The 4-year-old gelding stormed into the lead down the stretch and pulled away for a sweet victory in the rain in the $1-million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Saturday.
And just like that, the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner had that elusive victory over the same wet racetrack where he suffered his cruelest defeat - a loss in the Belmont Stakes that ended his Triple Crown bid.
"It's a great victory. I was hoping we would be able to reverse what happened last year," said Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Sackatoga Stable.
Funny Cide, with Jose Santos aboard, took a brief lead early, dropped to third near the far turn and looked as if he was ready to fall out of contention before the field turned for home. But Santos, who missed Funny Cide's last start while recovering from a broken arm, put his horse into drive. Running between rivals, Funny Cide fought past The Cliff's Edge, who was rallying on the outside, and Newfoundland, who was leading on the inside.
Funny Cide, who covered the 11/4 miles in 2:02.44 with Newfoundland second, had won just two of eight races this year and was winless in three previous starts at Belmont.
The Gold Cup was one of four Grade I races on the card: Pico Central was sensational in taking the Vosburgh Stakes, Kitten's Joy won the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Riskaverse took the Flower Bowl Invitational.
SANTA ANITA: Light Jig (1:59.28) came off the pace with a big move in the stretch to win the Yellow Ribbon Stakes by a record 4 lengths, and Lundy's Liability won the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap, giving Bobby Frankel a sweep of the $500,000 races. It was the Hall of Fame trainer's fourth victory in the Yellow Ribbon turf race. Another Breeders' Cup prep on the stakes tripleheader was the $200,000 Oak Leaf Stakes for 2-year-olds, won by Sweet Catomine.
HAWTHORNE: Freefourinternet rallied from well off the pace and won a stretch duel, beating Perfect Drift by 13/4 lengths in the $750,000 Hawthorne Gold Cup. Trailing by about 25 lengths early, Freefourinternet closed the gap in the stretch and covered 11/4 miles in 2:03.1.
PHILADELPHIA PARK: Ashado beat Ender's Sister by 23/4 lengths in the $250,000 Cotillion Handicap. Ashado easily outran her rivals in the stretch, covering 81/2 furlongs in 1:41.68.TENNIS: Federer vs. Roddick final
Roger Federer and Andy Roddick pulled out three-set victories to set up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 final at the Thailand Open in Bangkok. Top-ranked Federer got past Thai star Paradorn Srichaphan 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in the first semifinal, then Roddick outlasted Marat Safin 7-6 (7-1), 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-2) in a matchup between past U.S. Open champions.
OTHER MATCHES: Former No. 1 Kim Clijsters' comeback from left wrist surgery stalled when she quit in pain while losing to Elena Bovina in the Gaz de France Stars semis in Hasselt, Belgium. The third-seeded Bovina faces top-seeded Elena Dementieva in an all-Russian final. ... Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova topped Anne Kremer 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the Korea Open final in Seoul. The top seed faces Marta Domachowska, who defeated American Abigail Spears.
COLLEGES: USF women golfers in 3rd
The USF women gained two strokes on leader Coastal Carolina (583) at the Beacon Woods Invitational in Bayonet Point, but the Bulls remained in third (592). USF's Fernanda Rivera shot a second-round 75 and fell from first to third; she was two behind leader Heidi Helliesen of East Carolina.
SOCCER: Lynn extended its home unbeaten streak to 35 matches, dispatching the Saint Leo men 5-1.ET CETERA
CYCLING: The ICU unveiled a 30-race professional tour that will radically alter the sport next season, forcing the major teams to compete in all the top events. The move comes largely in response to Lance Armstrong's failure to participate in enough big races besides the Tour de France. The World Cup of one-day races and the UCI rankings will be scrapped to make way for an overall Pro Tour ranking, with a point system taking into account each race's importance.
SOCCER: Arsenal extended its unbeaten streak in the Premier League to 48 games, getting two goals from Thierry Henry in a 4-0 victory over Charlton.
