Trainer hoping he has a Ghost of a chance
Shaman Ghost peaking in bounce-back season as Lynch chases Plate
In 2008, Brian Lynch came oh-soclose to winning the Queen’s Plate with the filly Ginger Brew, but was edged out by a nose to diamond mine founder Chuck Fipke’s Not Bourbon.
The loss was a heartbreaker for Lynch, whose best previous result in the race was a third in 2006 with Malakoff.
On Sunday, Lynch is hoping his luck in the 156th renewal of the big race will change and he believes he has the colt that could change it when he saddles Shaman Ghost in the $1-million Plate.
Standing in his way, though, is a field of as many as 13 other horses, including two owned by Fipke: Danish Dynaformer and Billy’s Star.
“In a race like that, I’m concerned about all of them,” said Lynch, from New York. “If they don’t beat you, they can get in your way, stop you.”
Shaman Ghost, owned by Stronach Stables and bred by auto parts mag- nate Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs, is a son of Stronach’s great Ghostzapper, who earned more than $3 million and is best known for winning the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Classic, in record-smashing time.
Ghostzapper’s sire is Awesome Again, another stellar racehorse who won the Queen’s Plate in 1997 and the Breeders’ Cup Classic in 1998.
“Well, you always hope with a pedigree like that they develop and come the early summer of the three-yearold year, you’ve got them in the position that we’re in now,” said Lynch of his colt, who has won three races in a row, including the Marine Stakes on May 16 at Woodbine.
As a two-year-old, Shaman Ghost went winless, only managing a fourth and a sixth in his two tries. Lynch chalks the losses up to immaturity rather than a lack of talent.
But in his sophomore year, Shaman Ghost has really started to show he knows what the game is all about, winning races on the dirt at Gulfstream Park in Florida and at Keeneland in Kentucky. His most recent win, in the Marine Stakes, a prep race for the Plate, pegged the horse as a Plate contender.
“He showed he can sit back, he showed he can finish, he showed all the tactics you need to win a Queen’s Plate,” Lynch said. “And he beat open company horses.”
With wins over the dirt and Poly, and at three different tracks, should Shaman Ghost perform well on Sunday, the Triple Crown trail (the Prince of Wales, July 28, over dirt at Fort Erie and the Breeders’ Stakes on turf at Woodbine on Aug. 16) is not out of the question, Lynch said.
Lynch, a native of Australia, has been a top trainer at Woodbine, earning more than $24 million in purses in his career. At one time, he made a living as a bull rider on the North American rodeo circuit and even trained quarter horses briefly, but after taking out his thoroughbred trainer’s licence, he quickly climbed the ranks of the game and has trained for some of the most powerful outfits in the sport, including Stronach Stables.
He has won graded stakes in both Canada and the United States, but winning the Plate, he says, would add a special notch to his belt.
“We got beat a nose with Ginger Brew and that was a very tough beat,” he said. “It’s something I haven’t done yet, so you certainly hope that one day you might be able to pull it off. It would be an absolutely wonderful thing, it’s a very prestigious race.”
And his late-maturing colt appears to be peaking at just the right time.
“We seem to be in a good place with him right now going into the Plate,” Lynch said. “I wouldn’t trade spots with anyone.”
After Thursday’s draw, Shaman Ghost has the No. 1 post in the Queen’s Plate and his odds are 7-2.
Danish Dynaformer has post position 7 and is the early favourite at 3-1. Billy’s Star has post 5 and is 15-1.