Remington Park: Ghost Hero runs away with Okla. Classics Cup
Ghost Hero returned to his Remington Park stakes-winning ways Friday, finishing first in the $131,000 Oklahoma Classics Cup. He not only won, but he destroyed the field by 7 1/4 lengths going 1 1/16 miles on the fast, main track.
The Shaman Ghost colt out of the Super Saver mare Queen Buxley made amends for his 10th-place, 16-length loss last month in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby.
Click here for Remington Park entries and results.
“He just bounced in his last race,” winning trainer Jayde Gelner said. “He had two big races before the Oklahoma Derby.”
In Friday’s Classic Cup, jockey Floyd Wethey Jr. continued to urge Ghost Hero on in mid-stretch despite a huge lead.
“I didn’t want to hold anything back, and I didn’t,” Wethey said. “My first win on him, I knew he was something special. I was going to stick with him.”
Since leaving Remington Park last year, Ghost Hero has been well-traveled. He has been to Oaklawn in Arkansas, Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma, Evangeline Downs in Louisiana, back to Will Rogers, then Lone Star Park in Texas and Charles Town in West Virginia.
Ghost Hero was sitting two lengths off the lead after a half-mile Friday, stalking front-running Kwontro (29-1), who faded to last. Kwontro set early fractions of 23.25 and 46.93 seconds. Ghost Hero took over the lead through remaining fractions of 1:11.67 and 1:38.17 on the way to a winning time of 1:45.37.
Number One Dude (4-5) checked in second and was another 1 1/2 lengths ahead of third-place Absaroka (11-1), the winner of this race two years ago. I’m Crenshaw (38-1), 2022 victor That’s Something (6-1) and Kwontro finished fourth through sixth in that order.
In 2022, Ghost Hero won the Oklahoma Classics Juvenile and the Don McNeill Stakes as a 2-year-old before being soundly defeated in the $400,000 Remington Springboard Mile.
As a 3-year-old, Ghost Hero won a couple more stakes at Evangeline and Will Rogers before returning to Remington Park.
When Wethey returned to the winner’s circle, he began tearing the flowers off the blanket of carnations placed over the horse’s withers after the race before throwing them into the air in celebration.
It was Wethey’s second win of the night in the Classics. He also took the Oklahoma Classics Lassie aboard Miss Code West. It was his fifth career win on Classic nights. In previous meets Wethey won the 2011 Classics Sprint on Okie Ride, the 2008 Classics Sprint on Steal Your Face and the 2008 Classics Juvenile with No Advance.
It also was Gelner’s second trip to the winner’s circle Friday. He took the Oklahoma Classics Distaff Turf with Run Slewpy Run. Ghost Hero gave Gelner his third career Classics win.
Ghost Hero won $78,600 for owner Robert Norman of Thomasville, Ala. The colt improved his record to 13: 6-1-1 for earnings of $326,282. He was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton sale in Kentucky in October 2021 for $77,000.
Ghost Hero was bred in Oklahoma by Clark Brewster of Tulsa.