Red Ghost Rises to Occasion in Miss Preakness

BALTIMORE – Red Ghost lost the lead in mid-stretch but surged up the rail in the final strides to get her nose down on the wire to win Friday’s $150,000 Miss Preakness Stakes (G3) at Pimlico Race Course.

Winning Jockey John Velazquez said “She got passed, almost a length. She was looking to the inside and the other horses passed her. She didn’t even care. She kept looking to the inside and leaning out and I got after her. I got after her at the three-sixteenths pole and she came back.”

Euphoric, Joyful Cadence, and Juror Number Four completed the order. Inject was the lone scratch from the Miss Preakness.

David Flores who is the assistant to winning trainer Wesley Ward said “John [Velazquez] said she was backing up a little bit when the horses went by her. When he got after her she looked like she was not done. He felt like he had horse. She is very competitive and she was able to make a comeback.”

This is the first graded stakes win for Red Ghost. The 3-year-old daughter of Ghostzapper improved her record to 4-3-0-0 and has now earned $182,200 for owner Douglas Scharbauer.

Red Ghost returned $6.20 to win, $4.00 to place, and $2.80 to show.