Baffert unveils flashy debuter Comical Ghost at Santa Anita
Well, here we are again, with trainer Bob Baffert conditioning an eye-catching first timer in the Godolphin blue. Will Comical Ghost pan out a bit better when his inevitable turn at stakes company comes around?
Following in the footsteps of Coliseum and Flor de La Mar, Comical Ghost ran the competition off its feet on debut Saturday in Santa Anita Park’s fourth race, gliding under jockey Joe Talamo to a final time of 1:10.93 for six furlongs.
Baffert told TVG before the race that Comical Ghost, by Ghostzapper, is “one that we were really high on earlier in the summer.” And video of a morning breeze from January showed him easily out-working Kingly, the full brother of Mohaymen who since gone on to become a stakes winner.
But an injury sidelined Comical Ghost, preventing him from trying the Triple Crown trail.
The colt looked plenty sharp coming back, however, as he broke on top, then backed off to press Tilted Towers in a seven-horse field. Talamo pushed the button through the turn, used a few shakes of the reins to draw away and needed only a crack or two of the whip to keep his mount going on in the stretch.
Fractions were 21.98 and 45.63 for the quarter and half mile marks over a Santa Anita track that has played slowly since re-opening from a halt to racing over safety concerns.
Comical Ghost, a homebred, is out of the Grade 1 winner Hystericalady, who after winning 11 of 23 career races sold for $3 million as a broodmare prospect back in 2008.
Of course, Coliseum, who garnered attention with his own debut back in November, had his turn at the Kentucky Derby trail but never could overcome mental issues. Flor de La Mar, a filly, is Grade 1-placed and tried the Kentucky Oaks. Last weekend, she missed the board in the Summertime Oaks (G2).
So now it’s on to watching out for Comical Ghost. How classy a race, and how soon? The Affirmed (G3) runs June 16 for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita with the Los Alamitos Derby (G3) the next month.
Baffert will also be looking for races for a pair of his Derby runners, Game Winner and Roadster, with the former in need of a prep for the Travers Stakes and the latter back on the work tab at Churchill Downs, which hosts the Matt Winn (G3) on June 15.