Ghostzapper held off Saint Liam in a stretchlong duel down the middle of the track to win the $500,000 Woodward Stakes yesterday at Belmont Park.
It was one of three Grade I races at Belmont leading up to the Breeders' Cup on Oct. 30 at Lone Star Park.
Ghostzapper, a 4-year-old colt, established himself as one of the nation's top older horses with his fourth straight victory. He did it with one of the fastest Woodwards ever.
Ridden by Javier Castellano, Ghostzapper covered the mile and an eighth in 1:46.38. Last year, Mineshaft won in 1:46.21, and the record is 1:45.80, set by Forego in 1976.
The victory gave the trainer Bobby Frankel a strong contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic, a race he has never won. Frankel has won three of the last four Woodwards. He won with Lido Palace in 2001 and 2002.
Saint Liam, in his first start since April, set a wicked pace, covering three-quarters of a mile in 1:08.75 and a mile in 1:33.35.
When the field turned for home, however, Ghostzapper was right there and both horses swung out wide as their duel to the wire began. They raced neck and neck until Ghostzapper stuck his neck in front in the final strides.
Ghostzapper won his previous three races easily, including a 10 3/4-length romp in the Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park in his last start. Frankel was not sure what his colt would do in a close race.
''You had to wonder,'' Frankel said. ''He had won his races so easily.. He fought on today.''
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