Queen's Plate pedigree profile: Rising Star
Rising Star
Ghostzapper–Purple Trillium, by Seeking the Gold
Bred in Ontario by William D. Graham ($325,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Fox Hill Farm)
Queen’s Plate hopeful Rising Star will attempt to give his sire a third winner of the first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Ghostzapper, the 2004 Horse of the Year, won at distances from six furlongs to the 1 1/4 miles of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, earning Beyer Speed Figures as high as an astonishing 128. His progeny have inherited the stamina typical of his line but have also shown the ability to run at various distances, as he did, and versatility on multiple surfaces, a plus when eyeing the Canadian Triple Crown.
Ghostzapper’s top runners include Sovereign Award champion and multiple Grade 1 winner Shaman Ghost, who won the Queen’s Plate and finished second in the second leg of the Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales. Ghostzapper’s daughter Holy Helena also won the Queen’s Plate and was a Canadian champion. In addition to winning the Queen’s Plate on a synthetic surface, she is a multiple graded stakes winner on turf and a Grade 3-placed winner on dirt.
Ghostzapper is also the sire of Canadian champion Hunters Bay; Better Lucky, a multiple Grade 1 winner on turf who was second in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint; and Grade 1 winners Guarana, Molly Morgan, Moreno, Paulassilverlining, Stately Victor, and Za Approval.
Ghostzapper is by fellow Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and fellow classic sire Awesome Again, the sire of 2013 Preakness Stakes winner Oxbow, 2019 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Winston, 2012 Belmont runner-up Paynter, and 2018 Preakness runner-up Bravazo.
Purple Trillium, a winner on turf, is the dam of Grade 2-placed Seeking Albert. Rising Star’s second dam is Eclipse Award champion turf mare Perfect Sting, the dam of Grade 3 winner Smart Sting, stakes winner Quick Kid, and stakes-placed Perfect Bullet and Sweet Sting. Quick Kid is by Ghostzapper, while Sweet Sting is by Awesome Again, adding credence to this cross.
Seeking the Gold was a leading broodmare sire, responsible for U.S. and Canadian champions Blame, Catch the Thrill, Questing, She Be Wild, Surfside, Take Charge Brandi, and Up With the Birds.
