Funny cide in washington park ??
 

it is rumored that funny cide and perfect drift are to run in chicago in AP's washington park handicapp (named for the old race venue) on the 29th on july.

i find this difficult to believe because PD is to face THE LAVA MAN (unbeaten in 5 races 3 grade 1's) at del mar in the pacific classic on the 20th of august. he won't run on 7-29 then 8-20,
then another prep JcGC?, then the BCC.

will funny cide run here ???

who knows or can find out ? Gander ?

Perfect Drift will do the Wash Park H/Pacific Classic double. He did it last year. Funny Cide' connections will love the spot - 9.5f I believe against lesser competition - and I think that it is a possibilty although the owners would probably love to run him at Saratoga.

Sure, I will check it out. I doubt Funny Cide would be pointing to a race in Chicago in the middle of the hottest time of the year. But you never know. Maybe they want to keep him against more modest fields like that one in Woodbine last out. And maybe they are hoping for a cool down.

Yeah, if that horse doesn't like humidity then he will want no part of it, but it would be nice if he did come, the race is usually pretty weak

Can we safely say that Funny Cide is at least slightly back to respectable form now after his last two races in Baltimore and at Woodbine? Good to see him back in the winner's circle.

I think we can DEFINITELY say that. Along with the 2 races you mentioned, he won the Kings Point and ran second in the G3 Excelsior this year. Two stakes wins and two more in the money finishes in graded stakes races is definitely respectable.
I don't think he is in Perfect Drift's league because PD is still a very solid G1 horse, and I would not think that Tagg would want to run him in the midwestern heat/humidity. But if the race ends up being Perfect Drift and a bunch of mules......maybe they take a shot. Funny Cide's recent form looks good, we all know that as good as PD is, he is not exactly a winner, and hell it is hot EVERYWHERE this summer. Unless they want to keep him on the shelf until October, they are probably going to have to run him somewhere hot.

You don't think Funny Cide can beat Perfect Drift? That would be the ultimate battle of hangers.

Funny Cide is no hanger Slot. He sometimes fails to fire but he still has that tenacity when hes in front turning for home. His two wins this year have both been gutwrenchers down the lane where he had to fight off another horse.
Hes been a fighter his whole life. He really gets a bum rap because hes been managed so poorly since right after the triple crown and of course at his age(and Perfect Drifts age) you develop little nagging conditions and arent pristine anymore. Just imgaine where their contemporaries would be had they not been retired so long ago, I doubt that many would be at the level these two are at. Its hard ever to root against these two old horses.

I'm not rooting against either, but Funny Cide had really failed to menace on any occasion until the last couple of starts. That Sir Greeley/Sun King race from January wasn't terrible either.

I think they have found a comfortable level for Funny Cide. Its not rocket science guys. He was in over his head for a year or two, and some of the best handicap horses made him look like a chump. Now they have come to their senses and placed him in winning spots. That has boosted his confidence. He actually believes he can win again. Its not rocket science.

i always liked funny cide, i think it is his name that is kinda catchy. he is the alltime leading new york breed when measured by on track earnings.

is he going to chicago ???

Well of course he COULD beat Perfect Drift. Perfect Drift is always beatable because he tends to run 2nd or 3rd a lot....regardless of the competition. But overall I would say that Perfect Drift is still a very competitive G1 horse, while Funny Cide is more of a G3 type horse. As Gander correctly points out, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a 6 year old like FC still being a good G3/lesser stakes horse. It is very impressive.
I would certainly favor PD in this spot because in addition to being a better (I think) overall racehorse, he looked VERY impressive over this track in this race last year.
I just hope this bit of info about Funny Cide turns out to be correct because I will be there at Arlington that day and I would love to see these two old boys run.

He hasnt gotten back to me on whether or not Chicago is going to happen. I strongly doubt it but you never know. I'd like to see him run at Saratoga in one of those state bred turf races.

You can see a bunch of horses who won stakes races, even graded ones, at 2 or 3 running for claiming tags as 5 and 6yos every week. Even former members of my Road to the Roses stable (ouch!). So maintaining some semblence of his form into 'middle age' as a racehorse is an accomplishment.

It is very rare to see any accomplished horse at ages 2 or 3 even be in training at ages 5 and 6. Horse racing is just not what it use to be back when the sport was centered around racing and not breeding. Its very unfortunate. You can pretty much count on any horse that does well at 3 to be off the track 1 year later or sooner. Makes having a favorite horse tough anymore.

Arromanches!

I could be wrong about this, but I believe they thought about trying him on the turf a couple of years ago. I don't think he ever actually raced on the weeds, but I think they trained him over it a few times and he didn't seem to like it very much, and posted some rather slow workouts over it.
Who knows, they might give the grass a try, but since he seems to be returning to form somewhat on the dirt, I imagine that they will keep him there.

Thank god for geldings!

If Freefourinternet could beat Perfect Drift at Hawthorne then I'm going to say that FunnyCide would definitely have a chance to do the same at Arlington.

I don't know if this match-up is really going to happen but I gotta say that it would be great all around for racing to have these two warriors hook up. They both have their flaws but the fact that they're still racing is exciting.

I mentioned before, jokingly because I didn't think they would actually meet, that if FC and PD were to race against each other that this board would self destruct due to the massive amount of debate that would surely ensue between the "Funny Ciders" and the "Drifters".

Probably not. I think a lot of people are both. Its called the OCDGFC.
"Old Classic-Division Geldings Fan Club".

no title
 

PD would kill FC. No contest.

I would count myself in the OCDGFC, but loyalties would be put to the test.
Would love to see it though, it would be a big day for Arlington. Much better than PD versus a bunch of mules as someone else put it.

Either way I'm there to see it.

Possibly, but PD has burned up quite a bit of win money in his time and FC doesn't succumb without a fight.

I'm sure at this point PD would be a deserving favorite but I would love to see the stretch duel.

just saw a brief bit about West Virginia being the only older horse by storm cat to win. it's a shame that they all get rushed off so quickly.

lol

PD would KILL fc?? maybe a couple years ago, pd's best, when he won against mineshaft and congaree. but he's not quite the same as he was then. i think it would be an interesting race. and now declans moon is back as well. thank goodness for geldings....

maybe they should have a gelding incentive fund! pay out a bigger purse to those without their..er...essentials...

I do think Perfect Drift is good for about 8-10 Beyer points more than Funny Cide these days when both are their best. Perfect Drift, however, will do anything to keep himself out of the winner's circle so he could conceivably run well below his potential to lose by a head, and generally does it seems. Maybe he thinks the camera steals his soul...if thats the case he should tell Barbara Livingstone to stay away. Perfect Drift is great for second but has no heart to win - Funny Cide on the other hand has all the heart to win and I'd love to see both here or against one another in the future. Lets also not forget that Perfect Drift is still competitive against Grade 1 competition - Brass Hat, Buzzards Bay, Flower Alley, Borrego, Lava Man, etc. in the last two years. It has taken a strong drop in class for Funny Cide to regain his form against Nolan's Cat, Gold and Roses, West Virginia, etc. Perfect Drift right now IMO is a much better horse and will earn several times what Funny Cide will this year, but if the two went head to head it would be much closer than it should be.

... and would be so very, very entertaining to read! :)

I still remember GPK's comment to BuffyM on the ESPN board about winning his handicapping contest, and that, if she picked a PD hat as one of her two prize hats that "even the hat would get there second." One of his best bon mots EVER.

(Buffy, I like PD, too. But it was still a funny comment.)

Funny Cide is definitely headed to Arlington.

No way, it is suppose to be lower to mid 90's with some SERIOUS humidity, Tagg would never ship into that, with him knowing that the weather won't be to his favor....

There just aren't any races available for him. They won't throw him back in with the top horses in the Whitney of Suburban. I think the 9F distance in the Philip H Iselin Breeders Cup at Monmouth is too short for him.

Your right hun, that was one of my better ones:D :D

Here are the PP. Funny Cide would be very competitive here.

http://www.arlingtonpark.com/racing_...pps%202006.pdf

Understandable...But Tagg, as you say, cares about the horse, and with this bring true, he isn't going to run him in a situation where he is going to be uncomfortable. Last night they were saying rain/88 degrees/90% humidity...Today on weather.com, it is more favorable. I want nothing more but to be able to see him in person, but I just don't think Tagg will ship into that environment, also, with the publicity that Arlington is getting for breakdowns, which yesterday there were one serious one, and another that was vanned off.....Too many negatives IMO

You are probably correct. The weather is strike one, but the breakdown thing is strikes 2 and 3. The race at Monmouth is still a good race for him and the owners probably will be pushing him to the Suburban (at the spa) which could come up light. Definitely no Whitney for him.

Tagg has a very interesting horse though in Lael's Auguri that might find his way into one of these races.

The Big Guy in the barn though is definitely a go for the Secretariat. He is back to being sharp as ever.

it will be HOT next weekend.

it 100-115 in california today, and headed east.

I will admit, it was a funny comment.

P.S. Ya know my husband has stolen that hat!

By the way, 1st Sat said it best. Look at the competition the two geldings are running against. PD is much the better horse, but it would be a close race.

Tell you what though, guys, if a third of the horses on that nominations list come to Arlington, well, that's going to be one hell of a nice field for this race.

Funny Cide will not be running at Arlington this weekend. Jack has no clue about his next race but guarnteed me he wont be running at Arlington this weekend.

There are only two options for him and the race at Monmouth is the likely one.

They are not going to run this horse unless the weather is condusive. I feel bad for Tagg because he gets the blame for running this horse into the ground. If he was allowed to be as patient as he is with Showing Up, Funny Cide would be winning races left and right, there isn't another horse out there with a bigger heart (not even the bootleg English Channel, KEV)

Watch out for the other gelding in this race, Kid Grindstone.
The horse seems to be hitting his best stride since they moved him back to the dirt 3 starts back. The horse has hit the board 5 races in a row, has won 2 straight stakes races in his last 2 starts, and looked sharp over this track in his last race. He obviously has not been running against horses of Perfect Drift's class, but I definitely like him at a price in this race.