By Dylan Butler
They came to rain-soaked Belmont Park in droves Saturday, almost all of the 101,864 wanting to see a New York-bred win the 135th running of the Belmont Stakes.
They did.
Just not that New York-bred.
Brooklyn-born Bobby Frankel, a Hall-of-Fame trainer who had never won a Triple Crown race, picked up the victory, as Empire Maker foiled Funny Cide’s bid to become the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown.
Empire Maker, who was upset by Funny Cide in the Kentucky Derby, stalked the crowd favorite until overpowering the chestnut gelding around the final turn.
Frankel, who said in the week leading up to the race he wanted to play the part of villain, did just that as the bias crowd who tried to will Funny Cide to the finish line booed his brown 3-year-old colt.
“I don’t feel bad right now, to tell you the truth. I feel great. I won the race, and that’s what I wanted,” Frankel said. “I didn’t think I could get beat, to be honest with you. You like to be right once in a while; we’re wrong so much in this business.”
Funny Cide finished a distant third, behind Empire Maker, who won the grueling mile-and-a-half race in 2:28.26, and Ten Most Wanted.
The 1-6-4 trifecta on the sloppy track paid $67.50.
“I don’t know if it was my plan to attack him. It was my plan to at least make him run semi-hard into the first turn,” said winning jockey Jerry Bailey who also won the Belmont with Hansel in 1991. “I thought my horse was tactical enough in leaving the gate to do that. Also, my horse relaxes no matter what you do in the first eighth of a mile. I had the tools to do what I wanted to do, and it worked out well.”
Funny Cide, whose owners include Douglaston’s Eric Dattner as well as six high school buddies from upstate Sackets Harbor, jumped out to the lead out of the gate and set the pace in the six-horse field, unlike the other two legs of the Triple Crown when the New York-bred came from behind to win the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes.
Maybe it was the slop or Belmont’s extra quarter mile, but Funny Cide, the even-money favorite who won his three previous starts at Belmont, looked uncomfortable as it made its final turn around the stretch. That’s when Empire Maker, who was lurking closely, took over.
“I was pretty confident when he made the six furlongs in 13 and change,” said Funny Cide’s trainer Barcley Tagg. “It’s just disappointing. I feel bad for all the people who were behind him wanting him to win this.”
Added jockey Jose Santos: “I’m not disappointed in this horse at all. I’m proud of him. His best was third today. The track affected him. He didn’t handle it well. I still think I have the best 3-year-old. He’ll be back and I’ll be riding him. I can’t wait for Funny Cide and Empire Maker to meet again.”
Empire Maker, who also beat Funny Cide at the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, took the lead as the horses turned for home and held off a furious challenge by Ten Most Wanted down the stretch.
“When I turned up the backside, I knew I had Funny Cide,” Frankel said. “Because he was pulling on Jose and my horse was very relaxed, and that’s the whole key, going a mile and a half, to have your horse relax. If they pull you on all the way, they have nothing left in the turn going home.”
Reach Associate Sports Editor Dylan Butler by e-mail at TimesLedger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, ext. 143.
