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#36 08-28-2006, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danzig188

from bloodhorse, way back when:

But when Ghostzapper drew post one in the Classic, Frankel knew his strategy was limited. He would have to go to the lead, something the colt had never done before. That didn't worry Frankel, who felt Ghostzapper could walk on water if he had to. His only concern was Ramsey's Whitney Handicap (gr. I) and Kentucky Cup Classic (gr. II) winner Roses in May, a brilliantly fast horse who, like Ghostzapper, was unbeaten in 2004 and had never been the Classic's distance of 11/4 miles.

Frankel knew the two colts could not afford to get involved in a speed duel, with top-class closers like Pleasantly Perfect and Birdstone in the field of 13. Roses in May, whom Ramsey owns with his wife, Sarah, had the advantage of drawing post 6, with the great mare Azeri, whose best running has been on or near the lead, breaking from post 3.

"Drawing the rail doesn't matter, wire-to-wire," said Ghostzapper's exercise rider, Nuno Santos, who had been the regular exercise rider of Azeri and Fusaichi Pegasus, the winner of the 2000 Kentucky Derby (gr. I). "Believe me, no worries. This horse is unreal, a freak, and everyone is going to see it on Saturday. You're going to see a Secretariat type of race. I can feel him getting stronger every day, and I've never been as confident in a horse as I am with this guy, and that includes Azeri. It's another world. They're going to have to wait years and years to see another one like this."

With that kind of ammunition, Frankel, who would saddle Ramsey's Nothing to Lose in the NetJets Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT), attempted to plant the seeds of his strategy inside Ramsey's head.

"If we lay first and second and the jockeys keep them slow and don't kill each other trying for the lead, they'll finish one-two," Frankel assured Ramsey. "You know what I'm saying? If they're not stupid and they stay cool, we'll be one-two."

"You're boxing them (in the exactas), huh?" Ramsey said, breaking into his customary broad grin and booming laugh. "In other words, how fast we go on the backstretch will dictate what happens in the homestretch. What about Azeri?"

"I don't think Azeri is going to be there," Frankel said. "She can't run with these two. Both our horses will get the mile and a quarter and we got two smart jockeys (Javier Castellano aboard Ghostzapper and John Velazquez on Roses in May). If they sit, they finish one-two. I'm telling you, that's the race; it's that simple. Look, I gotta go (to the lead) from the one post. But if they let us get away with a half in :47, the race is over. It'll be you and me, and let the best horse win."

Frankel could see his words were registering, and that Ramsey was coming around to his way of thinking. "That's the best shot we got, and if I outrun you or you outrun me, we're still talking about $800,000 for second. That's nothing to sneeze at," Ramsey said.

But Frankel wasn't thinking about second. He knew there was no horse who could eyeball Ghostzapper and outrun him in the stretch, and if Ramsey and trainer Dale Romans let him slow the pace down on the lead, he'd have his first Classic victory and they would have their $800,000.

Ok guys, I have to set the record straight on this one. And this article was not written by the author in the correct way.
I was part of the Ramsey team for quite a while. We were as tight as two guys can be. Like family. We had a falling out, and I didn't think it proper to ever go into why and I still won't. But......I'm not gonna let him be spoken of in an incorrect context, because its just not so.
Thats not how it went down. The night before the race while sitting in the room with Ken and one other person we went over the strategy on all three races of the horses he had entered. Since I was part of the process, and I was there, I know exactly what went down.
The original plan leading up to the race was to go straight to the lead and try to wire it. After the draw when he drew outside of ghostzapper ken was very upset and said what do we do now. One thing about Ghostzapper that Frankel very wisely never made public was that he absolutely detested dirt in his face. he refused to run when dirt was hitting his face. he was never a "closer" by style. he was transformed into one because the only way to keep him form hating dirt was to drag him back and take him as wide as possible. Thats the reason every one of his races before that in his win streak, he was widest of all. It was by design.
When zapper drew the one hole frankel flat out knew he had to send the horse. Anything less meant that he would be pinned in behind horses with dirt flying in his face. We had heard through the grapevine that the reason Azeri was put in the Classic was to avoid a loss in the Distaff that might cost her the title if she lost because Sightseek had one hell of a year. We had heard that her camp felt anything above a back of the pack finish would mean she had teh title locked up. Which meant that they werent gonna gun her and risk finishing far back from a duel. Ken Ramsey may be a lot of things, but he will do anything to win a race, anything!! And second place to him is just the first loser. The decision was made to run to the first turn with Johnny having the option to make the lead if Zapper broke bad or took back because of being pinched or sawed off. But everyone realized that the likelihood of that was slim. As a result the decison was made to sit behind zapper, and hope that he couldnt go a mile and a quarter, something that was still in doubt after his narrow Woodward win and teh fact that he had never done it. Roses liked to be loose, either on the lead or running free in second with noone near him. Johnny was told to be no further back then 2nd and to try and be a clear second with no horses surrounding him. And then to just hope that he could run by a tired zapper.
Obviously it didnt work. Ken may have doen a lotta things wrong, but the way this has been reported is not at all accurate. he would have cut off his toes if he thought that would get him a win in this race. ANyone who knows him and his ego would tell you this. No deal was made, and the conversation quoted was one that was an exchange between ken and frankel when ken was by Frankel's barn to check on in and discuss Nothing To Lose, who Frankel trained for Ken. the notion that the two of them got together to somehow conspire to predertime the outcome of the richest race in the USA is utterly and completely false. Of this I KNOW from firsthand knowledge.