Ghost Hunter on track for Arlington Million

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Ghost Hunter, whose 46th career start produced the first graded stakes win of his career last month in the Grade 3 Arlington Handicap, remains on track to race Aug. 12 in the Arlington Million.

“We’re still on pace to run,” said Jamie Ness, who trains Ghost Hunter for Triple K Stables. “He’s doing fine.”

Ghost Hunter has merely been galloping at Delaware Park since notching a 12-1 upset July 8 in the Arlington Handicap and will only have one serious timed workout for the Million, about 10 days from the race. Ness said he could blow out Ghost Hunter just before the 7-year-old gelding travels by van to Arlington on Aug. 12.

“Maybe the key to him running so good has been lightening up his training, so we’ll follow the same pattern he’s been on,” Ness said.

A mid-level claimer much of his career, Ghost Hunter has earned close to $300,000 racing on turf and synthetics the last two calendar years. The 1 3/16-mile Arlington Handicap was the longest win of his career, and in the Million he’ll be trying 1 1/4 miles for the first time, to say nothing of facing the strongest competition he’s ever met.

Murrill’s good week

The jockey Mitchell Murrill won 148 Arlington races during the 2015 and 2016 seasons, but after returning from a short stint riding on the East Coast earlier this summer, Murrill was 2 for 30 at Arlington entering last week’s racing.

But Murrill turned things around in a hurry. During the four racing days last week, which included only 30 races, Murrill won eight times from 20 mounts.

“I was riding very confident all along,” said Murrill, 22, whose agent is Tim Hanisch. “It was just getting back in the door with the trainers and owners and getting their trust again.”