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Originally Posted by Kasept
All,
Thanks very much.. I didn't want to get into 'what could have been' with Funny Cide, but I will say that I thought that running in the '03 BCC destroyed any chance he had at being a great horse beyond his Classic exploits. He was basically in training for three straight years without a significant break. That mistake belongs squarely on the ownership.
I also will say that Sackatoga's shameless merchandising nonsense involved added to the scenario. Had Tagg been allowed to make all the calls with him, he might have had an exceptional career. Then there's also the matter of the Miami Herald's complicity in helping ruin his chances at a Triple Crown with their buzzer stupidity after Derby. That influenced how Santos rode him hard to wire in the Preakness when he could have jogged. Coupled with the crazy Belmont workout where Robin Smullen couldn't control him, and 'good bye' Triple Crown.
But for those two weeks in May '03, he couldn't have been better, and that's frequently enough to stamp a horse's passport to fame. I'll always appreciate him and that spring...
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Thanks for saying a little more here...I didn't want to drag my own opinions, similar to yours, into the thread after such a well written piece. It is much better to look back at those weeks from the Wood to the Belmont that year.
Sadly, everything after that was mismanaged up and down, starting with the Breeders Cup at Santa Anita. As much as I like to look at the greatness the horse acheived, it is hard to ignore the what ifs. I had a chance to meet the Sackatoga people when Funny Cide came to the Mass Cap in 2004. Really nice guys, but as much as they made the horse's story captivating with the average guys, yellow bus deal, I really wish the horse had some behind the scenes owner, that knew best to defer to the trainer, because as you say, the story could have been that much greater.
Thanks again.