Funny Guy finished strong in his first start off a nine-month layoff, surging alongside the rail under jockey Joel Rosario to overtake Blewitt in the stretch and outkick two additional challengers to his outside, capturing Friday's $125,000 Commentator, a one-turn mile for New York-breds 3-years-old and up at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.
Owned by Gatsas Stables, R.A. Hill Stable and Swick Stable, Funny Guy won two stakes in his 3-year-old campaign, with his last race coming in a sixth-place effort in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby in September at Remington Park.
Funny Guy was content to sit off Blewitt's early pace, leading the nine-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.67 seconds and the half in 45.81 on the fast main track.
Rosario piloted Funny Guy to a ground-saving trip, gaining position near the rail and made a strong move out of the turn. In the stretch, the John Terranova trainee linked up with Blewitt to his outside and gained the edge as Bankit and 4-5 favorite Mr. Buff, the high weight carrying 127 pounds, also challenged from Blewitt's outside.
Funny Guy, carrying 120 pounds, hit the wire in a final time of 1:34.35, besting runner-up Mr. Buff by 1 ¼ lengths. Funny Guy improved to 4-4-0 in 11 career starts in his impressive 4-year-old bow.
“He's been doing really well and training great,” Terranova said. “We've had him ready for a while now. Of course, we've all been delayed coming back, and the race came up a deep field for New York-breds; that was our only maybe concern. As far as his training goes, he's progressed as a 4-year-old and just gotten stronger and stronger. I was hoping for a big effort and thought we would get it, but it was even sweeter than expected.”
Off at 11-1, Funny Guy returned $24.40 on a $2 win wager. The Big Brown colt earned $68,750 for the win, increasing his career bankroll to $458,395.
“Between the three-eighths and the quarter-pole, I had a problem with the horses in front of me and I had to check him a little bit,” Rosario said. “He was okay with that and was handling everything fine and was able to come up the inside and sustain his run. He kept improving. The further we went, the better he was going.”
Funny Guy has now won at 6 ½ furlongs, one mile, and 1 1/8 miles and has also run second in each of his two turf starts, with each coming in stakes against New York breds.
Mr. Buff, who entered with three consecutive wins and four victories in his last five starts for trainer John Kimmel, edged Bankit by a neck for second.
“He's a pro. He ran his race,” said Junior Alvarado, Mr. Buff's rider. “We thought coming into the race, it might be a little quick for him. He had only four workouts and two were easy and two trying to get him a little tighter before the race. We had that on our minds and I didn't want to chase the lead too early and get tired.
“Coming from a little bit of a layoff, I thought he put a great effort in today,” he added. “He was really digging in for me and he never gave up any ground. I don't think the weight mattered too much. He's a big guy, he can handle it. For me, it was more just needing a little more time.”
Blewitt, Build to Suit, Pat On the Back, Honor Up and My Boy Tate completed the order of finish. Whistling Birds was pulled up on the backstretch and vanned off.
The Commentator is named for the former trainee of Hall of Famer Nick Zito, who won the 2005 and 2008 editions of the Whitney at Saratoga Race Course and compiled three graded stakes wins overall in a career that spanned 2004-09.
Live racing resumes Saturday with a 10-race card highlighted by the Grade 1, $300,000 Ogden Phipps, a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Distaff, in Race 9 at 5:36 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:15 p.m.
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