Ghostzapper (Grade 3)- $165.000 Purse
GP- For Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
March 29, 2025

The Ghostzapper was a wide-open race on paper at least, and it was one that The Sidley Stud really wanted to win as the trainer entered three into the race. He would get what he sought to do, as Distant Breeze came away with a two length win at odds of 7/1. This is the first Ghostzapper win for both The Sidley Stud and jockey G Corrales. Congratulations to them! The winning race time was 1:40.44, the quickest of the four editions of the race that were run at this distance. Let’s take a look at it:

(1/4 Mile- :23.10)- Distant Breeze does not waste any time in this one, as The Sidley Stud’s eventual winner is quickly clear by a length right from the gate. Give Arindel’s Alive the second spot while running on the outside of three wide, and he has Ultra Maga (TwinTowersRacing) and Pennine Way (Jediminds Stable) running to his inside. In the middle of the field, Galapagos (Night Rider Stables) is next and positioned right behind Alive while Domiano (Rock Creek) is nearby on the rail. Caveat Emptor (High Voltage) is in the seventh spot on the outside, and it’s about a length from him to Brother Bear (Ajm Stables) and Power Grid (The Sidley Stud). The three at the back are Moytoy Bay (D J C Racing Stables), Bayldonite (The Sidley Stud), and Fried Chicken (Angelos Stable).

(½ Mile- :46.55)- Distant Breeze is cruising down the backstretch at this point, having a two-length advantage over his closest competitors. That would be Alive and Ultra Maga, who match one another’s stride and are not concerned with the distance between them and the race leader. Pennine Way is next, with Galapagos with a length, and then Caveat Emptor, Domiano and Power Grid run three wide. Brother Bear runs right behind him, and by himself. Moytoy Boy, Bayldonite and Fried Chicken are still trailing the field.

(Top of Stretch, 1.4F To Go)- Distant Breeze is exactly that to the rest of the field right now as the race leader pours it on within the turn, and leads by three, if not four lengths entering the stretch. The rest of the field better hope he suddenly tires out, or else he had this one in the bag already. It is Alive that is running second, and if it wasn’t for Distant Breeze, he’d be looking a lot better as he holds an advantage over Ultra Maga. Galapagos looks to go three wide here, and further back, the rest of the field looked to take runs at finishing the exacta.

(Finish- 1:40.44)- If Distant Breeze didn’t know any better, he probably just thought this was a work. He quickly jumped to the lead from the gate, and no one was within a length of him at any point in the race. Entering the stretch, the race was all but official as he cruises to a two-length win. The stretch excitement would be for second, and that would see Galapagos getting the spot in a photo with Alive. It was about a length from him to Fried Chicken for fourth, with a dead heat between Ultra Maga and Power Grid for fifth. The rest of the order would be Domiano, Bayldonite, Caveat Emptor, Brother Bear, Moytoy Bay and Pennine Way.

About The Winner- Distant Breeze, trained by The Sidley Stud, and ridden by G Corrales, is a six-year-old gelding by Distant Sunset and is out of the late Burn Ban. He was bred in California as a third quarter two-year-old by Team 7 Illusions and was acquired by The Sidley Stud, via Lindeman Prairie for $7.010 in the March 2024 auction. Congratulations to the connections! The win is his ninth in 32 starts, his third stake win and second graded win. His career earnings are now $398.030.

Track: Fast
Time: :23  :46²  1:10¹  1:40²

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 6 – 5 Paid 67.00
$1 Trifecta: 6 – 5 – 11 Paid 1,372.70

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade III, STAKES ARTICLES