Funny Guy returns to open company for Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. NYRA Photo.
By Paul Halloran
The field assembled for Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego Stakes at Saratoga Race Course is no joke, but that has not deterred the connections of New York-bred Funny Guy from trying to get the last laugh.
Coming off convincing wins in the Commentator Stakes and John Morrissey Handicap, both restricted to New York-breds, Funny Guy will meet open company for only the second time in his career, having run sixth in the Oklahoma Derby in his final race of 2019.
As it turned out, trainer John Terranova could not have found a much tougher spot. The Forego features 11 horses who have collectively made 95 starts in graded stakes, compiling 19 wins, 22 seconds and 11 thirds. You can make a cogent argument that this is the most competitive stakes race of the meet thus far.
“It certainly is a classy, deep field,” said Terranova, who has four wins at Saratoga this year, including the Tale of the Cat Stakes with Stan the Man. “He has to come with his ‘A’ game and keep moving forward.”
Based on the morning line, NYRA oddsmaker David Aragona must think Funny Guy, who has earned $505,145 in 12 career starts, has more than a puncher’s chance, installing him as the 9-2 third choice.
“Maybe he is the ‘now’ horse and some of the others may be off form,” Terranova said. “We don’t even know what his top is.”
Terranova and owners Gatsas Stables, Randy Hill and Swick Stable would like to find out Saturday. In order to do so, Funny Guy – a son of Big Brown out of the Distorted Humor mare Heavenly Humor bred by Hibiscus Stable – will have to be better than multiple graded stakes winners Whitmore, Firenze Fire and Mind Control, 2018 Champagne winner Complexity, Lexingtonian, who missed by a nose in the Bing Crosby at Del Mar after being scratched at the gate in the A.G. Vanderbilt, and Win Win Win, who hit the board in two Kentucky Derby preps in 2019.
“He’s a very smart colt and he has trained amazing,” said Terranova, who won the Forego in 2000 with 50-1 Shadow Caster, also for Gatsas, for whom he campaigned Gander, a New York-bred who ran in two Breeders’ Cup Classics. “His first two races this year were fantastic. He certainly deserves a shot.”
A shot to leave them all crying.
Cross Border tackles Sword Dancer
Three Diamond Farms’ Cross Border also faces a stiff challenge Saturday when he takes on seven foes in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. The English Channel progeny, who was bred in New York by Berkshire Stud and B. D. Gibbs, is the 3-1 second choice as he seeks his second stakes win of the meet.
The Mike Maker trainee finished second in the Grade 2 Bowling Green Aug. 1, but was moved up when Sadler’s Joy was disqualified for interfering with him and Channel Maker. Those three will be joined in the Sword Dancer by Highland Sky, promoted from third to second in the same DQ, United Nations winner Aquaphobia, Bowling Green pacesetter Marzo, Qatar Derby champ Pedro Cara and Corelli, who was third in the United Nations.
After taking nine starts to break his maiden at Woodbine, Cross Border didn’t tackle stakes company until his 19th career start, when he was off the board in the Grade 1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont in 2019. He set the pace and finished fifth in this year’s Grade 1 Manhattan, and picked up his first stakes win in the Lubash for New York-breds at Saratoga July 1.
