Look Back: Ghostzapper Turned Heads in 2004 Debut

In conjunction with Tom Hall's Throwback Thursday features in BloodHorse Daily, BloodHorse.com each Thursday will present corresponding race stories from the pages of the magazine. 

This week is a recap of the 2004 Tom Fool Handicap (G2), run that year on July 4 at Belmont Park and won by Ghostzapper  . Following is a short recap written by Steve Haskin followed by the stakes shell filed by Dan Liebman that appeared in the July 10, 2004 magazine. 



Is it possible, that of all the top-class horses Bobby Frankel has unleashed over the past several years, the best one is only just getting cranked up? 

Not even Frankel has a clue how good Ghostzapper is after the son of Awesome Again  —Baby Zip, by Relaunch, returned from a nine-month layoff due to foot problems and blew away three talented opponents in the Tom Fool Handicap (gr. II) on July 4.

Bred and owned by Frank Stronach, Ghostzapper, who turned in one of the most explosive stretch runs in memory to win the Vosburgh Stakes (gr. I) by 6 1/2 lengths last September, showed his versatility by tracking a :44.79 half in the Tom Fool before drawing off to a 4 1/4-length victory under Javier Castellano in a blistering 1:20.42 for the seven furlongs. 

So quickly does this colt demolish his foes, he was already 41/2 lengths in front at the eighth pole, the six furlongs in 1:08.26. Behind him at the finish were brilliant sprinters Aggadan, Unforgettable Max, and Lion Tamer.

Stakes shell, Ghostzapper

Whoever first introduced the term "zip" into the family of Ghostzapper was exactly right because there is plenty of zip in their genes. His dam is a stakes winner, his second dam is a stakes winner, and he is a half-brother to one of the better juveniles of recent years.

Ghostzapper, who won the Tom Fool Handicap (gr. II) at Belmont Park on the Fourth of July, was responsible for his own fireworks, winning by an easy 4 1/4 lengths. The homebred son of Awesome Again was in hand throughout the seven-furlong race under Javier Castellano and drew off from his three rivals.

Owned by Frank Stronach and trained by Bobby Frankel, Ghostzapper was making his first start since winning last fall's Vosburgh Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont. He also finished third, beaten just a half-length, in the King's Bishop Stakes (gr. I). His 2004 season started late because he bruised a foot in April.

Obviously his foot has healed. Ghostzapper was favored in the Tom Fool and did not disappoint. The Tom Fool was the fifth win in seven starts for the 4-year-old colt.

Out of the Relaunch mare Baby Zip, Ghostzapper is a half-brother to City Zip  , who was a top juvenile in 2000. By Carson City, City Zip took Saratoga by storm that summer, winning four stakes--the Hopeful (gr. I), Saratoga Special (gr. II), Sanford (gr. II), and Tremont (gr. III). The winner of eight overall stakes, City Zip earned $818,225. He now stands at Contemporary Stallions near Coxsackie, N.Y., and his first foals will race in 2005.

Baby Zip, who was bred in Kentucky by J. Robert Harris Jr., won four of 16 starts including the 1993 Kattegat's Pride Stakes. She earned $60,395. Baby Zip has a 2-year-old full brother to Ghostzapper named Aristocrat. She has a yearling filly by Golden MIssile and this year produced a colt by Mr. Greeley. Baby Zip is in foal to Sligo Bay, a son of Sadler's Wells who stood his first season this year at Adena Springs.

Ghostzapper's granddam, Thirty Zip, was bred in Florida by Walter Burke. She is a multiple stakes winner of $585,970, with 13 career victories, eight stakes among them. This year, Thirty Zip produced her first live foal since 2000, a colt by E Dubai.

Ghostzapper is one of six stakes winners sired by Awesome Again, a homebred for Stronach who was retired to his Adena Springs Farm near Midway, Ky. Awesome Again won the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) in 1998. He has three crops of racing age. Awesome Again stood this year for $75,000.