Funny Cide looks to be putting in his best workouts in quite some time up there - see below’s workout this a.m. 
It would appear to be all systems go with him racing in the Grade 1 Woodward next Saturday.
Funny Cide
Date: August 24, 2006
Track: SARATOGA
Distance: Five Furlongs
Time: 1.00:14 Breezing
Track Conditions: Fast
Surafce: Dirt
Rank: 1/22
Ah, sadly my loyalties will be stretched with the Woodward Stakes (G1) next Saturday at Saratoga. Not only will Funny Cide be racing (and contrary to suggestions, Invasor will not) but Second of June will be.
I still recall his epic duel with Read The Footnotes in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, Feb 14, 2004. A race of which you can still see on-line here: 2004 Fountain of Youth Stakes, see Video link under “Derby Entrant”; The colt, by Louis Quatorze out of Whow (by Spectacular Bid) has been plagued by injury ever since the FYS when he was injured. Read The Footnotes, by the way, was my favorite in the Kentucky Derby that year against Smary Jones, I still think he was given a poor ride and had an unlucky trip. He could’ve been more then just a contender.
Anyhow we’ll see how SOJ does next week, when I’m at Spa for the day …
Second of June just needs a win
By MIKE WELSCH -Daily Racing Form
August 26, 2006
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Second of June hasn’t won a race since January 2004, but that won’t deter trainer Bill Cesare from shipping the talented but injury-prone horse from Churchill Downs to Saratoga for Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward.
Second of June’s last victory came in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream Park during the winter of his 3-year-old campaign. He followed that performance with a gut-wrenching second-place finish behind Read the Footnotes in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth, after which it was discovered that Second of June had suffered a fractured cannon bone. The injury sidelined him for the next 10 months.
Second of June’s first comeback comprised five races that included second- and third-place finishes in the Grade 2 Oaklawn and New Orleans handicaps before Cesare had to again stop on him due to an osselet in his right hind ankle. That injury cost Second of June another 14 months before he returned to finish a game second, beaten a nose by Suave, at Churchill Downs on June 16. In his last start, Second of June finished third, more than seven lengths behind Suave, in the Grade 2 Washington Park Handicap.
“He got beat only a zap to a real nice horse coming back after more than a year in the allowance race, and I expected him to get tired going a mile and three-sixteenths in Chicago,” said Cesare. “He’s training well, getting fitter, and headed in the right direction at the moment, and most important, he’s sound. Five weeks should be perfect coming into this race, and at this point we’re not ducking anybody. I know the competition will be tough, but he should have no excuses.”
Garrett Gomez will ride Second of June in the Woodward.
Hey nothing like getting folks back in the mood with a Funny Cide poster in support of his return to a Grade 1 race and just his 2nd race ever at “home”
Funny Cide Poster: Sep 2, 2006
For a “voluntary contribution” to the charity that supports back stretch workers, Joe McMahon, and Funny’s owners, Jack Knowlton, David Mahan, Lewis Titterton and Eric Dattner, who will be signing the Funny Cide print at the track Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
An article on Funny Cide and the whole Sakatoga folks: Syracuse Post-Standard 8-30-06 “The Ride Goes On”
Racing fans,especially New York racing fans, retain a soft spot for Funny Cide. Saratoga plans to give away 10,000 posters of him at the Woodward this weekend. Mark Phillips recently fielded a telephone call from an Ithaca woman who drove to Sackets Harbor to pick up an autographed Funny Cide children’s book for a terminally ill child.
These days, when [another partner, Harold Cring] loses a bid to a rival construction company, or complications delay one of his projects, he can retreat to his office and gaze at his Funny Cide memorabilia.
“Every time I’m having a bad day, which I have quite a few of in the work I’m in,” Cring said, “I take a pause and think about winning the Kentucky Derby and I’m back in a good mood.”
Another on FC’s continued racing: Syracuse Post-Standard 8-30-06 “This horse will rest on his laurels”
So how much longer will he race?
“We had a horse named Sackets Six that ran into his eighth year,” said JP Constance, one of his owners.
What likely will happen, Constance said, is that Funny Cide will race for a couple more years and then retire to farm life. Plenty of places have inquired about him. Those horse farms, Constance said, would love to have a Kentucky Derby winner on their grounds.
His owners briefly discussed bringing him to Sackets Harbor or Watertown to let the locals get a glimpse of him. But racehorses are notoriously high-strung and often fail to make gentle pets or attractions.
Funny Cide
Funny Cide is using the Woodward as a stepping-stone to the $500,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup on Sept. 30. That race is appealing because it is run at 1 1/4 miles, a distance at which Funny Cide has excelled. Also, the Woodward is lacking Invasor, the top handicap horse on the East Coast.
“I don’t think it’s coming up as tough as it could have,” Tagg said. “I’m not demeaning the other horses by any means.”
After a minor setback due to a low red blood cell count, Funny Cide has rebounded with several solid workouts leading up to this race.
“He might not be the best he ever was, but he’s the best he could possibly be,” Tagg said.
“If he brings his ‘A’ game it may not win, but I don’t think he’s going to be too far behind too many horses,” Knowlton said.
Though Funny Cide has participated in two runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Classic is not the goal this year. Knowlton did say that if Funny Cide continued to excel in the fall, he could run in the $500,000 Clark Handicap at Churchill in late November.
Source: Daily Racing Form 8-31-06 “Team Funny Cide thrilled to be back”
I think all the connections are being positive, realistic and above all else just there to have a good time letting him run. I’ll be there, I’ll bet on him too without expectations.
Funny Cide returns? Not if Ernesto has his say
I’m already prepared to get wet at The Spa tomorrow but alas it looks like Ernesto might nix Funny Cide’s return. Tagg has been clear all along so it isn’t like he is teasing fans.
I have to say I love his comments on Funny Cide:
If fans don’t get to see Funny Cide run tomorrow, they could get another chance next year. Jack Knowlton, the managing partner of the Sackatoga Stable ownership group, said he has already discussed keeping Funny Cide in training next year as a 7-year-old.
[b]“I would run him till he dies. I don’t see any reason not to,” Tagg said. "He’s happy. He gets a lot of care. I get some flack from people thinking I’m being cruel to him by having him still run, but I don’t know what else he would do, fight flies in a paddock somewhere? How could he have it any better? Not many horses get the attention that sucker gets, I’ll tell you. He’s been in a racing stable his whole life.
“Why would he be happier out in a field fighting flies? I don’t understand that. He couldn’t look any better. He couldn’t get any better feed, he couldn’t get any better veterinary care. He couldn’t get any better attention. He’s got the same groom, the same hotwalker. How could he have it any better?” [/b]
Clearly Barclay is not saying run him to death but having a five to seven race schedule a year is just fine. I mean look at the amount of work say a top event horse has to put in per year - at an age much older then Funny Cide and with much, much more weight then he carries in any race.
“I’m not hunting for Grade I’s for him. It’s not going to have Invasor in there, it’s not going to have Bernardini in there. The horses that are running in it have faltered a couple of times, so maybe I’ll have a chance to pick up something.”
Source: NY Daily News Sep 1, 2006
I’d just like to say how much it ROCKS that Second of June is running in the Woodward. If Funny does run, then I’m going to have a heckuva time watching the race what with rooting for Second of June, Funny Cide, Sun King, Flower Alley and Papi Chullo. 
Jockey Boot up for auction at Saratoga
A local horse rescue, Double L Rescue and Sanctuary, in Argyle, NY (the one who rescued Dawn and Willie) has a fantastic jockey boot up for auction/sale at Sargos in Saratoga. This boot was autographed by all the jockeys at Del Mar and is a fabulous collectors item. If anyone is there please spread the word so this rescue can get needed funds to help the horses. If you are at Sargos ask the management where it is displayed and go see it.
I also gave Shannon, from Double L, a poetry book signed by Norah Pollard, Red Pollard’s daughter. Norah is a friend of mine and writes poetry. She wants to help the rescues raise funds to support their horses. The book contains several poems about her father, Red. This book may also be on display at Sargos.
Good Luck Shannon!
It was lovely to see him in the speed duel with Premium Tap!
I had bet on SOJ (as did my wife) as did some random guy carrying a self-made sign (“my birthday is also Second of June”) so we all made out just fine. We also bet on Premium Tap for Show and took money there too
Funny Cide, while failing to rally, did still get a heartfelt cheer from the somewhat sparce crowd on Saturday.
As an aside I met Kenny Mayne while there, his deadpan persona is the same in real life.
With the conclusion of the racing season I was glad to see - strictly from a name perspective - the worst name given a horse in recent memory (trust me, The Green Monkey is utter brilliance by comparison!) lose. Scat Daddy failed to defeat his stablemate Circular Quay, who won the Hopeful Stakes on Monday.
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