Funny Cide-Travers

[Glimmerglass]

By all accounts the fans, despite the rains, did show up to admire the big chestnut gelding and were not disappointed.

AP Photo - Funny Cide at Spa 8/13

AP Photo - Funny Cide and Robin Smullins

Excerpt

Spa crowd hobnobs with a hometown hero
Saratoga Springs – Funny Cide’s fans show their affection as they brave a deluge to see him

By STEPHANIE EARLS, Staff writer
Times Union, Thurs Aug 14, 2003

Cameras flashed. A murmur swelled through the crowd. People rose on tiptoes in the mud, seeking visual confirmation.

“Is it him? Is it him?” 7-year-old Michaela McCormack babbled breathlessly while perched atop the fence surrounding the Saratoga Race Course paddock. She strained to see around her cousin Joey Deso’s shoulder, searching for a glimpse of him above the crowd of journalists, track bigwigs and TV camera crews inside the circular sweep of fence.

“Fun-nee-cide, Fun-nee-cide,” 8-year-old Deso clapped along as he chanted the name.

[Himbo]

Hmmmmm Linny wouldn’t you love to find out the real story about all this stuff going on??? Frankel can be a real blow hard at times and it turns alot of people off to him. I had a friend that worked for him very briefly as a groom, I think she lasted 3 days before she went to the Lucas camp not so sure that move wasn’t from pan to the fire!

[SaudiHunter]

That’s cool you worked for LeRoy Jolley. When/where was that?

When I rubbed horses I remember we took the babies’ temps a lot, and quite often they’d be around 101, and it was not cause for alarm.
I was wondering when Funny Cide was going to start again.

I hope he goes in the Travers too. Its about time!

“Vanitas vanitatum et omina vanitas”

[Ash]

So Empire Maker sat out the Preakness because of his stone bruise? You mean the SAME stone bruise he had BEFORE he ran in the Derby? Seems to me if Frankel was that concerned about it he wouldn’t have run the Derby. Do you think Empire Maker would have sat out the Preakness if he had won the Derby? Doubtful! I’m not buying it…

---

Momma Mia, here I go again…

[Himbo]

Problems hes had??? Slightly elevated temp on a very hot,humid day,normal blood work,blah blah if only all horses had those problems we would not need vets!!! Head vet at the track even said his “problems” were nothing to get excited about. Tagg is the one with the problem, he does not want to run against Empire Maker who would have won his last start if he had made his bid a little sooner and if the amt. of works the horse has got in is the worry don’t run him even if EM drops out FC would still have to run around that race track and if he was not fit why would you chance that even against lesser horses??? Get your heads out of your butts people Tagg is playing with all of ya.

[Linny]

Peace Rules and Empire Maker both have Bailey named so one HAS to scratch. I was told today by “someone who ought to know” that PR will go. The person who told me has ridden EM on many occassions and is credible.

If EM scratches, there is a greater chance that FC will run.

Glimmerglass the score between EM and FC is is 2-1 in EM’s favor. EM won the Wood Memorial and the Belmont while FC won the Derby over him.

I’m on the Saratoga backstretch daily and the saga of the Travers has been the biggest topic of conversation for over a week. There are more people betting on who is running than who is going to win.

Resident racing historian
Founder of the Mighty Thoroughbred Clique

[DMK]

No problem Ash…

I remember reading some of that stuff as well, but when a reporter stringing for the AP speaks about racing issues… Besides, every time I saw direct quotes from Frankel, he really just commented on how he didn’t get the job done, condition-wise and was going to fix that before the colt ran again. And who knows? Maybe he couldn’t fit the horse up as well as he liked because of the foot bruise. I don’t think Frankel ever offered that as an excuse, but hey, we will never know…

Call your village. Their idiot is missing…