Shaman Ghost likely to contest Prince of Wales

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – A Queen’s Plate winner has not traveled down the Queen Elizabeth Way to contest the Prince of Wales Stakes at Fort Erie Race Track since 2010, but that should change this year.

Trainer Brian Lynch said moments after Shaman Ghost won the Queen’s Plate at Woodbine on Sunday that the son of Ghostzapper likely will run in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown at 1 3/16 miles on dirt July 28. Shaman Ghost ($8.60), the second choice in a field of 13 Canadian-bred 3-year-olds in the Queen’s Plate, won by 1 1/4 lengths over the favored Danish Dynaformer, stopping the clock in 2:03.45 for 1 1/4 miles on Polytrack.

“He just needs to come out of this race in good order,” Lynch said. “Fitness-wise, you couldn’t get him any fitter than he is. I was absolutely thrilled with the way he walked out of the winner’s circle. I think we just keep him healthy and happy over the next three weeks and coast him into Fort Erie.”

Shaman Ghost will aim to become the first Canadian Triple Crown winner since Wando in 2003, and Lynch said he thinks Shaman Ghost is versatile enough to handle all three surfaces of the Canadian Triple Crown. Shaman Ghost has won twice on dirt and was fourth in his lone turf start over a mile at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 3.

“I ran him on the grass at Gulfstream, and I thought he ran really well that day,” he said. “It was part of the learning process, and he exposed himself to us that day that he was going to be a nice distance horse. He had no trouble on the grass, and I foresee that he won’t have it in the Breeders’ Stakes either.”

Sunday’s win marked the first Queen’s Plate victory for Lynch, who said his narrow loss in the 2008 Queen’s Plate with Ginger Brew had weighed on him heavily.

“I was beat a head, and I walked away from here like I was carrying the weight of the world,” he said. “Now, I feel like I’m on top of the world.”