'Everything's going good' with Sunland Derby winner Runaway Ghost

Grade 3 Sunland Derby winner Runaway Ghost recently returned to the work tab at Zia Park after an injury knocked him off the Kentucky Derby trail in April.

The Ghostzapper colt exited a breeze April 14 at Sunland Park with a fractured cannon bone. Runaway Ghost spent time recovering at Crystal Springs Farm in Tularosa, New Mexico, and returned to trainer Todd Fincher around Labor Day. 

“We brought him back and had him in light training for two months and we just now started giving him some light breezes, and everything’s going good right now,” Fincher said. “Hopefully he’ll hold together. We’re not really targeting anything. We’re just going to run him when he’s ready to go. He’ll tell us.”

Runaway Ghost, who Fincher said hasn’t shown any health problems since returning to the track, has turned in two three-furlong breezes so far. He went in 36.49 on Oct. 23 and worked 36.94 on Nov. 3. He missed a recent work due to the weather’s effect on the track and Fincher “didn’t want to risk it.”

“The weather’s just been bad,” he said. “The track’s been really dry and hard. Looking like Saturday will probably be his next work.”

Runaway Ghost is a homebred for Joe Peacock. He raced in California as a 2-year-old, winning the Golden Nugget Stakes at Golden Gate Fields, before transferred to Fincher in New Mexico. This year at 3, Runaway Ghost won the Riley Allison Stakes and was runner-up finish in the Mine That Bird Derby. He last raced March 25 in the Sunland Derby and has earned $563,510 from four wins in seven starts.

“We’re just going to let him get fit and when he’s ready to run we’ll look for a race,” Fincher said. “We’re not going to push him, aim or target for anything.”