. I'd hate to see him run in a race, especially a Grade I, where he'd be giving someone 10 or 15 pounds and get beat. I just want to win the races with him and keep the weight off."
From here, Frankel is eyeing the Whitney, the Suburban, Woodward and the Breeders' Cup Classic. He will run only at NYRA tracks this year after having passed races like the Santa Anita Handicap and the Donn Handicap at racetracks owned by Stronach. That's kind of like the CEO of McDonald's eating his lunches at Burger King. But starting in the premier handicap races at the Stronach-owned tracks would have meant nine or 10 months of racing, too much for the modern animal.
"I didn't want to start him this early in the year," Frankel said. "The thing is to get him ready for the Breeders' Cup again."
In some respects, it's hard to blame Frankel. He is just applying modern training theories to a very valuable horse and is more interested in rewards than risks. Should Ghostzapper win out this year he will no doubt win a second straight Horse of the Year title and will go down in history as one of the most talented horses of our times.
"It's hard to believe he could be better than he was last year," Frankel said. "He ran some pretty awesome races last year and had speed figures no horse ever ran."
But does talent equal greatness? It's a question Frankel and Stronach apparently don't feel needs to be answered.
Should Ghostzapper run five times this year and run in the races Frankel has laid out, he will have made just 15 career starts, will have run just 13 times in a three-year span and will likely never be asked to carry more than 125 or 126 pounds in a handicap race.
It's easy to argue that's not the sort of career that deserving of the greatness label, not when there are so many horses who have accomplished so much more. Does that put him in the same league as Affirmed, who ran 29 times, won 22 races and carried 132 pounds to victory in the 1979 Hollywood Gold Cup. Or Cigar, who raced 33 times and won 19 races, including two under 130 pounds. Does it put him in the same league as Forego, John Henry, Citation, Kelso, et. al?
Frankel has mentioned that he might take at least one daring step before it is over. He said that after the Breeders' Cup he will consider starting Ghostzapper on the grass. He is interested in duplicating the end of Secretariat's career. His final two starts were on the grass.
The sport has changed and it may be that no top horse will ever again be asked to start 13 or 14 times a year or carry 130 pounds or more in a race. By today's measure, Ghostzapper probably is a great horse. But what a shame that greatness isn't what it used to be.
Okay now is this guy retarded or what . . . . . . . And why are all of these people(the stewards, Beyer, etc.) smooching on Frankel's rear end? ? ?
Tairaterces
Updated: May 31, 6:04 PM ET
Ghostzapper an all-time great?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
Ghostzapper picked right up where he left off, dominating the competition in an ultra-impressive victory in Monday's Met Mile at Belmont. He was every bit as good as he was last year when his undefeated four-start campaign culminated in an easy win in the Breeders' Cup Classic and took the first step toward what Bobby Frankel has said is his primary goal this year: to prove just how special this horse is.
"I would like him to be thought of as one of the great horses of all time," Frankel said.
It's an admirable goal and one that is on the drawing board only because Stronach has generously put accomplishment on the racetrack ahead of an easy and lucrative payday in the breeding shed. For that, he deserves credit. But will Ghostzapper be allowed to do enough that he can rightfully be compared to the sport's pantheons? It depends on your description of greatness.
Apparently, Frankel believes in a 2005 version. Call it greatness lite. Horses don't have to run often or carry weight or have full campaigns to prove themselves or deserve accolades. They just need to win the few times they show up in a race. Frankel intends on running Ghostzapper, who missed a scheduled start in the Oaklawn Handicap with a sinus infection, no more than five, or possibly six, times this year. And he will do his best to avoid situations where Ghostzapper would be required to carry a significant amount of weight.
He started off the year with 123 pounds in the Met, a ridiculously light assignment for a horse of this caliber and typical of an era where racing secretaries cater to star horses.
"I'm into winning," Frankel said. "I'm not into proving anything with weight carrying. Horse racing needs this horse to be a star. I'd hate to see him run in a race, especially a Grade I, where he'd be giving someone 10 or 15 pounds and get beat. I just want to win the races with him and keep the weight off."
From here, Frankel is eyeing the Whitney, the Suburban, Woodward and the Breeders' Cup Classic. He will run only at NYRA tracks this year after having passed races like the Santa Anita Handicap and the Donn Handicap at racetracks owned by Stronach. That's kind of like the CEO of McDonald's eating his lunches at Burger King. But starting in the premier handicap races at the Stronach-owned tracks would have meant nine or 10 months of racing, too much for the modern animal.
"I didn't want to start him this early in the year," Frankel said. "The thing is to get him ready for the Breeders' Cup again."
In some respects, it's hard to blame Frankel. He is just applying modern training theories to a very valuable horse and is more interested in rewards than risks. Should Ghostzapper win out this year he will no doubt win a second straight Horse of the Year title and will go down in history as one of the most talented horses of our times.
"It's hard to believe he could be better than he was last year," Frankel said. "He ran some pretty awesome races last year and had speed figures no horse ever ran."
But does talent equal greatness? It's a question Frankel and Stronach apparently don't feel needs to be answered.
Should Ghostzapper run five times this year and run in the races Frankel has laid out, he will have made just 15 career starts, will have run just 13 times in a three-year span and will likely never be asked to carry more than 125 or 126 pounds in a handicap race.
It's easy to argue that's not the sort of career that deserving of the greatness label, not when there are so many horses who have accomplished so much more. Does that put him in the same league as Affirmed, who ran 29 times, won 22 races and carried 132 pounds to victory in the 1979 Hollywood Gold Cup. Or Cigar, who raced 33 times and won 19 races, including two under 130 pounds. Does it put him in the same league as Forego, John Henry, Citation, Kelso, et. al?
Frankel has mentioned that he might take at least one daring step before it is over. He said that after the Breeders' Cup he will consider starting Ghostzapper on the grass. He is interested in duplicating the end of Secretariat's career. His final two starts were on the grass.
The sport has changed and it may be that no top horse will ever again be asked to start 13 or 14 times a year or carry 130 pounds or more in a race. By today's measure, Ghostzapper probably is a great horse. But what a shame that greatness isn't what it used to be.
Okay now is this guy retarded or what . . . . . . . And why are all of these people(the stewards, Beyer, etc.) smooching on Frankel's rear end? ? ?
Tairaterces
"and Secretariat let no one down on the unforgettable afternoon of June 9, 1973, when he ran a hole in the wind"
~Bob Ehalt~
Avatar: Istabraq (Sadler's Wells x Betty's Secret by Secretariat) Champion Hurdler
~Bob Ehalt~
Avatar: Istabraq (Sadler's Wells x Betty's Secret by Secretariat) Champion Hurdler