By Brian DiDonato
Shaman Ghost (Ghostzapper), in the conversation for second-best handicap horse in the country, looks likely to increase his win streak to three in Belmont's $750,000 GII Suburban H. Saturday. Second to Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) in the $12-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Jan. 28, the Stronach homebred relished the 10 panels of the GI Santa Anita H. Mar. 11 to run down versatile locally based GISW Midnight Storm (Pioneerof the Nile). He overcame a slow pace to get up in the GIII Pimlico Special H. last time and will look to atone for a fifth-place run in this event last year in which he traveled on a dead rail and hadn't quite gotten over a cold, according to trainer Jimmy Jerkens. Matt King Coal (Cool Coal Man) figures to show the way early, and could prove tough to collar if he can see out this 1 1/4-mile journey. The bay kicked off his 4-year-old season with a clear-cut optional claiming victory at Laurel Feb. 19, and added a nine-panel stakes victory there a month later. A narrow second to horse-for-course Imperative (Bernardini) and ahead of subsequent GII Brooklyn S. winner War Story (Northern Afleet) in the GII Charles Town Classic S. Apr. 22, he ran away with Penn National's Mountainview S. last out June 3 in a track record-setting performance. “He's coming into the race well,” said trainer Linda Rice. “We know it's going to be a tough race, but he's won a stakes at Laurel and Penn National. I like the distance and we don't have to ship, so we're going to take a shot at it.” West Coast invader Follow Me Crev (Quality Road) was third behind Shaman Ghost in the Big 'Cap, and second to recent Precisionist S. romper Collected (City Zip) in the GII Californian S. Apr. 22. He proved second-best to another Bob Baffert trainee in Cupid (Tapit) in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita May 27, for which he earned a career-best 104 Beyer Speed Figure.
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