Empire State Of Mind
January 3rd, 2003by Jude T. Feld
“Brooklyn Bobby” Frankel
Anne Eberhardt Photo
“Many are called but few are chosen.” – Matthew 22:14
A packed house of 101,864 racing aficionados, sports enthusiasts and well-wishers gathered at noon on a “haze gray” day in Elmont, New York hoping to see Funny Cide win the 135th running of the Belmont Stakes and capture the first Triple Crown in 25 years. As usual, if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
Funny Cide, a New York-bred gelding, had won the hearts and minds of people everywhere with his surprise victory in the Kentucky Derby and his powerful performance while winning the Preakness. Owned by Sakatoga Stable, a group of high school chums, well past their 25th year reunion, the athletic chestnut is trained by Barclay Tagg, a hard-working guy and an excellent horseman who was, to say the least, unaccustomed to the national spotlight.
Those in the “Empire State” ordinarily would have embraced arch rival Empire Maker, conditioned by one of their own, Brooklyn native Bobby Frankel, arguably the best trainer in the sport and owned by international businessman and Saudi Arabian prince Khalid Abdullah. But with Funny Cide foaled within state lines and owned by registered voters, the locals relegated the Juddmonte Farm color-bearer to “chopped liver” status.
In the grandstand, the lapel button count was so lopsided it appeared that Funny Cide might go off at 1-9. Maroon and gray was everywhere with jockey Jerry Bailey the only one in light green and pink. The “boo-birds were out in abundance as Frankel entered the paddock while New York’s finest gelding drew cheers from the crowd.
By 6:38 EDT the stage had been set. It was New York versus Kentucky, the “have nots” versus the “haves”.
The Belmont is an odd race in that despite the fact that it is a mile and a half, you can often foretell the result a few strides after the break. The bell rang, the horses left the gate in unison and nobody wanted the lead. Funny Cide was thrust into the role of pacesetter and lost his bid for history long before the field had turned down the backside.
Empire Maker, lame with a bruised foot five days before the Kentucky Derby, was 100% for the first Saturday in June and benefited from a marvelous trip under Bailey, wresting the lead from Funny Cide turning for home, assuming command into the stretch and holding off a game challenge by Ten Most Wanted and Hall of Fame jockey Pat Day in the final eighth of a mile, to win by three-quarters of a length in 2:28.26 on the muddy track, with Funny Cide fading to third.
“Today I rode him like he was the best horse,” said Bailey. “He’s the best three-year-old I’ve ever ridden.”
It was a marvelous moment for Bobby Frankel, who walked into Belmont Park from the sidewalks of New York as a kid and parlayed sharp handicapping and a hot-walking job with Buddy Hirsh into a Hall of Fame career.
“This is probably the greatest thrill I’ve had in racing,” Frankel said smiling. “It’s a little vindication for the horse.”
A class act, Barclay Tagg offered no excuses for Funny Cide’s defeat.
“We were beaten by a good horse. That’s horse racing.”
Funny Cide now joins War Emblem, Charismatic, Real Quiet, Silver Charm, Sunday Silence, Alysheba, Pleasant Colony, Spectacular Bid, Canonero II, Majestic Prince, Forward Pass, Kauai King, Northern Dancer, Carry Back, Tim Tam and Pensive on the elite list of 17 horses who won the Derby and the Preakness but missed the Triple Crown in the Belmont.
Jockey Jose Santos summed up the Belmont this way.
“To win the Triple Crown is very difficult,” he stated. “That is why it has been 25 years since somebody did it.”
“Many are called but few are chosen.”
