Ghost haunts Flashback in final yards of San Felipe

Goldencents was under unrelenting pressure from Flashback through torrid

splits of :45 4/5 and 1:09 4/5. They continued to match strides into the

stretch, when Goldencents was the first to crack. Flashback put away his rival

at the head of the lane and reached the mile mark in 1:35 3/5. But by that

point, the Bob Baffert colt was softened up.

In contrast, Hear the Ghost was commencing a furious rally from midpack for

Nakatani. Collaring Flashback in the final yards, the gelded son of Ghostzapper

won going away by a half-length. Hear the Ghost clocked 1:42 1/5 for 1 1/16

miles on the fast main track and returned $13.80, $4.60 and $3.60.

"I felt that they were going to go fast," Nakatani said. "So I thought,

'let's get away good and make someone commit to going to the pace we need for

him.' He's a tremendous horse."

"I thought this horse would have a very good chance to run them down today,"

Hollendorfer said. "I thought that all day long. I thought they would put up a

pretty good pace.

"I think he ran well despite all that. He had a nice, tough race and he got

tired at the end, considering he went so fast, but I think we learned a lot

about him today.

"I think we were just intimidated by the free speed today, and the rail, so

you learn from racing," Baffert summed up. "That's what these preps are all

about."

Goldencents' rider, Kevin Krigger, didn't mince words.

"Coming into the first turn, I got him to turn off, and I was surprised, as

good of a rider as Julien is supposed to be, the move he made around the turn to

make us have a dogfight race all the way around," Krigger said.

"Turning into the backstretch, that's like committing suicide, you know? If

we're going that fast easily, it's understandable, but to pressure a race like

that -- being on a favorite, that's not a favorite's ride at all. He had the

ideal scenario going into the first turn, and I mean, my horse came up tired

today. There's not much else I can say."

Doug O'Neill, the trainer of Goldencents, also commented on Flashback's trip.

"I thought Martin Garcia (on Salutos Amigos) would go, but I was shocked that

Flashback was so close up," O'Neill said. "I thought he'd be a little farther

back. I'm sure they've got to make adjustments, and we have to make adjustments.

We'll be all right.

"We're disappointed, but when you're running in Derby preps, you have to have

a horse that can adapt to different situations," O'Neill added. "(Goldencents)

maybe didn't settle as well as we would have liked. We'll make some adjustments

to the way that we train him and prepare him for the next one and regroup.

"If he comes out of it good and we're still thinking about the Derby, we'll

have to look at a prep."

There was a 5 3/4-length gap back to Salutos Amigos in fifth. Next came

Carving, Omega Star and Kochees.

Hear the Ghost's scorecard now stands at 3-2-1-0, $222,400. The chestnut made

a winning debut December 15 at Hollywood Park, where he rallied to a smart 3

1/4-length decision. Next trying stakes company in the January 21 San Pedro at

Santa Anita, Hear the Ghost couldn't reel in the loose-on-the-lead Distinctiv

Passion, but still closed very well to narrow the gap to 1 1/2 lengths. The

stretch-out to two turns brought out further improvement from the promising

three-year-old, who will likely aim for the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April

6.

"I got a lot of enjoyment out of buying this horse and racing him with my

partner, Ted Aroney (of Halo Farms)," Hollendorfer said. "We'll find out (about

whether he'll handle longer distances). That's where we have to go next. I think

we will (stay home for the Santa Anita Derby)."

Nakatani doesn't think that Hear the Ghost will have any problem stepping up

in distance.

"I don't have any doubt that he will," the jockey said. "He gets in that high

cruising speed, and he just kind of cruises along, you don't have to ask him,

you don't have to even move on him. He's a little seasoned horse. He's gotten

better each time that I've been able to do something with him. In the mornings,

Jerry has been pleased with every step he's taken, that's why I say that Jerry

deserves all the credit and Dan (Ward, Hollendorfer's assistant)."

Bred by W.S. Farish and Lazy F Ranch, Hear the Ghost was purchased for

$40,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. He is out of the winning Coronado's

Quest mare Rehear, making him a half-brother to Mani Bhavan, winner of the Grade

1 Spinaway and Grade 2 Adirondack in 2008, and to the multiple stakes-placed

Dattt Echo.

Rehear is herself a half-sister to Grade 2-placed multiple stakes heroine

Turkappeal, the dam of Grade 3 victress Pink Champagne and stakes scorer Z

Appeal. She hails from the family of Canadian champion Silken Cat, champion

sprinter and successful sire Speightstown and Grade 1 victor Turk Passer.

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