Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Columnist Ralph Siraco: Empire Maker gets last laugh vs. Funny Cide

Ralph Siraco's horse racing column appears Monday and his Southern California selections run Tuesday-Sunday.

There was no crown in the Empire on Saturday. There was no champion Maker for New York. It seems Funny Cide was on the wrong side of Empire Maker and Mother Nature.

A massive crowd of New Yorkers and those who came to the Big Apple looking for history waited through a long day of racing for the 135th Belmont Stakes under ominous skies that pelted the Belmont Park racing strip to a sea of mud.

The dismal day would seem appropriate following the failed Triple Crown attempt by Funny Cide that left the 101,864 who braved the elements numb with sadness. Empire Maker finally lived up to the billing that until Saturday had been realized by the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner.

It was just five short weeks since Funny Cide had humbled Derby favorite Empire Maker at Churchill Downs. And, while Funny Cide continued to Baltimore in quest of the second jewel in racing's Triple Crown, the horse most experts tabbed as the most likely Triple Crown hopeful was regrouping for a Belmont rematch.

With the Preakness and Derby victories banked, Funny Cide was set for his date with destiny. With most of the racing world, a growing legion of fans and what seemed like the entire city of New York lining the path, Empire Maker went from Triple Crown prospect to Triple Crown spoiler.

There were plenty of signs during the three weeks from the Preakness Stakes to the Belmont Stakes that led many to conclude the six-horse field that faced the starter on Saturday was a showdown between Funny Cide and Empire Maker with four others as window dressing.

The "lock-em-up Q" was waiting large in Las Vegas. Visions of Sunday Silence-Easy Goer's three quinella finishes in the 1989 Triple Crown were fresh on bookmakers' minds as limits were instituted for the Funny Cide-Empire Maker version in this year's Belmont.

That vision also was lost in the sea of mud.

As this city's race books packed, simulcast outlets from coast to coast jammed and more huddled around television sets in living rooms throughout the country. Each mirrored the dense humanity at Belmont Park as the horses left the paddock to the tune of "New York, New York" for the post parade. Funny Cide reached the starting gate at fever pitch and Empire Maker showed no signs of his balking temperament as he stepped into his place in stall one.

The scene was set for a chess match of will and fitness.

The first move was decisive when the starter dispatched the field at the finish line for one lap around the 1 1/2-mile oval. Jockey Jose Santos checked on Empire Maker immediately after breaking from stall four. While it appeared no one wanted to set the tempo, Santos had no choice but to send a rank Funny Cide to the lead.

Jerry Bailey displayed his Hall Of Fame form as he guided Empire Maker outside Funny Cide to better traction in a center path on the track. Scrimshaw attended the cat-and-mouse game for a brief stint as the three trailers completed a closer-knit cluster of six than expected.

As they made their way down the long Belmont backstretch, Funny Cide was not settling down, but instead, was fighting to go on. Empire Maker had dead aim on his Triple Crown target and by the time they had made their way to the top of the home stretch there was lingering doubt about Funny Cide's resolve.

Empire Maker ambled alongside Funny Cide like the cat who was ready to eat the canary. That is where the 12th Triple Crown hopes died mired in the mud.

A confident Bailey asked the question of Empire Maker as a frustrated Santos and a spent Funny Cide retreated. Now, a new and posing challenge came from Ten Most Wanted, who had closed to the flank of Empire Maker. Pat Day had tracked the path of Bailey to make a menacing run before Empire Maker secured his Belmont Stakes victory with a final stand of stamina. The "cinch quinella" was split like a melon.

There was no doubt who was better on this day. The confidence of Bailey and trainer Bobby Frankel were evident before the race. Frankel, a Brooklyn native, enjoyed the part of spoiler and Bailey related to a television commentator, shortly after he pulled up on the far turn, that at least a few people were happy at the outcome of the race, including himself. He also relayed that Empire Maker was the best sophomore he had ever ridden and predicted a bright future for his beaten Derby partner.

Frankel was vindicated for the Derby failure, but is now left to wonder what might have been if Empire Maker had not bruised his foot just before his Derby loss.

Funny Cide did not handle the track conditions well. Santos, who boasted about knowing every inch of the Belmont strip in interviews throughout the week, put Funny Cide in the worst possible footing -- down on the rail -- and failed to get his horse to relax, while Bailey quickly maneuvered Empire Maker, stalking from the outside of his rival. Of course, the great ones overcome such obstacles.

The celebrity of Funny Cide and what he has done for racing is immeasurable. The magical odyssey he provided for his small-town conglomerate of owners and his legend, that still demands more chapters, is a ride through this Triple Crown edition that will be hard to top.

Even after his bitter loss, the New York-bred gelding got a deafening reception of admiration from the rain-soaked crowd when he returned to be unsaddled.

From a Triple Crown failure comes a budding rivalry. Empire Maker has taken the measure of Funny Cide twice, in the Belmont and Wood Memorial, while Funny Cide took the Kentucky Derby from Empire Maker.

If all stay healthy, the rivalry road show will provide a most entertaining summer and fall. And nothing can rain on that parade.

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