Shaman Ghost Springs an Upset in the Woodward
In the 2016 Woodward Stakes, Frosted joined the list of big-time favorites to lose at Saratoga, when he ended up third in a blanket finish that was won by Shaman Ghost. The Jimmy Jerkens trainee beat Mubtaahij by a head for the win and he, in turn, was a head in front of Frosted.
From the start of the race, when the .40-1 odds-on favorite broke awkwardly, got jostled around, and ended up behind a wall of horses going into the first turn, things did not go well for the Met Mile and Whitney winner, Frosted.
As expected, Bradester was hustled out of the gate by Joe Bravo and they assumed the role of pacesetter while running along the rail. Bradester was able to open a comfortable one-length lead over the duo of longshot Breaking Lucky and Samraat just to his outside. The early fractions of 24.38 and 48.43 were not fast. In the meantime Shaman Ghost was following a length behind Breaking Lucky and Frosted was in sixth place.
The action began as the field turned for home. Frosted was confidently guided out wide by Joel Rosario and Shaman Ghost was moved away from the rail by his rider Javier Castellano to try and find running room. At this point the leaders all floated several paths away from the rail with Frosted the widest of four horses. According to the official chart, he was eight wide.
Castellano made a split second decision with Shaman Ghost to move back towards the inside when he found an opening between horses. From there, Castallano went after Mubtaahij, who had taken advantage on the huge opening on the rail to make his move.
"I am very happy and satisfied the way my horse ran today,” said Castellano. “He cut the corners, saved ground on the first turn and I could see how the race was developing on the backside. When I saw Frosted moving on the outside, I decided to go on the inside, cut the corners, split horses. The way [Shaman Ghost] did it, he was very impressive today.”
Rosario had Frosted making his move down the middle of the track and they appeared to be ready to go right by the entire field. However, on this day at the Spa, Frosted hung a bit in the final 100 yards and did not prevail in the end.
"He was comfortable where he was. He normally comes off the pace and improves his position. There was no excuse today,” said Rosario after the race. "He didn't break sharp. When I've ridden him before, he liked to take his time. He made a nice run. He got a little bit wide but he seemed good. He just got a little tired at the end. Every time I've ridden him, when I hit him with the whip, he didn't like it too much. When I turned [into the stretch] I thought he was going home free. He looked nice. Just the last 20 yards, it looked like he tired a little."
Today, in the Woodward, Shaman Ghost was running with the Lasix for the first time and that certainly seemed to help as the son of Ghostzapper got his first career grade one victory. Previously he had won the Brooklyn (G2) on Belmont Stakes Day. Shaman Ghost became a millionaire with career earnings of $1,291,811 and a record of 12: 6-1-1.
The final time for the nine furlongs was 1:48.92. The winner paid $20.00, 8.50, 3.10 across the board. Mubtaahij paid $6.20 and 2.80, while Frosted paid $2.10 to show. The $2 exacta returned $107 and the trifecta $205.50.
The win with Shaman Ghost is the third victory in the Woodward for Castellano who won the race last year on Liam’s Map and in 2004 on Ghostzapper. The Woodward is also Castellano’s tenth graded stakes triumph of the 2016 meeting.
Looking ahead to the winner’s next start, Jerkens said, "I honestly don't know. I guess you have to consider the Jockey Club Gold Cup [Grade 1, October 8, Belmont Park], but we'll see."