Last spring, I got an e-mail from a man in New Hampshire, or maybe it was Vermont, asking if I knew what had happened to Ghostzapper. It struck me as an odd query, considering the racing universe was in the midst of Smarty Jones madness. With almost everyone obsessing about the people's horse going for a Triple Crown, here was a person thinking about a 4-year-old who had never won beyond 7 furlongs.

I told him I wasn't sure, that I thought Ghostzapper was recuperating from an injury, and that I was almost certain he hadn't been retired. Then I went back to cranking out another thousand words about Smarty.

I hope that guy put plenty of money on Ghostzapper last Saturday in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Lone Star Park. Whoever you are, if you're reading this, let me know. Since he was thinking about the colt before he made a full recovery from minor foot trouble and returned to action July 4, he deserved to have made a score. Yet with the way this game goes, chances are he didn't.

Maybe, like me, he figured that Ghostzapper was vulnerable trying 1 1/4 miles for the first time. Maybe he liked another horse better, such as Birdstone or Funny Cide, my top two picks, who finished up the track. For his sake, I hope not.

I have to admit that I didn't think of Ghostzapper as a possibility for Horse of the Year before the Classic, but he's the one. Smarty Jones disappeared too soon, and he didn't do any more than Funny Cide did a year ago, when the Kentucky Derby-Preakness double didn't earn him the big prize. Losses by Birdstone, Kitten's Joy and Roses In May on Saturday eliminated them from contention, so trainer Bobby Frankel and owner/breeder Frank Stronach will be picking up Eclipse Awards for male handicap horse and Horse of the Year.

On Sunday, the Hall of Fame horseman and the multi-billionaire racetrack owner held court at the traditional morning-after media breakfast.

"Breeders' Cup day hasn't been a great day for me," said Frankel, who is a miserable 3-for-63 in the championship events. "But this time the dream came true. I think [Horse of the Year] is a no-brainer.

"[Ghostzapper] is very versatile. He can go 6 furlongs with the best of them, and he can come from 15 or 20 lengths out of it or win on the lead. He can win going long on the lead. He loves mud, and he doesn't have to take his racetrack with him.

"He's a dream horse, and possibly a super horse."

The son of 1998 Classic winner Awesome Again set a stakes record (1:59.02) in the 21st running of the Classic, closing in a brilliant 23.64 seconds while winning by three lengths for regular rider Javier Castellano. Chasing him futilely all the way was Roses In May, who was trying to complete a 6-for-6 season. His trainer saluted his conqueror.

"Ghostzapper is a super horse," Dale Romans said. "He may be the best horse we've seen in a long time. We picked a bad year to have a top horse for the Classic."

Ghostzapper showed remarkable speed and versatility in a 4-for-4 campaign that began Independence Day with a 4?-length romp in the 7-furlong, Grade II Tom Fool Handicap at Belmont Park. He coasted by 10? lengths in the slop Aug. 21 in the 1 1/8-mile, Grade II Iselin Handicap at Monmouth Park. His final prep for the Classic came Sept. 11 in the Grade I Woodward Handicap at Belmont, when he edged Saint Liam by a neck at 1 1/8 miles. His Beyers were 120, 128, 114 and 124. Case closed.

Stronach, a man known for his acquisitiveness, not his sense of humor, got a laugh Sunday morning.

"I'm not really religious," he said, "but I did say a silent prayer Saturday: 'In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, please let Ghostzapper win.' ''

Amen, brother, and pass out the Eclipses.