At first glance, Ghostzapper's Woodward victory doesn't look like anything to get excited about. For a horse who was being accorded superstar status after he earned an off-the-charts 128 Beyer when winning the Iselin Handicap at Monmouth, his Woodward was a struggle. He won by a mere neck over a horse, Saint Liam, who is not even a stakes winner, and his Beyer figure crashed back to earth at a 114.

But the Ghostzapper bandwagon need not lose any passengers. For him, this was a race of subtle positives, and one that should set him up perfectly for the Oct. 30 Breeders' Cup Classic. Fear not. He's going to be fine.

Coming off the crazy-good race in the Iselin, in which earned the highest Beyer figure since the numbers were first published in the Daily Racing Form in 1992, he figured to bounce. Not only was he coming back in just three weeks, but no horse can string races like that back to back.. He wasn't able to run his A race, but still managed to win. That's what good horses do.

Trainer Bobby Frankel now has seven weeks to get him ready for the Breeders' Cup Classic, plenty of time to fine tune him and have him back at his very best. He should also have a horse who has learned how to fight. The sort of battle that Ghostzapper engaged in with Saint Liam can do a horse wonders down the road.

It started almost early, as the two hooked up midway down the backstretch. They blazed through the second and third quarters in impossibly fast fractions, while completing the opening six furlongs in 1:08 3/5. Still, no one was able to make up any ground on the top two as they continued to slug it out in the stretch, while Saint Liam banged into the resolute Ghostzapper.

Ghostzapper had been winning all of his recent races easilyÐmaybe too easily. After the Woodward, if someone looks him in the eye in the Classic, he should be ready.

"He always won his races easily, but he fought on and ran a big race today," Frankel said afterward. "I thought we had Saint Liam when he moved up alongside him. I'm glad it's over with."

Said winning jockey Javier Castellano: "I love this horse. He's got a good, good heart. This is the first time he had to win like this (in a stretch battle) and he showed how good he really is."

And perhaps it's unfair to underestimate Saint Liam, who finished 9 1/4 lengths ahead of the third-place horse, the capable Bowman's Band. Trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. has proven capable of cranking horses up for huge efforts when they're not always expected. Look at the work he did with Offlee Wild in the MassCap.

Ghostzapper is no cinch to beat Pleasantly Perfect, Birdstone or any one else who shows up at Lone Star for the Classic, but he's cleared every obstacle on the way. Based on the numbers, he's the fastest horse in the country, he's now a Grade I winner in a route race and he's got class and toughness. Think what you want, his Woodward was a big race.

Losing its zip
There was a time when the Zippy Chippy story seemed somewhat amusing. It was easy to play up the loveable loser angle while the hopeless thoroughbred compiled loss after loss. But there comes a time when enough is enough. There's nothing even remotely cute or entertaining about a 13-year-old horse getting trounced by bottom-level competition at the Northampton Fair.

Zippy Chippy has made two more starts this year, both at Northampton, which features some of the worst racing run in North America, and has beaten a grand total of one horse in his two starts. His most recent outing was his 100th career loss.

What's the point? If he can do no better than finish last at the Northampton Fair then there is not a race run on this planet that he can win. And he's 13 years old. Owner-trainer Felix Monserrate has always professed his affections for this horse, yet told reporters after the last race that he has no plans to retire the him.

"He got a bad break today," said Monserrate. "He will come here next week again."

It's time for this sad joke to end and for the Zippy Chippy show to have a fitting ending. Retire him now and give him a good home.