That's not Funny
Triple Crown hopes fall by way Cide as Empire Maker has the last laugh
By ROB LONGLEY -- Toronto Sun
ELMONT, N.Y. -- For more than a mile he had plowed through the Belmont Park mud, seemingly carving out his path to eternal fame.
Then the odds, history and, most significantly, a better horse caught up to Funny Cide.
It is now 25 years and counting since racing had a Triple Crown winner and you have to wonder if the sport of kings will ever see another coronation.
The Empire struck back in a big way in yesterday's final jewel as beaten Kentucky Derby favourite Empire Maker had his day.
After leading for two-thirds of the 1 1/2 marathon that is the Belmont Stakes, Funny Cide was no match for the winner in the desperate race to the wire.
Maybe it was the quagmire that bogged him down. Maybe it was his modest pedigree. Or maybe it showed just how difficult it is to win the sport's elusive prize.
Beaten and muddied, Funny Cide could do no better than third, five lengths behind the winner and 4 1/4 in arrears of runner up Ten Most Wanted.
"I feel bad for the people who came out to see this," said Funny Cide's trainer, Barclay Tagg. "We were beaten by a better horse. I don't know what else to say, I am being honest. It is horse racing."
It was more than that yesterday as a crowd of 101,864 weathered a long day of driving rain to witness the bid of one of the most popular Crown contenders in years.
The tale of his small-town owners from the New York shores of Lake Ontario, who hit the equivalent of a four-legged lottery, was too good to be true.
Bred, trained and owned by New Yorkers, he was the toast of the toddling town as his attempt to become the sport's 12th ultimate champion approached.
The disappointment at Funny Cide's failure was so stinging that they booed the winner when he returned to the winner's circle, a rarity in racing.
"I know the sentiment of the New York fans," Empire Maker's jockey, Jerry Bailey, said. "I think they were just more upset at Funny Cide losing than at Empire Maker winning."
Even in defeat, Funny Cide's jockey, Jose Santos, was touched at the emotional attachment his horse had created.
"I had never seen a horse get beat and people still cheering for him," Santos said.
Content being cast as the villain, the only apology Empire Maker's trainer Bobby Frankel was making was for losing the Derby where he was the heavy favourite.
Rather than racing him in the Preakness, Frankel instead took Empire Maker back to New York and prepared him for a task he was convinced he could handle.
"It is racing and anything can happen, but I was confident in this horse all week," Frankel said. "There was no doubt in my mind he would win."
Bailey, who was criticized for the wide trip he gave his horse in Kentucky, shared that sentiment. After settling nicely behind Funny Cide for the opening mile, he had his rival where he wanted when it mattered most.
As the two splashed around the final turn as a team, Funny Cide could barely keep up. A hard-charging Ten Most Wanted made it interesting in the closing strides, but by then the drama of the moment had been sucked away.
On a track rated sloppy, Empire Maker ran the 1 1/2 miles in 2:28.26 and returned $6 at the windows.
"I rode him like he was the best horse," Bailey said. "I thought he was the best going in and he proved it."
He also proved just how elusive the Triple Crown truly is. For the fifth time since 1997, a Crown bid has been buried at the Long Island track.
But none of those failures felt more like a wake than yesterday.
"I don't feel disappointed at all about this horse," said Santos.
"We tried to win the Triple Crown and to win the Triple Crown is very difficult.
"I am very proud of him."
BELMONT STAKES
1 1/2 MILES. ADDED 3 YEAR OLDS.
PURSE $1,000,000
1 (1) Empire Maker 6.00 3.70 2.80
6 (6) Ten Most Wanted 5.80 3.20
4 (4) Funny Cide 2.70
PAYOUTS IN $US
