(October 30, 2004)- Ghostzapper, ridden by Javier Castellano and trained by Bobby Frankel for owner Stronach Stables, led every step of the way to win Saturday's $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge by three lengths in front of 53,717 racing fans that turned out for Texas' first Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie.

Following are quotes from the connections of every entrant in the deep Classic field:

Bobby Frankel, trainer, first, Ghostzapper – “He ran the way I thought he would. The way this day had been going, (five earlier Frankel horses failed to finish in the money), I thought I was going to be in for a disaster. This sure make things better.

“This is as big a win as I’ve had in my career. In fact, it could be the biggest win I’ve had in my career. This is a good horse; a really good horse. I told the rider (Javier Castellano) that if anybody wanted to try and go past you on the lead, let them go ahead and do it. I wanted him to ride this horse like he was on the best horse and he did. And he was."

Javier Castellano, jockey, first, Ghostzapper – “I had all the confidence in the world. He broke well and I took him off the rail. Bobby (Frankel) said it was OK to take him a little bit off the rail. Azeri was outside of me and then she moved to the inside. There was no question that he wouldn’t go wire-to-wire. He’s that sharp. Bobby said whatever you want to do with him, it’s your job.

(on his Breeders’ Cup debut) “I was disappointed the last time (2001 at Belmont with Exogenous) and the bad luck that day. I was very depressed. Today, I felt so emotional. I really appreciate the advice and confidence from my family, especially Terry (Meyocks, father-in-law).”

Dale Romans, trainer, second, Roses in May – “He ran as hard as he could. I’m proud of both of my horses. I'm more disappointed that the other horse (Kitten’s Joy) couldn't win. This horse had a perfect trip. Ghostzapper is a super horse. 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.”

John Velazquez, jockey, second, Roses in May – “The race worked out the way I thought it would. I was laying right where I wanted to be. I was head-and-head with Ghostzapper at the half-mile pole, and I felt from there that the best horse would win. Obviously, he (Ghostzapper) had a little more than I did.”

Richard Mandella, trainer, third, Pleasantly Perfect – “I haven’t seen a rerun. Jerry (Bailey) said he had a tough trip. It's disappointing to come off where we've been. It looked like all the speed was going to run on, but they took back and bunched it up.”

Jerry Bailey, jockey, third, Pleasantly Perfect – “I couldn’t ever get him settled and I got hung wide on both turns. The post position pretty much cost me. He showed a lot of guts but you can’t run 1 ¼ miles on the bridle like that. It just doesn’t work.”

Murray Johnson, trainer, fourth, Perfect Drift – “We’re happy. We got a check this year. That’s better than the last two (Classics). He got a little pinned up in there. Kent (Desormeaux) said he ran hard and gave him everything. We'll probably keep him going for the Clark Handicap (Churchill Downs on Nov. 26).

Kent Desormeaux, jockey, fourth, Perfect Drift – “He fought hard for me. I was happy with his effort. He put me everywhere I wanted to be; when I asked him to go faster, he did. Unfortunately, there are some in there that ran faster.”

D. Wayne Lukas, trainer, fifth, Azeri – “We didn’t get away as clean as we would have liked to. There was a little bit of action in the first 30 yards. We wanted the three or four lane. Instead we got down on the inside, and we didn't have a choice. It was the way the race unfolded, not anything Pat (Day) did. I thought she ran well. We took our shot, she ran hard and beat a lot of them that you guys (media) liked.”

Pat Day, jockey, fifth, Azeri – “She floated her head back right at the break and then she got pinched. Two horses took up the space. But then she settled nicely behind the pace but when they took off at the three-eighths pole, she wasn’t able to track them down. It was a good effort. There was no disgrace.”

Kenji Yamauchi, trainer, sixth, Personal Rush – “He was not 100 percent for this race. The long trip from Japan, the different feed and the strange atmosphere were all against him.”

Frankie Dettori, jockey, sixth, Personal Rush – “He was shifting in the gate and missed the break. I thought he ran good. I think we finished sixth and he beat Funny Cide. He did not disgrace himself. Basically, I think he wants more distance.

Nick Zito, trainer, seventh, Birdstone – “He was back in the pack between horses, not an ideal spot. At this track, you have to be closer to the pace, which is not his style. But it’s been a beautiful season, and I’m proud of him.”

Edgar Prado, jockey, seventh, Birdstone – “The eight horse (Personal Rush) came in on us and took away our position. From that point on, it wasn’t easy for us. My horse tried, but he really didn’t handle the track once he lost position.”

Christophe Clement, trainer, eighth, Dynever – “I have nothing to say.”

Corey Nakatani, jockey, eighth, Dynever – “There was no pace in the race. I let him run out of there and then drop over but I couldn’t get down inside. Funny Cide run up inside of me and bumped me, and that was that. He never relaxed after that.

Bobby Barnett, trainer, ninth, Fantasticat – “He made a run late but he had too much ground to make up against these kind.”

Gerard Melancon, jockey, ninth, Fantasticat – “He broke sharp and I tried to save as much ground as I could, but he could not compete with these horses. He beat a decent field the last time (Super Derby), but nothing like these.

Barclay Tagg, trainer, 10th, Funny Cide – “He ran terrible. He didn't handle the track. I don't know if it was because it (the track) was drying out, but I know he didn’t want any part of it.”

Jose Santos, jockey, 10th, Funny Cide – “He broke well in the first jump. He was in perfect position, but it wasn’t long before he started to struggle. He made three different moves. The last was a strong move around the three-eighths pole and that got him in position. But after that, he was through. He struggled the whole time with the track. What can you say? Some horses like it and some horses don’t.”

H. Allen Jerkens, trainer, 11th, Bowman’s Band, – “He ran bad, but he had no chance to win. He was 60-to-1.”

Cornelio Velasquez, jockey, 11th, Bowman’s Band – “We were not lucky today. My horse has no speed and they went too slow the first part.”

Todd Pletcher, trainer, 12th, Newfoundland – “We got a perfect trip, but he just didn’t go on when the momentum of the race picked up at the 3 1/2 (pole). At 38-to-1, I didn’t really expect to win, but I was disappointed he didn’t hang in a little longer than he did.”

Eibar Coa, jockey, 12th, Newfoundland – “I was pretty much where I wanted to be, but I was empty past the three-eighths (pole). I was already without horse so I just sort of let him go from there.”

Greta Kuntzweiler, jockey, 13th, Freefourinternet – “I think we were compromised by the pace. They didn’t come back to him. He didn’t have a chance to catch them.”