Hear the Ghost rallies for San Felipe triumph

Taking advantage of a speed duel between the two favorites, Hear the Ghost rallied powerfully in the Santa Anita homestretch to pull a 6-1 upset in the $300,000 San Felipe Stakes (gr. II).

With jockey Corey Nakatani aboard, the son of Ghostzapper got off to a good start at the beginning of the 1 1/16th miles race and soon settled into fourth place as Salutos Amigos led the way through an opening quarter mile in :22.97 seconds. Goldencents was on the outside in second, followed along the inside by Flashback. Hear the Ghost and Kochees were next, followed by Omega Star, Carving, and Tiz a Minister; the latter being about sixteen or eighteen lengths off the lead.

As the field made its way toward the backstretch, Flashback shifted to the outside and made a quick move to challenge for the lead. While Salutos Amigos was content to let him pass, Goldencents was not. In response to Flashback's sudden surge, Goldencents accelerated noticeably, refusing to relinquish the advantage to his rival. Thus, the two colts found themselves dueling through a stiff half-mile in :45.95 seconds, with neither willing to settle back and take a more conservative approach.

In the meantime, Hear the Ghost was racing comfortably in fifth, about five lengths from the front, waiting for the right moment to pounce. That moment came in deep stretch.

Through three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.94 seconds, Flashback and Goldencents continued their duel. Into the homestretch they charged as a pair, with Flashback holding a tenacious advantage past the eighth pole.

Then, on the far outside, Hear the Ghost began to rally. With Nakatani urging him on, Hear the Ghost unleashed an spectacular late challenge inside the final furlong, making up 6 1/2 lengths to hit the wire in front by a half-length over a determined Flashback. The final time was a good 1:42.34 seconds.

Tiz a Minister also rallied well to finish third, a half-length behind Flashback. Goldencents was another 1 1/4 lengths back in fourth, followed distantly by Salutos Amigos, Carving, Omega Star, and Kochees.

The winner is trained by Jerry Hollendorfer and owned by Jerry Hollendorfer and Halo Farms.

-Keelerman