Funny Cide

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Funny Cide is an American thoroughbred race horse bred at WinStar Farm in Versailles, Kentucky, and born on April 20, 2000 at the McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbred Farm, owned by Joe and Anne McMahon in the upstate New York town of Saratoga. His sire is the emerging Distorted HumorTemplate:Ref, a Mr. Prospector line sire (Distorted Humor is currently no. 11 in leading stallions listed by the Stallion Registry), and his dam was the short-lived Belle's Good Cide out of Slewacide by Seattle SlewTemplate:Ref. In his pedigreeTemplate:Ref, Funny inherited a great deal of stamina from his female family...which happens to be the same female family as his once rival, Empire Maker. And if followed back far enough, Funny boasts the blood of both the great Eclipse and the foundation sire, Godolphin Arabian.

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Just a Baby

In the 20s, there was the great Man 0 'War, in the 30s there was Big Red's grandson Seabiscuit, in the 50s, Silky Sullivan ran his heart-stopping unpredictable races—these horses brought out racing and even non-racing fans in their thousands. During his run for the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, Funny Cide knew this kind of enthusiasm; today he is still a marquee name. Template:QuoteSidebar

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Funny Cide came from Distorted Humor's first crop when the young stallion's stud fee was only $10,000. Thanks very much in part to Funny Cide, Distorted Humor now stands for $150,000 live foal.

Funny Cide was originally purchased at the Fasig Tipton New York bred yearling sale in Saratoga Springs for $22,000 in August of 2001 by Tony Everard. When Sackatoga StableTemplate:Ref asked the trainer Barclay Tagg to "find them a good horse," Tagg recommended Funny, after seeing him at the 2001 sales. Funny Cide was purchased from New Episode Training Center in Ocala, Florida for $75,000 in a private transaction in March of 2002.

Conceived in Kentucky, born in New York, taken as yearling to Florida, and then beginning his racing career at the Belmont Park race track in New York, it's the village of Sackets Harbor, New York (from which several of his owners hail) that bills itself as the popular gelding's "hometown."

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Barclay Tagg finds his "Big Horse"

Once a steeplechase jockey, Funny Cide's trainer Barclay Tagg is a journeyman who'd been working in the racing scene for over thirty years. Funny Cide is Tagg's "Big Horse," a term trainers use to describe the horse that takes them all the way to the big races. Referring to his discovery of Funny, he says, "That's all I do. I don't play golf. I don't go bowling. I don't go to Disneyland. I just take good care of the horses and wait for something good to happen. It took me 30-some years but this lovely thing came along." He also likes to say, "A million things have to go right to win a race. Only one thing has to go wrong to lose it." The victory by Funny Cide made Tagg the first trainer to win the Derby in his first attempt since Cam Gambolati saddled Spend A Buck to win the 1985 Derby. (Back in the Seventies, he was once an assistant trainer working with the filly Ruffian, ranked 35th in the list of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century by Blood-Horse magazine.)

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Ray Paulick of Blood-Horse said of Barclay Tagg, "He has some characteristics uncannily like Silent Tom Smith, the trainer of Seabiscuit. He takes care of his horse, doesn't rush into anything or run him when he shouldn't. I like that about Tagg. Like Tom Smith, he's his own man and will put the horse first. I wish we had more trainers out there like him."

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Funny Cide's Early Races

This gleaming copper-penny chestnut geldingTemplate:Ref, trained by Barclay Tagg, ridden by jockey Jose Santos, and owned by a consortium calling itself Sackatoga Stable, made his two-year-old racing debut at Belmont Park on September 8, 2002. Running away from the New York field, and under a hand drive (see external links for horse racing terms), he easily won the six furlong race by fifteen or more lengths. It was then that Tagg knew he had something more than just a "nice horse" to keep his consortium of owners happy running in allowance races. Twenty-one days later, Funny won his first seven furlong restricted stakes race, the 25th running of the Bertram F. Bongard Stakes, under another hand drive, and by a similar margin. In the Bongard, his Beyer Speed FigureTemplate:Ref was 103. No two year old in the country had run faster. His third winning effort as a two-year old was his first try at a mile, the restricted Sleepy Hollow Stakes, also at Belmont Park. Under a very hard hold by Santos, he was, for the first time, challenged for the lead (by Spite the Devil), but proved he could not only be rated (held back in a certain position waiting for the best time and place to make a move), but easily had enough grit to hold off such challenges. It also proved he could handle longer distances. By October of 2002, Funny's jockey, Jose Santos, believed this horse would be his "Derby horse." Even so, Funny Cide was overlooked by both press and handicappers in that year's crop of up-and-coming Derby colts and fillies. There was considerably more press coverage of Empire Maker as well as his stablemate Peace Rules, both horses trained by Bobby Frankel.

Tagg entered the now three year old Funny Cide in the one and one-sixteenth mile long 14th running of the Holy Bull Grade 3 Stakes. Breaking from post position 13 and raced wide throughout two turns, he came in 5th in a field of very classy horses, especially the talented Offlee Wild. In the Louisiana Derby, Grade 2, he faced the might of Peace Rules as well as the developing Kafwain and Badge of Silver. In that race he finished a game third after Peace Rules, but was moved up to second at the disqualification of Kafwain. But it was his strong second place showing against Empire Maker (ridden by Jerry Bailey) in the one and one eighth mile Grade 1 Wood Memorial on April 12, that clinched his entry into America's most prestigious race, the Kentucky Derby. Funny Cide lost the Wood by a short neck and was pressing Empire Maker at the wire, even after New York Hero early on bore out very wide, taking the gelding with him and losing him his early momentum. Even so, Funny earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 110 for the Wood.

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Funny's Run for the Triple Crown

Ignored by virtually everyoneTemplate:Ref, Funny Cide was the longshot winner of the 2003 Kentucky Derby, running between the strong double entry of Frankel's Empire Maker (again with Jerry Bailey in the saddle) and Peace Rules. Neither of them could catch him; he won it by nearly two lengths over the favorite Empire Maker. His time of 2:01.19 is the 10th fastest in Derby history. Two weeks later, he was also the runaway winner of the 2003 Preakness Stakes at Baltimore's Pimlico racetrack in a time of 1:55:61, taking that race by 9.75 lengths, the second largest margin in Preakness history. The longest margin was Survivor's in the very first running of the Preakness in 1873. Four days before the Belmont, in what was meant to be only a breeze, Funny took control from Robin Smullen and ran perhaps too hard and too fast...way too fast. Rumors flew everywhere that he might have ruined his chances for the third leg of the Triple Crown. It rained all day before the Belmont Stakes, the most grueling of the three races and a quarter mile longer than the Kentucky Derby. Rain or no rain, people came to the track in record numbers, only to see Funny Cide finish third in the slop behind a fresh Empire Maker and a fresh Ten Most Wanted, both horses having skipped the Preakness Stakes. Frankel expressed himself a happy man to have spoiled such an exciting run by such an exciting horse. "It may be mean," he said, "but I'm glad I did it."

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In the Pimlico Preakness, with its sharp turns and hard fast track, Funny earned a remarkable Beyer Speed Figure of 114.

That same year dual classic winner Funny Cide, once again up against Frankel and Empire Maker, won the Eclipse Award for 3 Year Old Male of the Year.

Funny Cide is the first New York-bred horse ever to win the Kentucky Derby and the first gelding to win since 1929 when Clyde van Dusen, a son of the great Man O' War (ranked in the top 100 U.S. Thoroughbred Champions of the 20th Century as number 1), took home the roses. Funny Cide traces back to War Admiral out of Man O 'War on both sides of his pedigree. He also goes back an inbred 5 X 5 to RibotTemplate:Ref.

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Funny Cide's troubled later races

Horses don't reach their full height and weight until they are five. At four, Funny Cide flashed his old form in the Massachusetts Handicap on July 3, 2004, earning a 99 Equibase Speed Figure. He was second in the Saratoga Breeders’ Cup, and nearly won the Grade 1 Suburban Handicap. The highlight of his troubled four-year-old season was winning the October 2, 2004 86th running of the very prestigious and very grueling one and one quarter mile million-dollar Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park against the likes of the very honest campaigner Evening Attire and very promising young colt, The Cliff's Edge. For years, no other horse who has won a classic in his third year has gone on to take another Grade 1 race—but Funny Cide.

Many racehorses, due to modern breeding practices, are prone to fragile bones and delicate health. Funny Cide's four year old season was fraught with respitory problems, probably exacerbated by sending him to California's 2003 Breeder's Cup Classic race. The race had been held in Santa Anita when a major forest fire raged nearby, darkening the air around the track with hot soot. During his five-year-old season he was plagued with back problems, not diagnosed until he'd raced out of the money in several graded races. Tagg decided to rest Funny for the last half of the season.

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The future

In 2006 Funny took on a new jockey, the top 10 New York Racing Association rider Edgar Prado. As a gelding, Funny Cide cannot retire to stud as do many horses after their three-year-old season, for example: Empire Maker, Peace Rules, Smarty Jones, and Afleet Alex. Like many geldings (and certainly the great geldings: John Henry, the top money-winning thoroughbred gelding in racing history, Kelso, and Forego) they go on racing well into their eighth or ninth year. Kelso, for instance, won five Jockey Gold Cups en route to Horse of the Year honors from 1960 to 1964.

On February 2nd, 2006, Funny came alive in a one-mile money allowance race at Gulfstream Park to beat the odds on favorite, Sun King, winner of the Pennsylvania Derby and the Tampa Bay Derby, and third in the 2005 Jockey Club Gold Cup. The stakes-winning sprinter, Sir Greeley, took the race in a quick 1:32.42, but Funny was up there with him to place. His jockey Edgar Prado said, "He broke sharp and was right with those horses from the go. He never gave up. I was very happy with his race."

On April 1st, Funny Cide flashed his old form, running a gritty game second in this year's Excelsior Breeders Cup at Aqueduct. "He ran a fantastic race," jockey Richard Migliore said of Funny Cide. "Blood and guts all the way to the wire. He's a fantastic racehorse. I wasn't looking for the lead, but my horse was keen and I didn't want to get into a fight with him. When he got alone, he idled better and when company joined him, he fought on again. It was a very game performance."

Funny Cide is now a two time New York born Horse of the Year. To date (early 2006), he has won almost three million three hundred thousand dollars on that $75,000 dollar investment by Sackatoga Stable. He also claims the highest earnings of any New York born in history.

Even now, after a poor health-related showing in 2005, Funny Cide's Classic Performance Index (CPI), which is calculated each year, is 47.31, meaning that his average earnings per start is 47.31 times greater than the average of all like horses. "Like" horses means horses of the same sex, horses of the same age, horses racing in the same year(s), and horses racing in the same countries.

Funny Cide's Dosage Index is 1.53 derived from his dosage profile of 7-2-11-3-1 (24). This figure basically gives you the ratio of how much speed to stamina a race horse receives from any stallions in its pedigree that are Chefs-de-race. John Gaver III said, "Funny's pedigree cross, or "nick," is classic speed-on-stamina."

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Further reading

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Funny Cide's biography, Funny Cide (How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods...and Won), written by Sally Jenkins, was published by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 2004. ISBN 0399151796

Funny Cide for kids, A Horse Named Funny Cide, written by The Funny Cide Team, will be published by Putnam Juvenile on April 20, 2006. ISBN 039924462X

For some time, there's been a consistent rumor that Hollywood plans a feature film based on Funny Cide's run for the Triple Crown of 2003—but whether this will actually come-to-pass seems very much up in the air.

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Footnotes

  1. Template:Note - Distorted Humor is the sire of Grade One winners Flower Alley, Commentator, Da Stoops, Awesome Humor, Sharp Humor (a very strong and gritty second in the Florida Derby to Barbaro, and a possible contender in the 2006 race for the Triple Crown), and Australia's Rinky Dink, amongst others.
  2. Template:Note - In the Blood-Horse magazine ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, the tenth horse to win the Triple Crown (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont) and to do it undefeated, Seattle Slew is ranked number 9.
  3. Template:Note - Pedigree Analysis By: John Gaver III, Dosage Index: 1.53. "The tall, lean New York-bred gelding Funny Cide is by 2002’s leading freshman sire Distorted Humor, a son of Forty Niner and a descendant of the Raise A Native sire line. Distorted Humor was a Grade II stakes winner at the races and is the sire of two crops and five black type winners (designation for a stakes winner or stakes-placed horse in sales catalogues) to date, including Grade I Spinaway winner Awesome Humor, Grade II Astarita winner Humorous Lady and the listed stakes winner Crackup. Funny Cide's dam, Belle's Good Cide, is the dam of three foals, two of which have made it to the racetrack and won, with Funny Cide representing her lone stakes winner at this writing. Belle's Good Cide is a half-sister to Arlington Matron (GIII) and Modesty Handicap (GIII) winner Belle Of Cozzene, as well as a half-sister to the stakes winner Quackerbell and Zee Oh Six in addition to the stakes-placed colt Celtic Memories. Funny Cide's tail-female line is a representative of a stamina-laden Darby Dan Farm broodmare family in his third and forth dam, and this chestnut gelding is inbred to the great Darby Dan stayer Ribot, who was undefeated from 16 lifetime starts and a two-time winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. As a broodmare sire, Slewacide is the sire of 98 producing daughters and the stakes winners Illusive Ghost, Naturalingredients, Orienta, Devout Sinner, Darlin Dixie, Slewance and Magine Matt. Funny Cide's pedigree cross, or nick, is classic speed-on-stamina; he should not have problems getting 10 furlongs with his distance-laden tail female line. According to The Blood-Horse's Steve Haskin, Funny Cide is a "very kind horse, but doesn't like anyone pulling on his mouth, so you have to let him do what he's comfortable doing."
  4. Template:Note -The name chosen by a small consortium of ten owners whose managing partner is Jack Knowlton of Saratoga Springs, New York. Sackatoga Stable concentrates on New York breds.
  5. Template:Note - This horse was gelded in late 2001 because he was a ridgling, meaning he had an undescended testicle which caused him pain when he ran. If the people around him had had any idea that the young colt they had purchased would become a dual classic winner, plus winning the Gold Cup, such a thing would never have happened. An undescended testicle is not serious. All it might have done is cause the horse a little pain and a little pain might have made him less eager to race—but this could have been corrected.
  6. Template:Note - Beyer Index Figures are used for calculating the performance of a thoroughbred. It takes into account variables like track conditions as well as speed. It is widely accepted as an accurate indication of a horse's ability.
  7. Template:Note - In his Starter Analysis, Steve Fugitte wrote: "FUNNY CIDE has the heart of a champion as evidenced by three stellar losing efforts in prep races. In Gulfstream's Holy Bull he drew a dreadful 13 post position and was unable to drop over at any point after hitting the gate leaving it. He still ran fifth that day and it was pure desire. Got a much cleaner trip in the Louisiana Derby but hooked a track that hated his running style. Still managed third that day and he came again gamely to secure it after looking hopelessly beaten turning for home. Hooked Empire Maker in the Wood Memorial and was beaten a scant half-length by the Derby favorite while again battling from the rail. This horse is all heart and is due to get a winning trip. Doesn't have the pedigree to stay this distance but neither did Fusaichi Pegasus or Thunder Gulch and his turf-oriented trainer Barclay Tagg knows just how to put the stamina in a horse. Posted a 110 Beyer Speed Figure in the Wood last out and will be very dangerous if able to repeat that number and work out some kind of stalking trip. Definitely in my top four and a good bet across as an alternative to the favorite."
  8. Template:Note - Ribot was bred by Italy's Federico Tesio, and was unbeaten in the 16 races he ran, including Great Britain’s most important event, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes as well as twice winning France’s Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
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External links

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