2004 Islen

[gobabygirlzen]

What was it like, I wonder, running along with that black masked face bobbing next to you ... tracking you ... just waiting...

[gobabygirlzen]

"Far too classy." Oh hell yes! What an amazing horse, just amazing. In what race did he break his maiden?

[tracybrown1977]

@gobabygirlzen I think he broke his maiden at Hollywood Park.. Im not sure however...

[ghostzzapper]

A 128 beyer under a hand ride...greatness personified!! I am confident this horse could beat anyone on his best day...I mean anyone!! I wonder how much his heart weighs!!

[ghostzapper2006]

GZ could win from any spot. Destroyed the Vosburgh field by 6 under a hand ride from dead last. Stalked and destroyed Iselin field. Stalked Forest Danger early in Met Mile and won by 6 in 133 flat under another hand ride. Fastest Bc Classic in history in 159 flat under a hand ride on the lead. brilliant horse, maybe the best in the past 30 years. Speed figs are not pefect but combined with grading are the most "objective" way to measure horses from different eras, that is reality Dumbo.

[DanielSong39]

@ghostzapper2006 When three separate, independent speed figure all state that Ghostzapper was the fastest horse of all time, you at least have to consider the possibility that he indeed was the fastest of them all.

Fragile as glass, though. If he raced 20 times he would've been the second coming of Dr. Fager.

[flylion132]

Mr. Paul Moran said it best and so correctly: Easy Goer was the better and more spectacularly talented horse, but was defeated an inch and neck, because Pat Day rode him like the exposed end of a live wire."

So true

[DELMARCLUB1]

Easy Goer was always no doubt a top ten racehorse in talent and ability, with many top ten racehorse performances in his career, but the two atrocious rides that got him beat a nose and neck, put him down where ss always belonged in the thirties.

[EASYGOERFLIES]

Even the UNBAISED Californian expert Bill Christine of the LA Times stated Day's riding was dispicably bad,and how Day made three huge mistakes to get the best horse beat nose.1)Much much too early machinegun move down the backstretch b/c Valenzuela took him out to the middle of the track,2)Was outmanuevered for the stretch getiing caught down in tight scraping the fence &being banged in even tighter,3)Jerked his head right before the wire to cost him.Horses run faster with their heads straight

[EASYGOERFLIES]

What got the faster, superior, better horse(Easy Goer) beat? Dispicably bad riding by a nose and neck, very narrowly. EG was not ever winning the Derby on that peanute buttery track, he was simply spinning his wheels.

[drfager01]

people say that about every good 3 year old horse, the best since the bid, i think the bid needs to be compared to that top 10 where they rannk him, to compare him to horses that didnt run as older horses is unfair to those horses, some not all were sent to the breeding shed out of downright greed, some of the best broke down while trying to make history. that goes to show the bid ejoyed great health, while having a 4 year old campain that would set him apart from those who would follow him.

[drfager01]

Speed figure are nothing but a less than perfect handicapping tool, since when did it become the yardstick to measure greatness. what a joke.

[majestyk72]

Zapper was the best since Bid, only Formal Gold and Easy Goer can hold a candle to him. Too bad he was fragile, and too bad Goer had pat day for a jockey.Yeah, a "flash in the pan" he ran the fastest breeders cup classic of all time at LONE STAR, moron.

[DELMARCLUB1]

@majestyk72 Pat Day's two extremely atrocious rides got the best horse beat a nose and neck. You are correct.

[drfager01]

Friend your dead wrong, there are a 100 horses that could put up fractions of 21 and change 44:0 and 1:08, and they are running in allowance or high claiming events, class is the ability to carry ones speed a distance. cheap claimers have tons of speed but they are not in the same class as g- zapp. i totally disagree with beyers with this one, this goes totally against the ideology of a G1 being superrior to a G3. he faced better in the woodward despite the surface and got lesser figures 114.

[drfager01]

A 128 for this race, a G-3 with 4 horses, i dont care about slop, on the right track i have seen horses run faster times than they do on hard dry surfaces. be real beyer is a hypothetical theory, which accurracy of victory is in the minute % at best, when you compare the greats some of the more important things to look at is not only fast times , but class and consistency, outside of dr fager a lot of great horses have been defeated by non hall of famers, that list also includes secretariat.

[theOlLineRebel]

You don't GET "class" and consistency without SPEED.

SPEED is the name of racing - it is how you get to the line sooner than the next. All other aspects are secondary.

Beyer is not a "theory". It's just a way of classifying a certain finish time of a certain race. It's normalizing the time so various distances and conditions are equivalent.

[jmplays44]

I just watched a bunch of Ghostzapper's races, and I have to say I was a complete idiot for betting against this horse in the BC Classic.

[jhordanian]

Stripping away the hyperbole of some comments, I do agree that Ghostzapper was among the very best of the last 18 years, and that he had Hall of Fame/All-Time Great talent. I definitely have him ranked in the top 3 of this decade. After the 05' Met Mile I was so geeked to see him run at Belmont in the BCup. Had he won his preps and then the Classic, he would have truly established himself as an all-timer and the horse of the decade.Yet, fate was cruel.

[youyury]

Islen

[Qritikal]

Tremendous Race...very gifted Animal...he would have given those greats in the past a tough time...

[all66books]

Concerning his Islen win, I saw this in the Wiki entry for the 'Zapper: "He earned a 128 Beyer Speed rating, the highest ever recorded around 2 turns and one of the fastest Beyers ever recorded since the figures were invented."

[clinton9432]

presidentialaffair was no slouch and he just toyed with him going through in 109

[mastiffs36]

Totally agree if we still had trainers like in the old school days, horses like ghostzapper would be in top ten of all time great natural speed.brilliant animal,although holy bull would have been the only horse since spectacular bid who is comparable in talent. cigars whack no real fractinal speed, fast horses run 21,44,1:08 and carry that speed a distance easily, cigar didnt prove this during the streak he set no records.

[jhordanian]

I agree that Frankel was too conservative with Ghostzapper.However, this is how Frankel operates.He is a sheets guy and believes that if a horse is to avoid a bounce, proper spacing between starts is vital.So, even had Zapper stayed sound in 05',Frankel was going to give him a rest after the Met and then run him only 3 more times in the Whitney, Woodward, and BC Classic. It could also have been that Zapper needed more time than most after big runs.Frankel HAD to give him rest after 04'Woodward

[JSanity01]

Your right. But you forgot to mention that Frank Stronach did not want to send Ghostzapper to the Dubia World Cup for the fear of the "bounce". And they only had planned 4 races for him that season.

[JSanity01]

Setting a record, while good doesnt make a horse great. Cigar won easily, he didnt have to set records. You clearly see Jerry Baily easing him up in many of races. Ive seen plenty of horses set records and you hardly hear of them. How come no one talks about Pleasant Tap's win in the 92' Gold Cup in 1:58 4/5? Skip Away and In Excess are the only other 2 to run that at Belmont Park. But you wouldnt consider Pleasant Tap or In Excess a great one. Good yes but not great.

[ghostzapper2006]

Easily the best horse we have seen in the past 15 years. This horse would have handed Cigar, Skip Away and the like their heads on a platter at any distance. Huge natural speed, huge natural burst and an ability to do it sprinting, at a classic distance, on the lead or from behind.

[jasonm921]

Absolutely correct. Amazing horse that few will remember 10 years from now.

[jhordanian]

You've got to be kidding. Zapper was very good, with amazing brilliance. But he was not any faster than Skip Away and cannot come close to Skippy or Cigar's durability and accomplishments. Looking at the average of a horse's top 3 Beyers

1.Formal Gold-125

2.Ghostzapper-124.6

3.Skip Away-122

For top 5 Beyers

1.Formal Gold-122.4

2.Ghostzapper-122

3.Skip Away-121.4

So, Skip Away was just slightly slower than Zap and Formal Gold was faster.But Skip Away accomplished so much more

[howtosquareacircle]

Take the average of all career races. It's a much better judge.

(Hint: Ghostzapper is a good 3 ish points ahead of everyone).

[jhordanian]

I don't believe the average for career races is a great tool because it rewards horses that ran fewer races, particularly horses that didn't run much as a 2 year old(Beyers are much slower for a 2 yr old)and that were retired early, before slowing when older. However, a horse that ran this decade is right up there with Gzapper for career avg Beyers: Kona Gold. In 30 career races, KG avg. =109.8 (just off Zapper's 110.3). But for 30 races! In KG first 21 races, his avg was 112. 112 for 21 races!

[jhordanian]

How many races did Ghostzapper win at a classic distance? One. How many races did he win around two turns? Two. Who did he beat in the Iselin? The best one was a gr.III runner. And in the one race he won at 10furlongs, he was able to get away with a 47 half and 1:11 and 1 for 6 furlongs. In winning the 97 Classic Skippy went the half in 46 and 1 and 6furlongs in 109 and 3. Skippy won 5 gr.1 races at 10 furlongs and ran at least a 114 Beyer in 14 of last 17 starts.Zapper ran a 114 six times ever

[jhordanian]

Easily best?Would have handed Skip Away his head? Got to be kidding.Ghostzapper was brilliant, but he did not accomplish enough to be considered a truly great one. The fact is that to be judged a great one a horse has to win races, a good number of races. Unfortunately, Zapper was not sound enough and/or did not have the constitution to make a sufficient number of starts. And one race at 10furlongs, even though impressive, is simply not enough evidence to rank a horse with the all-timers.

[howtosquareacircle]

Racing a lot has nothing to do with beating a single horse.

[JSanity01]

Thank you. It takes alot more then speed figures to determine a great. Horses like Cigar, Easy Goer, Sunday Silence, Holy Bull and Skip Away brought it every time they ran. I am not disrespecting Ghostzapper at all, but when you look at it, he was a basically a flash in the pan. Freakishly fast animal, but was too fragile.

[jhordanian]

Even if use the criteria of Beyer speed figures over 3 or 5 races, Ghostzapper is not the best horse of the last 15 years, and certainly not easily best. Looking at the average of a horse's top 3 Beyers:

1.Formal Gold-125

2.Ghostzapper-124.6

3.Skip Away-122.6

Top 5 races:

1.Formal Gold-122.4

2.Ghostzapper-122

3.Skip Away-121.4

So, Formal Gold was faster and Skip Away just slightly slower. But Skippy was consistently able to bring that type of performance over a long span of races- 10 gr1

[secruf1989]

easy goers beyers were better than all of them,he threw up some 126s,125s.124s..not to mention his great 2yo beyers and his brilliant gotham..eg was far superior to ghostzapper,formal gold and skip away

[jhordanian]

Iknow Easy Goer ran a 123 in the BC Classic, 122 in the Travers, and 118 or 116 in the Gotham, 110 in Wood. I have heard his Belmont may have been as high as 126. Is this true? How about his Whitney, Woodward, Jockey Club Gold Cup? Do you know the Beyers? He also got a 120 for the 90' Suburban.

[secruf1989]

yeah, i believe eg got the same beyer as ss in the bcup-124,the same beyer as ss in the preakness-118 or 117, the travers i believe was a 123 or 124 as one of the fastest travers ever behind gen.assembly,the gotham was i believe a 118 or a 120 not a 116 as the fastest derby preps ever with bellamy road, the whitney i believe was a 125 as eg was 2/5 of a sec. off the track record at sar.i read those in the old racing times..i dont know all of them,they should have a book of beyers for top horses

[jhordanian]

One day I went to the races, maybe opening day at Sanat Anita, and the Racing Form was supposed to have a special supplemental section listing the top 100 Beyer figs ever. I was so excited, but when I looked through my Form I didnt find it. I then went around to other people to see if they had it, and no one did. I wonder if it was actually published and, if so, how many people still have a copy. Wouldnt it be awesome to know the top 100 Beyers!

[secruf1989]

and yes easy goers belmont was an awesome 126-the best beyer ever for a horse in a triple crown race, i think it was the best beyer ever for a 3yo, i believe??..i mean those beyers for secretariat were estimates-the 139 or 140 in the belmont..i wonder what horses like secr. would have gotten, or ruffian in the spinway or her other races..or slew and the bid u know..they would be estimates but im sure they would be amazing

[jhordanian]

Beyer figs were first published in 1991, but Andy Beyer had been making his figures privately since the 70s. Secretariat's Belmont was a 138 (Ive also seen 148) with his other races 126-129, General Assembly's Travers a 130. Affirmed's best fig was a 128 in the 79' Jockey Club Gold Cup(over Bid'). As for Seattle Slew, Beyer was not very impressed with him, that is until his 4 year old season. This suggests his figs for the Triple Crown were not high but his Marlboro and Woodward of 78' were

[secruf1989]

wow, i didnt know that he made them in the 70s..i thought those were estimates..how do u get all your beyers from the past(pre 1992)?..i saw a few in his books or columns that he wrote..and some in the racing times

[jhordanian]

The highest figs since 1986 were: Groovy- back to back 130+; Turkoman, Precisionist, and Ghostzapper 128; Dubai Millenium 127 (estimate of Dubai World Cup); Gentlemen, Formal Gold and Easy Goer 126. You got Easy Goer's figs from the Racing Times? As for Formal Gold, he ran that 126 and also had 125 and 124in three straight races. Gentlemen, after that 126, reeled of 121 and 121 in his next two starts. Best Pal had 121, 119, 123, and 121 in 4 consecutive races.

[jhordanian]

Beyer figs would be a little deceptive for horses like Forego, Kelso, Discovery, and other handicap stars of yesteryear because they do not take into account weight carried. The Sheets (like Ragozin) do take into account weight carried, ground lost, in addition to the final time and track variant. Since Sunday Silence/Easy Goer, the best sheets horses over a large set of races have been Cigar, Skip Away, and Kona Gold. Ghostzapper is up there, but over fewer races.

[jhordanian]

As it concerns the "sheets", I remember reading that Formal Gold and Gentlemen, altough with better Beyers, were not close to Cigar on the sheets. It seems that Cigar's brilliance translated better into the sheets than Beyers.I also remember reading that Kona Gold had a crazy good sheets career, rivaled only by Cigar and Skippy. These three horses ran ridiculously low numbers (lower the better) race after race after..

[secruf1989]

yeah im not too familiar with the sheets, they are not readily available(especially for great horses from the past) but they do take more factors into the figure...the beyers can be a little biased, like u said beyer didnt like slew as a 3yo, he defintely didnt like his grandson cigar too much either..though,it would be great to see the beyers for the top horses prior to 1992.

[theOlLineRebel]

The Secretariat numbers weren't "estimates", per se. But they were more primeval days of figure-making for Beyer. In fact he started with a 148 and later worked it down to 139. It's just that over the years he worked out kinks to his system more.  But those were the actual #s he calculated, not merely guessed and rated as Timeform would do.

[JSanity01]

If Easy Goer ran a 123 in the Classic, what was Sunday Silence's figure then? just curious.

[heartofalion77]

Easy Goer actually ran a 124 in the Classic, same as SS!! Same figure of 124! The Preakness, they BOTH ran a 115!! But hears something about Easy Goer's astronomical beyers. Easy Goer ran a 126 in his Belmont win, he ran a 120 in the Gotham record mile, he ran a 122 in the Whitney, a 124 in the Travers, 117 in the Woodward,a 122 in the Jockey Club Gold Cup,the 124 in the Classic, a 122 in the Suburban, and a 116 in the Champagne as champion 2y.o. as the fastest beyer ever for a 2yo

[JSanity01]

Wow, thats it? Im not downplaying it, just thought the numbers would be alil higher in the Gotham and Preakness. Which cements my theory that Beyer figures is just a man-made handicapping tool and should not be used soley on determing greatest.

[heartofalion77]

I hear you. Although the Gotham is tied for the highest beyer in any K.Derby prep race along with Bellamy Road's Wood Mem. His 126 in the Belmont is the fastest beyer in any triple crown race by far,the closest is a 118 of Smarty Jones in the 04' Preakness!That 126, I believe is the fastest beyer EVER by any 3y.o. Easy Goer has the fastest beyer ever for any 2y.o. & the fastest beyer for any 3y.o!! And Easy Goer ran 7 Beyers of 120+, 7 of them!! Amazingly his great arch rival had only 1 over 120

[caliwaters88]

@heartofalion77 ZAPP in "ISLEN BeerdrsCup HANDCPP @ MONMOUTH PARK", 1/8, muddy, 128 beyer 1:47. best since GROOVY'S(sprinter)130 beyer,1987. andrew beyer who obviously created the system said after calculating secretariats belmont cuz he hadn't developed the beyer rating system yet said sec's was a safe 139 maybe even slightly higher had he had the opportunity to check out the track. and goers rival was a born racer some r born supfast but may notlike racing as much

[JSanity01]

Interesting facts. Do you remember the tear that In Excess went on in NY in 1991? What was his speed figures? Formal Gold had Skip Away's number in 97, but I dont think he would have beaten him at a 1 1/4. I personally do not like using speed figures to determine a great horse since the beyer figure is a man-made handicapping tool that has alot of factors in determing a figure such.

[cf1970]

The Zapper was an astonishing horse. A real shame he had the physical troubles he did. Even so, his short career is legendary in my books. Thanks for posting this. Take care.

[televin]

He really didn't have physical trouble

[cf1970]

I'll clarify. It was found that he battled quarter cracks before his 4 year old debut. It delayed that debut for six months.

Then after his final sprint race, the 2005 Met Mile, a nuclear scan was done at New Bolton and again they found a small crack, and thought it best to retire him.

The Zapper might have gone on to do more amazing things, but he had more than proven himself already.

Take care.