Shaman Ghost to have throat procedure, will miss Woodward

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Shaman Ghost, the winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap this year, is scheduled to undergo throat surgery Monday and will miss the Grade 1, $750,000 Woodward Stakes here on Sept. 4, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said.

Jerkens said Shaman Ghost was making a noise during his morning training recently, and further evaluation revealed an issue.

“He was dealing with it, and you don’t mind them dealing with it, but then when you see it affecting the way they breeze, you got to try to do something,” Jerkens said.

Shaman Ghost will have the procedure at Cornell Ruffian Equine Specialists, across the street from Belmont Park.

Jerkens was unsure how much time Shaman Ghost would miss. He did say that owner Frank Stronach’s long-term goal with Shaman Ghost is the $16 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in late January. Shaman Ghost finished second to Arrogate in last January’s inaugural Pegasus, which was worth $12 million.

“To have another try at the Pegasus is the main objective,” Jerkens said. “How we get there we can’t say.”

Shaman Ghost, a 5-year-old son of Ghostzapper, won the Santa Anita Handicap and Grade 3 Pimlico Special following the Pegasus. Most recently, Shaman Ghost finished second to Keen Ice in the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont on July 8.