Quote:
Originally Posted by Spalding No!
I wanted Funny Cide to win the Triple Crown so I could see a Triple Crown winner.
However, thanks to the brilliant exercise rider Robin Smullen, who made sure to disparage all other exercise riders after the Derby because he was notoriously difficult to handle in the morning ("no one has been on him...but me."), it didn't happen.
Funny Cide ran off with Smullen on the Tuesday before the Belmont, scorching 5 furlongs in :57+. Bobby Frankel, who trained Empire Maker, was reportedly very happy with the work. Barclay Tagg...not so much.
Tagg waved the press off with a disingenuous "It was a little faster than I wanted..."; my guess is his real reaction to the rider back at the barn was something along the lines of "See you next Tuesday..."
|
I didn't know that. Smullen was dating Tagg, right?
Obviously Empire Maker was going to be tough to beat coming off the rest, but it sounds like that didn't help.
