Kentucky Derby champion Funny Cide probably won’t be helping New York state’s economy if he wins the Preakness Stakes today in Baltimore.
A victory today by the New York-bred gelding would earn him a shot at the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
New Yorkers would flock to Belmont to cheer for the state-bred hero and support him at the betting windows. And they would probably lose their money while fans across the country were cashing in on the winner.
I can’t see Funny Cide becoming the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, but he has no excuses in today’s Preakness Stakes.
Here are my picks from worst-to-first:
10th: Foufa’s Warrior. This Maryland-bred has no early lick and lacks to the closing kick to earn even a small piece of the purse against these.
9th: Cherokee’s Boy. Has speed and the rail and could slug it out early with New York Hero and Peace Rules.
He’s also the most likely to drop anchor. The Maryland-bred colt has three wins over the course but the Tesio Stakes field he beat was very soft.
8th: Midway Road. Overmatched in stakes company so far and unlikely to wake up in hi s first test beyond 11/16 miles.
7th: New York Hero. Set the pace and tired badly in the Wood Memorial. Has the speed to cook Peace Rules early under aggressive jockey Jorge Chavez but figures to wilt in the stretch.
6th: Senor Swinger. Has an excellent trainer-rider combination in Bob Baffert and Pat Day but they can’t carry him and he might prefer to run on grass. Coupled with Scrimshaw in the betting, but what good does it do to have two horses running for you when they both figure to finish worse than third?
5th: Kissin Saint. A distant third in the Wood Memorial behind Empire Maker and Funny Cide. Should do his best running late.
4th: Scrimshaw. Banged hard at the start of the Kentucky Derby and never recovered. He benefits from the No. 2 post today and could sit slightly off the pace and be a factor all the way.
Chance to pad the superfecta payoff or even sneak into the trifecta.
Show: Ten Cents A Share. This moody colt closed lots of ground despite a brutal trip to finish a surprising eighth in the Kentucky Derby and benefits from the services of jockey Jerry Bailey today.
Lacks speed but has enough stamina to pass the stragglers for minor honors.
Place: Peace Rules. He led Funny Cide for most of the Kentucky Derby before tiring and bravely hanging on to finish third.
He has a better post position (No. 7) than Funny Cide today and is less likely to encounter an early traffic jam or lose ground into the first turn. Jockey Edgar Prado is a 14-time Pimlico riding champion and no one knows the track better.
If Peace Rules can set a reasonable pace, he could get a jump on Funny Cide and steal the race on a speed-favoring track with tight turns.
A more likely scenario has him contesting hot fractions with New York Hero and wilting near the wire.
Win: Funny Cide. Trainer Barclay Tagg has said all along that the Preakness should be this New York-bred gelding’s easiest race in the Triple Crown. He has the tactical speed to sit slightly off the pace, pick off the front-runners into the stretch and hold off the closers. He had a sharp workout this week and appears to have something left in his tank.
If Funny Cide doesn’t win the Preakness, he probably won’t run again until the Saratoga meet later this summer. If he wins today, the effort figures to take a toll and set him up for disappointment against the freshened Empire Maker or Atsawhatimtalknbout as the popular home-state hero in the Belmont Stakes.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/sports/columns/0517story1_columns.shtml
A victory today by the New York-bred gelding would earn him a shot at the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes on June 7.
New Yorkers would flock to Belmont to cheer for the state-bred hero and support him at the betting windows. And they would probably lose their money while fans across the country were cashing in on the winner.
I can’t see Funny Cide becoming the first Triple Crown winner since 1978, but he has no excuses in today’s Preakness Stakes.
Here are my picks from worst-to-first:
10th: Foufa’s Warrior. This Maryland-bred has no early lick and lacks to the closing kick to earn even a small piece of the purse against these.
9th: Cherokee’s Boy. Has speed and the rail and could slug it out early with New York Hero and Peace Rules.
He’s also the most likely to drop anchor. The Maryland-bred colt has three wins over the course but the Tesio Stakes field he beat was very soft.
8th: Midway Road. Overmatched in stakes company so far and unlikely to wake up in hi s first test beyond 11/16 miles.
7th: New York Hero. Set the pace and tired badly in the Wood Memorial. Has the speed to cook Peace Rules early under aggressive jockey Jorge Chavez but figures to wilt in the stretch.
6th: Senor Swinger. Has an excellent trainer-rider combination in Bob Baffert and Pat Day but they can’t carry him and he might prefer to run on grass. Coupled with Scrimshaw in the betting, but what good does it do to have two horses running for you when they both figure to finish worse than third?
5th: Kissin Saint. A distant third in the Wood Memorial behind Empire Maker and Funny Cide. Should do his best running late.
4th: Scrimshaw. Banged hard at the start of the Kentucky Derby and never recovered. He benefits from the No. 2 post today and could sit slightly off the pace and be a factor all the way.
Chance to pad the superfecta payoff or even sneak into the trifecta.
Show: Ten Cents A Share. This moody colt closed lots of ground despite a brutal trip to finish a surprising eighth in the Kentucky Derby and benefits from the services of jockey Jerry Bailey today.
Lacks speed but has enough stamina to pass the stragglers for minor honors.
Place: Peace Rules. He led Funny Cide for most of the Kentucky Derby before tiring and bravely hanging on to finish third.
He has a better post position (No. 7) than Funny Cide today and is less likely to encounter an early traffic jam or lose ground into the first turn. Jockey Edgar Prado is a 14-time Pimlico riding champion and no one knows the track better.
If Peace Rules can set a reasonable pace, he could get a jump on Funny Cide and steal the race on a speed-favoring track with tight turns.
A more likely scenario has him contesting hot fractions with New York Hero and wilting near the wire.
Win: Funny Cide. Trainer Barclay Tagg has said all along that the Preakness should be this New York-bred gelding’s easiest race in the Triple Crown. He has the tactical speed to sit slightly off the pace, pick off the front-runners into the stretch and hold off the closers. He had a sharp workout this week and appears to have something left in his tank.
If Funny Cide doesn’t win the Preakness, he probably won’t run again until the Saratoga meet later this summer. If he wins today, the effort figures to take a toll and set him up for disappointment against the freshened Empire Maker or Atsawhatimtalknbout as the popular home-state hero in the Belmont Stakes.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/sports/columns/0517story1_columns.shtml
