[Suffolk Shippers]

I think the majority opinion on this board is that Funny Cide is NOT done and people are generally not hard on the horse himself. The ones who SHOULD be taken to task are the owners in Sackatoga Stables.

The horse is about to be seven years old, he is a gutsy, dual classic champion. He gave fans of the sports and non fans a common cheering interest because of the "feel good" story. He created alot of new fans in horse racing, who have stuck around to watch the last few years. Funny Cide should be championed for those reasons, and I think, by and large he is.
He has his detractors, as do most people, horses, etc. However, at the end of the day, even detractors cannot dispute his spirited run from March-June 2003, from the Wood battle with Empire Maker to the Derby and through the Preakness and Belmont. He was a revered horse, especially to New Yorkers, who turned out 100,000+ on a dismal day of rain and cool weather.

You also cannot dispute that since that point, he hasn't been a top horse in almost any regard. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Not every horse is a Secretariat, Spectacular Bid, Ghostzapper, etc. The biggest push against Funny Cide is lovers of the game saw a very rare oppourtunity to have a horse for the ages, because he couldn't be taken to the breeding shed. Just because he hasn't been that horse, should not be held against him. He should be recognized as someone who gave a riveting shot to the arm to a game that could always use one and not a super horse. I think alot of us on this board, and elsewhere, realize that.

Unfortunately, Sackatoga Stables does not. Funny Cide has not had the juice to run grade I handicap races at all recently, and had no business in the Woodward yesterday. Personally, I found it very upsetting to see a horse who brough so much life to the game, having such difficulty in a race. Sackatoga needs to realize that this horse cannot handle this kind of regimen and running him is not fun to watch in those spots. True fans of this horse would likely be happy seeing him in NY bred restricted stakes for as long as he can handle it, with an occassional jump up to a weakly drawn G3 race. Some (myself included) would be happy to see him led out to pasture to live a quiet life away from the track. He may be a snappy old gelding, but I bet fans would love the chance to go and meet him, get to feed him a carrot or something like that. Sackatoga, there are ways to keep Funny Cide's legacy going, but you should be aware, that legacy is not in G1 or 2 handicap races.
It just isn't.

Funny Cide isn't done by any means. We all just wish the people who make the decisions for him understood his first string days are long finished and he should be handled gracefully and not in a classless fashion, as Sackatoga is doing now.