The Last Word
The rivalry between Empire Maker and Funny Cide doesn't end with the Belmont Stakes. A can't-miss rematch may be in store for late August.
By ROB LONGLEY -- Toronto Sun
ELMONT, N.Y. -- The stunned silence at Belmont Park was interrupted by the occasional catcall drifting down with the rain and into the winner's circle.
This was New York, don't forget.
"Those ain't roses, no roses for you," one heckler reportedly barked at the victorious jockey Jerry Bailey.
No, Empire Maker didn't win the Run for the Roses, better known as the Kentucky Derby.
By the end of the summer though, that may well be the only knock against the worthy winner of Saturday's final jewel of the Triple Crown.
As racing picks itself up from the disappointment of seeing another Crown failure, a decent follow-up story seems destined to emerge.
Both Empire Maker and Funny Cide, the horse he denied in the Belmont Stakes, share the same goal in their future -- the Travers Stakes at Saratoga in late August.
That race, billed as the "Midsummer Derby," will never get the attention of the Triple Crown, of course. Most non-racing fans already have turned the clicker away from the sport until next year's Derby.
But should the rivalry materialize, it might make headlines in places other than the Daily Racing Form.
In one stall, you have the Derby and Preakness champion, Funny Cide. His owners have made it clear the main reason they got into the business was to win a race at the Spa, as the historic upstate New York track is known.
Short of a Triple Crown, a win in the Travers would be the ultimate prize for them.
Then you have Empire Maker and brash-talking trainer Bobby Frankel. Frankel believes, and rightfully so, that a victory in the Travers would make his horse the clear leader as the top three-year-old in racing. He also believes that Empire Maker is in a different league than the rest of his generation.
"I don't think he has nearly reached his peak," Frankel said yesterday. "He's a light, tall, gangly horse.
"He's growing fast and he hasn't had time to muscle up and put his weight on yet. If he stays sound, I'll guarantee a great horse."
Meanwhile, a day after the defeat, the Funny Cide camp was making excuses for Saturday's failure that will push the drought between Triple Crown winners to at least 26 years.
Jockey Jose Santos and trainer Barclay Tagg both blamed the gelding's inability to handle the gooey mud at Belmont for the loss.
Said Tagg: "It was a good story, a great ride. Everything had gone perfectly until the rainstorm."
Said Santos: "I thing a rematch on a good track is going to be a beautiful rematch."
So too would a rivalry.
Empire Maker is headed for the breeding shed, likely sooner than later. And as a gelding, Funny Cide will race till he drops.
But wouldn't it be good for a sport that has only marginal broad-based appeal if Empire stayed around to race as a four-year-old to keep this thing going?
Both horses will get some well-deserved time off and likely race once each before the Travers.
Tagg, has repeatedly said he is leaning towards the Haskell Invitational in Monmouth, N.J. in late July.
There will be other suitors, including Woodbine which hasn't given up on trying to get the Derby winner to Toronto for a match race. As far-fetched as it seems, Woodbine will keep trying until the Funny Ciders offer a definitive no.
Frankel is most likely to race Empire Maker in the Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga the same weekend as the Haskell, avoiding a head-to-head meeting until the Travres.
In the weeks in between the hype will keep the principals of one of the more entertaining Triple Crowns in recent memory front and centre.
"I'm not ready to concede we are not going to beat him again," Sackatoga's managing partner, Jack Knowlton said yesterday. "I look forward to meeting him."
So too does the racing world.
