The narrow second choice of the crowd of 16,508 to Love of Money, Funny Cide ran one of his oddest, yet strongest, races to win by 3/4 of a length in 2:02.44. He also might have earned a another try at the $4 million Breeders' Cup Classic at Lone Star Park, Texas on Saturday, October 30th.
Funny Cide raced up close, then was wrestled back off Love of Money, who set the early pace of :24 47 3/5; and 1:11 3/5 before giving way to 20-1 Newfoundland. But on the second turn, Funny Cide dropped back and even track announcer Tom Durkin suggested that the gelding was stopping. Suddenly, Santos brought him outside as The Cliff's Edge came up on Funny Cide's outside. Funny Cide surged, and got home the winner to a hero's welcome.
"I thought he was done," said winning trainer Barclay Tagg. "Maybe he just wanted to take a breather, I don't know. I kept telling Jose (Santos) to take him back and cover him up a little bit, but he didn't do it until the quarter-pole. I don't know what happened there. I haven't had a chance to talk to Jose yet. I was about ready to get sick there, but he came back running and he always does that. Even when he's been headed before, he's always come back strongly. All this week, he's really, really been doing well. I told the owners, `If he gets beat in this race, even if it's an inch, I don't want to go to Texas, because he's been beaten enough this year.' But I said, `If he wins it, we'll have to go.' I guess they want to go."
Last year, on October 25th at Santa Anita, Funny Cide ran ninth in a 10-horse field. He clearly had trouble with the heat and smoke from wildfires and ran his poorest race. He also hadn't run since August 3rd, when he ran third in the 2003 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. This time, he will be shipping to a spot where seasonal temperatures are in the mid 70s, he will be coming off a winning race in which he again showed courage and he will have four weeks to get it together.
"We were wondering what was going on," said Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Sackatoga Stable. "He was dropping back a little bit, but he's done that before. He went through some traffic, got bumped around a little bit and really dug in. That was a great effort. Barclay (Tagg) has him honed; that's probably the best he's ever been and he showed it today. He has no quit in him. He doesn't always win, but he's always there. This is 17 out of 20 on the board and there aren't a lot of horses that do that."
It was the second Jockey Club Gold Cup win for Jose Santos, who first won this race in 1988 aboard Waquoit, and was especially meaningful. Under weight-for-age conditions, Funny Cide carried 126 pounds, while The Cliff's Edge and Love of Money carried 122 as three-year-olds.
"I didn't want Love of Money to get away with an easy lead," Santos said. "I knew Funny Cide had the speed, so I pushed him a little bit coming out of the gate. Love of Money tried to slow the pace down, and then fell back. That's when I decided to take the lead again. After the :47 (: 47 3/5) half, I felt more comfortable with this horse because I know him well. Unfortunately, I couldn't ride him last time because I broke my arm. Even with half of an arm, I was still able to win with him. I let him go, hit him a couple of times and he took off. He won like a champion."
Newfoundland, who has not won since taking Gulfstream's Skip Away seven starts ago, may have earned his berth in the Classic as well. "I'm happy we took a shot," said trainer Todd Pletcher. "He's a little quirky like I said. When he's in the clear, he's a much better horse. I would say he ran awfully close to his Suburban (beaten a neck by Peace Rules on July 3). I'll talk to the owners (about going to the Breeders' Cup Classic). Based on this race and the Suburban, you could make a case and take a shot."
Result Chart race 10
On to the:
Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
Flower Bowl Invitational
Vosburgh Stakes
