funny cide.. they ought to be ashamed

[randallscott35]

Originally Posted by SentToStud

Oh No. Not this!

Horse wins 2/3 of TC in '03. People happy horse will return in '04.

Horse has very good but not spectacular year in '04. Horse and owners get blasted.

After going 0-3 in '05, horse and owners keep getting blasted.

Horse wins a G3 and $225k+ in '06. Horse and owners still getting blasted.

'07.... Horse getting blasted. Owners should be crucified (well, it is Good Friday).

I, personally, have never blasted this horse. Just the owners. I like the horse and I don't downgrade his spring in his 3yr old season b/c it was legit. Has he been the same horse since, no. But he hasn't been pointed to the right races so its not his fault.

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

i realize hes a gelding ..but lets finda spot where he can win,,this was a loaded grade 3..hes not a gr 3 horse..........

[Fearless Leader]

I don't know why you all feel the need to bash the connections of this horse. He obviously was beaten today because he can't handle the cold weather.

He's done enough.

[philcski]

Originally Posted by Pillow Pants

He's done enough.

For once... I actually think this legitimately. He didn't look like he was interested running one bit today.

[Danzig]

soo.....why does a horse run well in the am, but not in a race? everyone has heard the name morning glory--any way to fix that problem??

[pmayjr]

You know where I think it really started to go sour for him? The '04 BC Classic at Lone Star when Ghostzapper won.

Funny Cide was coming off a gutty win in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. I was so proud of him after that day even when it turned out to be against a marginal field (Newfoundland and the Cliff's Edge). He dueled on the lead with Newfoundland, and then goin into the final turn he started dropping back. It looked like Newfoundland was gonna romp. Then the Cliff's Edge is about to pass him on the outside, and Funny Cide starts this gritty run. Newfoundland had cleared him in that final turn by a good 3-4 lengths, and the Cliff's Edge looked full of run going into the stretch. And Funny Cide gutted out a win against both of them. I was seriously enamroed with him after this race...

But then fast forward a month to the BC Classic at Lone Star. He gets killed in the race, finishes up the track. But not only that, he ran so erratic that day. You could see him in the back stretch very rank, and Santos had problems with him. Some people can blame that race on the hot weather (because he hasn't run well in it), but HE HASN'T BEEN THE SAME SINCE THAT RACE. He just hasn't. I don't know if it's a deterioration in skill, or if he just doesn't wanna race anymore... But whatever it is, it's time to hang it up.

Well... wait. Give him 2 more well-placed races on dirt. That way he'll have his 2nd and 3rd off the layoff chances to see if he can round into form. They tried a workout on the turf a couple of years ago, and it was dull. I think the Poly is no different. Keep him on the dirt, in NY, and see if he rounds into form. If he keeps losing to "inferior" horses after 2 more races, retire him for good. The only other question to ask is, what should Tagg consider "inferior" at this point?

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by Danzig

soo.....why does a horse run well in the am, but not in a race? everyone has heard the name morning glory--any way to fix that problem??

That's my thought, too. His workouts were sharp, weren't they? And didn't he run in tandem with Nobiz during one of them?

I thought he fit this field pretty well. Until the race.

--Dunbar

[Left Bank]

Originally Posted by Fearless Leader

I don't know why you all feel the need to bash the connections of this horse. He obviously was beaten today because he can't handle the cold weather.

You obviously do NOT know this horse by that statement.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by Fearless Leader

I don't know why you all feel the need to bash the connections of this horse. He obviously was beaten today because he can't handle the cold weather.

surely the only thing missing from the post is the face denoting sarcasm!

[PPerfectfan]

Originally Posted by Fearless Leader

I don't know why you all feel the need to bash the connections of this horse. He obviously was beaten today because he can't handle the cold weather.

Well all we hear is he cant handle the heat either so what do you suggest? its either hot or cold.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by PPerfectfan

Well all we hear is he cant handle the heat either so what do you suggest? its either hot or cold.

Perhaps something more temperate. (kidding)

Sounds like a mix of horse that doesn't wanna run plus surface he doesn't wanna run on. I'm kinda at a loss as to what I'd rather be done. I agree he hasn't been the same since after his gutsy win and I don't think he's depreciated that much in ability--certainly not what we've seen since. He's not G1 but there's something else going on. Is it in his head? I wouldn't have thought the Classic would've been a heart breaker considering how he was acting in the race. Did the switch flip prior to that?

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Fearless Leader

I don't know why you all feel the need to bash the connections of this horse. He obviously was beaten today because he can't handle the cold weather.

I hope this was in "jest"...if you know anything about Funny Cide, you know he cannot run in hot and muggy weather because of a breathing condition and that cool temperatures are in his favor.

As for the rest of it, this horse has done enough for the owners. The love affair is over. Years have gone by since Funny Cide and more or equally compelling stories have come along since then (Barbaro, Afleet Alex, Smarty Jones). You can never take away Funny Cide's brillance for a few months in the spring of 2003, cementing his legend forever. For that, he deserves better than being spotted up in his 7 year old season. I hope that if he fails again soon, that Sackatoga sees this and places Funny Cide on the sideline for life to live comfortably and enjoy being a horse. It seems he no longer has the interest in being a race horse anymore. You cannot fault him for that.

It didn't work.

FC won a very respectable 200k in 06, BTW.

He's a gelding. If the horse acts like he wants to run - see if you can find a spot for him. The owners enjoy him and race for fun. FC has always been tough to train and it apparently hasn't gotten any easier to condition him. Tagg is a savvy horseman. If FC backs up again next out then I agree wholeheartedly it's time to retire him. I think at that point even his starry-eyed owners will realize the fun is gone. But if FCs sound and fit, I can't blame the connections for trying one more season. That's forgivable. Continuing on when the horse has definitively spit the bits is not.

[ceejay]

Originally Posted by hoovesupsideyourhead

i realize hes a gelding ..but lets finda spot where he can win,,this was a loaded grade 3..hes not a gr 3 horse..........

So when the AW came up strong should they have scratched?

[hoovesupsideyourhead]

or found a lower level allw...