JustRalph
06-03-2003, 10:57 PM
http://espn.go.com/horse/triplecrown03/s/2003/0603/1562410.html
Man...this was one heck of a workout....I hope it didn't hurt him. If he did this easy....he is going to be sharp......
Funny Cide blazes in final workout
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- Funny Cide worked five furlongs in :57.82 this morning over the main track at Belmont Park this morning. Fear not, fans of the New York-bred chestnut gelding. Fast is good.
The news that Funny Cide had blazed his way around the Belmont oval ripped through the backstretch this morning, with everyone seemingly asking the same question, "What does it mean?" Predictably, one school of thought was that trainer Barclay Tagg had blown it by working his horse too fast. The poor thing will now have nothing left in the tank come Saturday, especially when he stares down the expansive Belmont Park stretch. Or so they say.
Don't believe it for a minute, or for 57.82 seconds. This should be seen for what it is: a very positive sign. Consider: It was the fastest workout among 47 horses who worked at the distance. The second fastest workout was recorded in :59.47, turned in by none other than Evening Attire, a nice little horse who won something you might have heard of called the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Fast workouts are most often an indication of sharpness and that a horse is thriving. That's a pretty amazing thought considering Funny Cide has been put through the rigors of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness within a two-week period.
"I'm very confident," said exercise rider and assistant trainer Robin Smullen. "It felt just like a normal workout. It felt completely effortless, but I knew we were going faster (than normal). He was stronger the first eighth of a mile. Then I gave him some rein and he settled down. "
Smullen said that even had she tried to slow Funny Cide down it wouldn't have worked.
"He wants to challenge you," she said. "If you say, 'I don't want you to go that fast,' he'll challenge you. It's like he's saying, I know what I'm doing."
It was no surprise, though that Tagg was asked to defend the workout. He even admitted that it was faster than he wanted, but made a strong case why the time is not a negative.
"He couldn't be going into this race any better," Tagg said. "I didn't want quite that sharp a work, but he did it so easily. I don't think it will take the edge off him. He has gotten bigger and stronger through this whole thing. You can never predict how they're going to run, but he is just thriving."
For affirmation, Tagg went to none other than Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens.
"It's like Allen Jerkens said, 'More horses win after a fast work than after a slow work," Tagg said.
Funny Cide put on a show that brought back memories of Risen Star in 1988. On the day before the 1988 Belmont he worked three furlongs in a blistering :33.60. Trainer Louie Roussel was clearly upset, but exercise rider Jimmy Nichols had the best take on the situation.
"I didn't want to let him go that fast, but you have to let him run a little," he said. "Naw, it won't hurt him. Good horses can run fast."
Good horses can indeed run fast. Risen Star went out the next day and won the Belmont by 14 3/4 lengths.
Funny Cide worked this morning at 5:30, more than three hours prior to his scheduled work time and long before the throngs of reporters, photographers and television crews arrived at the track to chronicle his jaunt around the track. Tagg said afterward that this was no rouse, but rather a case of him deciding to work at a time when he was sure the track was in perfect shape. That may be, but many thought he did it on purpose so that the work could be done under reasonably quiet conditions. It's a shame that the Funny Cide workout didn't get the kind of television exposure that it should have, the kind that would help promote the race. But Tagg has been unapologetic about his assorted tricks, saying that he is only trying to make sure that he does everything possible to have the gelding at his very best Saturday.
It might have been an unnecessary precaution, but there's no arguing that the man continues to make the right moves. He had the horse ready to run a then career best race in the Kentucky Derby and had him just as good two weeks later in the Preakness. It has been nothing less than incredible how smoothly everything has gone for this horse from the time he finished second in the Wood Memorial. There has not been a single hitch or obstacle in his way. Based on today's workout, this horse still hasn't lost any spring from his step.
Will he win the Belmont? Nobody really knows. But count on him running his race. Funny Cide made a statement this morning.
Man...this was one heck of a workout....I hope it didn't hurt him. If he did this easy....he is going to be sharp......
Funny Cide blazes in final workout
By Bill Finley
Special to ESPN.com
NEW YORK -- Funny Cide worked five furlongs in :57.82 this morning over the main track at Belmont Park this morning. Fear not, fans of the New York-bred chestnut gelding. Fast is good.
The news that Funny Cide had blazed his way around the Belmont oval ripped through the backstretch this morning, with everyone seemingly asking the same question, "What does it mean?" Predictably, one school of thought was that trainer Barclay Tagg had blown it by working his horse too fast. The poor thing will now have nothing left in the tank come Saturday, especially when he stares down the expansive Belmont Park stretch. Or so they say.
Don't believe it for a minute, or for 57.82 seconds. This should be seen for what it is: a very positive sign. Consider: It was the fastest workout among 47 horses who worked at the distance. The second fastest workout was recorded in :59.47, turned in by none other than Evening Attire, a nice little horse who won something you might have heard of called the Jockey Club Gold Cup.
Fast workouts are most often an indication of sharpness and that a horse is thriving. That's a pretty amazing thought considering Funny Cide has been put through the rigors of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness within a two-week period.
"I'm very confident," said exercise rider and assistant trainer Robin Smullen. "It felt just like a normal workout. It felt completely effortless, but I knew we were going faster (than normal). He was stronger the first eighth of a mile. Then I gave him some rein and he settled down. "
Smullen said that even had she tried to slow Funny Cide down it wouldn't have worked.
"He wants to challenge you," she said. "If you say, 'I don't want you to go that fast,' he'll challenge you. It's like he's saying, I know what I'm doing."
It was no surprise, though that Tagg was asked to defend the workout. He even admitted that it was faster than he wanted, but made a strong case why the time is not a negative.
"He couldn't be going into this race any better," Tagg said. "I didn't want quite that sharp a work, but he did it so easily. I don't think it will take the edge off him. He has gotten bigger and stronger through this whole thing. You can never predict how they're going to run, but he is just thriving."
For affirmation, Tagg went to none other than Hall of Fame trainer Allen Jerkens.
"It's like Allen Jerkens said, 'More horses win after a fast work than after a slow work," Tagg said.
Funny Cide put on a show that brought back memories of Risen Star in 1988. On the day before the 1988 Belmont he worked three furlongs in a blistering :33.60. Trainer Louie Roussel was clearly upset, but exercise rider Jimmy Nichols had the best take on the situation.
"I didn't want to let him go that fast, but you have to let him run a little," he said. "Naw, it won't hurt him. Good horses can run fast."
Good horses can indeed run fast. Risen Star went out the next day and won the Belmont by 14 3/4 lengths.
Funny Cide worked this morning at 5:30, more than three hours prior to his scheduled work time and long before the throngs of reporters, photographers and television crews arrived at the track to chronicle his jaunt around the track. Tagg said afterward that this was no rouse, but rather a case of him deciding to work at a time when he was sure the track was in perfect shape. That may be, but many thought he did it on purpose so that the work could be done under reasonably quiet conditions. It's a shame that the Funny Cide workout didn't get the kind of television exposure that it should have, the kind that would help promote the race. But Tagg has been unapologetic about his assorted tricks, saying that he is only trying to make sure that he does everything possible to have the gelding at his very best Saturday.
It might have been an unnecessary precaution, but there's no arguing that the man continues to make the right moves. He had the horse ready to run a then career best race in the Kentucky Derby and had him just as good two weeks later in the Preakness. It has been nothing less than incredible how smoothly everything has gone for this horse from the time he finished second in the Wood Memorial. There has not been a single hitch or obstacle in his way. Based on today's workout, this horse still hasn't lost any spring from his step.
Will he win the Belmont? Nobody really knows. But count on him running his race. Funny Cide made a statement this morning.