Ghostzapper was foaled at Adena Springs Farm in Paris, Kentucky on April 6th 2000, the establishment is owned by Frank Stronach. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, Granite Real Estate and Stronach Group, which specializes in horseracing. With an estimated net worth of $CAD 3.12 billion as of November 2013, Stronach was ranked by Canadian Business as the 19th wealthiest Canadian.
Ghostzapper made his mark as a sprinter, winning several important races over shorter trips, starting as a 3 year old in the Grade 1 Vosburgh Stakes, a race that is considered to be a major prep for the Breeders Cup Sprint. That would be Ghostzapper's only major stakes win in 2003, as shortly after The Vosburgh it was found that he had quarter cracks and Trainer Robert "Bobby" Frankel, decided to give him the rest of the season off to recover. On the 4th of July Ghostzapper scored what was a great American victory in the Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack, he won the 7 furlong race in 1:20.40, taking 2/5 seconds off the track record in the process.
The colt who was always thought of as a pure, out and out speed freak, built for sprints, suddenly got his trainer thinking, "How far can this horse run". Frankel wasted no time at all in entering him into the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park. He stepped up to a distance of 9 furlongs, an extra 400m on August 21st, the track was muddy, Ghostzapper won the race by 10 lengths in 1:47.6. He earned a 128 Beyer Speed rating, one of the highest ever recorded around 2 turns and one of the fastest Beyer ratings recorded since the figures were invented. (Groovy, 1987 American Champion Sprint Horse, was the last horse to break the 130 Beyer Speed Figure, earning 133 and 132 in back-to-back 6-furlong races in 1987.) His next outing came on September 11th in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park, it was just like his previous start over 9 furlongs. Saint Liam (eventual 2005 Horse of the Year) ran stride for stride with him down the stretch as the horses came together several times before Ghostzapper got his head in front in the closing stages.
His final race of 2004 was the Breeders' Cup Classic at Lone Star Park. Returning Breeders' Cup champ Pleasantly Perfect went off at almost identical odds to Ghostzapper, with Ghostzapper a slight favourite. Ghostzapper led the entire way, pulling away in the stretch to a 3-length victory. The final time of 1:59.02 set a new track record and Breeders' Cup Classic record. What a year 2004 was for "The Ghost", 4 empathic victories, 2 at Grade 1 level. Ghostzapper's record time still stands 12 years after his magnificent win that brought the world to a standstill for a fleeting moment, one cold Texas day. For his efforts in 2004, he earned the Champion Older Male, Horse Of The Year, and the Worlds Top Ranked Horse honour’s. Ghostzapper cemented the legacy of his highly successful sire, Awesome Again who to won the Classic back in 1998. Ghostzapper was a truly unique champion, "Few horses have devastated their opponents in so many ways, at so many distances, and in such fast times."—Steve Haskin
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