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No excuses Can't blame Funny Cide's loss on weatherPosted: Saturday June 07, 2003 9:27 PMUpdated: Sunday June 08, 2003 2:12 AM
After Empire Maker won the Belmont Stakes to deny Funny Cide a Triple Crown, SI.com spoke to Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden about the race. SI.com: How much was the weather a factor in Funny Cide finishing third? Layden: It's hard to say. Funny Cide's jockey and the assistant trainer, Robin Smullen, both suspect Funny Cide did not handle the track well. He had never run on one that was really sloppy. It makes for a handy excuse but nobody knows for sure. Whether he lost because of the mud, it's hard to say whether that's accurate or not. SI.com: In recent years so many horses have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown but failed in the Belmont. Is it something particular about this race that causes that? Layden: I don't think it's so much the Belmont itself. The Triple Crown is three different races in five weeks that require three different running styles. It requires a horse that is tremendously fast and strong at a relatively young age, and we have not been able to produce one that is strong enough yet. It takes a lot of strength to complete all three, and the longest one comes at the end and that requires even more strength. The Belmont is the only time in their lives that these horses will ever have to run a mile and a half. SI.com: What does this victory mean for Empire Maker? Layden: He looked like a great horse going into Kentucky Derby. As Bobby Frankel said, this is vindication for him. He may yet prove to be the best 3-year-old in his class. No question he was the best horse today and may be the best horse in the future SI.com: Funny Cide had fast workout on Tuesday. Did he leave his best race on the practice track? Layden: It's possible but we'll never know that for sure. Most people thought that workout showed he was extremely fit and ready to run a great race. You have to let the horse do what he wants and he wanted to run fast that day. I'm not ready to say that workout cost him that race. SI.com: What does the future hold for Funny Cide? Layden: I think Funny Cide is still a horse that everyone, when the disappointment dies down, they are going to realize we are looking at the first gelding in history win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness. He's a horse that can go on to run for many more years and do many great things. We'll find out how great he is in the future. SI.com: So in your mind he still has to prove himself? Layden: Sure, absolutely. People will say he got a good trip in the Derby and raced against nobody in the Preakness. There just weren't many good horses in Preakness. People will say he still has to prove himself. That's the way it is with any sport and no less so with horse racing. Now he has to prove in the Travers Stakes in Saratoga in August that he's a better horse than Empire Maker. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden covers horse racing for the magazine and is a regular contributor to SI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment. |
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