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Hall of Fame - Ghost Striker
Original article written by Nathan Klein posted 3 years 0 weeks agoMany people know Pete Vella as one of the best trainers in the Sim with currently over 12,000 victories and more Simmy awards than I have toes. But 19 Sim years ago he was way lesser-known. Just two sim years before that he had been crowned New Trainer Of the Year. He had a great start but there was still plenty he was yet to do. The same year he had been given the New Trainer title he had bred an unraced mare named Honey's Ghost to the legendary sire Strike A Fire.
The resulting foal was a shorty to be sure. Solid dark bay with no markings to be found on his face or legs and a pitiful sounding height of only 15 hands flat. But even with his competition sometimes being as much as 8 inches taller than him it was not the size that mattered to Ghost Striker it was how he used it. He was still as fast as the dickens with six of his workouts being in the top 50 fastest that year. So it came to no surprise that he went into stakes company in his first start. The stigma of his height had been long gone as now he was considered one of the best looking horses for the sprinting division.
He validated everyone's now height expectations winning his first start the Big Red Stakes in a blanket photo finish. In second was Saf Iam The One a 17 hand Quarter Horse. But it was the little horse who won the day a Ghost Striker started his year on the right hoof. But he faltered next time out losing the blanket finish and coming in fourth place. But he wasn't dead yet and Ghost Striker came back with a vengeance using his neck and head as the deciding factors for who won and who lost. His neck and head would be the only things in front in his next three races. All of them were victories, including two grade 1 victories. The hype was on he was the best two-year-old Quarter Horse in the sim and he had two more Grade 1 appearances to make.
The hotshot first ran in the Los Angelitos Futurity. Seemed like an easy way for a hat trick but he broke awkwardly and lost all chance. He came home in fifth place and tons of skepticism. Pete had never won a Steward's Cup at the time and Ghost Striker was his best chance that year. It was a nerve-racking time Ghost Striker had to face off against three 440 racings best two-year-olds. They had dominated mixers for the last 3 sim years overwhelming the competition.
But Pete and his speedy little horse were ready to change that. Out of the gate, Ghost broke fast no awkward start just straight to the point. After that, his powerful legs carried him forward. As the sprinters slowly began to slip but Ghost Striker stayed strong wearing them down until he was leading them. In the middle of a 14 horse heard and taking charge. At the line, Ghost Striker was the winner by a neck. It was a milestone for Pete Vella as he had taken his first Steward's Cup race. Every year after that he has managed to win at least one Steward's Cup year in year out. This sim year he'll hope for a 19th straight year.
The win gave Ghost Striker his only Simmy Award as well as the triple Grade 1 winner took Quarter Horse Champion Two Year Old Male. But he didn't maintain that supremacy the following year. He lost his first two races back with a third and a fifth. Ghost Striker would have one last stand at age 3 when he spoiled the New Mexico Sweepstakes winning by ahead. Another Grade 1 for the cabinet. Then he added the Grade 3 Discotech by the same margin a start later. But that was the last win, he raced three more times with only one third-place finish and two of the board performances.
But his calling really came as a stud. His progeny earned him $35,371,205 and a grand total of 89 stakes winners. But the best of them was Clairvoyant. Only three years after Ghost Striker won his Steward's Cup Pete brought another solid dark bay colt. But ironically Clairvoyant was a giant at 17 hands the complete opposite of his father.
But oh so similar at the same time with the same burst of speed that carried him to victory. He matched every achievement of his father's quadruple Grade 1 winner Steward's Cup winner and Quarter Horse Champion Two-Year-Old Male. But it all started with Ghost Striker. And since then Pete has made his mark on mixers and eventually Thoroughbreds. Wherever he goes Pete strikes and so will the now deceased Ghost Striker.