Funny Cide won the Derby thanks to a good-looking stretch kick which turned back the late challenge of eventual runner-up Empire Maker. He then put himself in position to win the Triple Crown with an effortless 9 3/4-length win in the Preakness. The competition wasn't good in the Preakness, but Funny Cide's effort was, and it set him up beautifully for a another big outing in the Belmont Stakes. He also worked a very fast five furlongs at Belmont on June 3 indicating he remains in extremely sharp form. Funny Cide owns plenty of tactical speed which has historically been very helpful in this race, and he has shown no signs that the Belmont's 1 1/2-mile distance will be any problem whatsoever.

Some very good horses have made it as far as Funny Cide has up till this point in recent years only to fail in the Belmont, However, the main difference between Funny Cide and horses like Silver Charm, Real Quiet, Charismatic, and War Emblem is that Funny Cide is based at Belmont and will be running the third jewel of the Triple Crown over his home track. Funny Cide lives just 100 yards from Belmont's clubhouse turn, and has trained over this track regularly since mid-April. He also owns a perfect 3-for-3 record at Belmont which he earned against New York-breds including Spite the Devil and Go Rockin' Robin last fall.

The horse offering the most betting value in the Belmont will be Ten Most Wanted, who was very well-bet in the Kentucky Derby before finishing a disappointing ninth. Ten Most Wanted fits very well against the rest of the field in the Belmont if he's able to repeat the 110 Beyer figure he earned when winning the Illinois Derby on April 5. He was bumped hard and supposedly hurt his back in the opening strides in the Derby providing a possible excuse for his lackluster effort in that race. However, trainer Wally Dollase says a chiropractor has since fixed Ten Most Wanted's back injury, and it's not too much of a stretch to believe what he says based on the fact that he's gone through the trouble of shipping Ten Most Wanted cross-country from his home base in Southern California.

As an added edge, Ten Most Wanted has enjoyed a solid, uninterupted training regimen in perfect weather/track conditions at Hollywood Park while his locally based competition has had to fight almost constant rain and sloppy track conditions while preparing for this race.

Dynever will be another interesting challenger to Funny Cide in the Belmont Stakes. Dynever bypassed the first two legs of the Triple Crown to specifically point toward this race. That strategy has worked out well so far as Dynever comes into this race with three straight victories including two stakes wins in the Aventura Stakes and the Lone Star Derby. Dynever's Beyer figure regressed from a 101 to a 98 from the Aventura to the LS Derby, but that 98 speed figure would have been much higher if Dynever had not been blocked in traffic though at least half of the stretch-run. There are plenty of things to like about Dynever in the Belmont, but the fact that the colt has been training for this race in a bar shoe is just enough to cast a shadow of a doubt upon his chances for winning this race.

The solid second-choice in the Belmont will be Kentucky Derby favorite and runner-up Empire Maker. The Belmont will be the rubber-match between Funny Cide and Empire Maker since Empire Maker beat Funny Cide in the Wood Memorial only to have the tables turned in the Kentucky Derby. Empire Maker pulled aside Funny Cide at the top of the stretch in the Derby only to flatten-out and finish an easily-beaten second. Nothing that happened in the stretch-run of the Derby indicates that Empire Maker will benefit vs. Funny Cide from the Belmont's 1 1/2-mile distance, or even that he is capable of beating Funny Cide at any distance beyond 1 1/8 miles.

Additionally, Funny Cide will hold a big conditioning edge on Empire Maker in the Belmont. While Funny Cide should benefit from his run in the Preakness, Empire Maker has been waiting for the Belmont and attempting to train his way up to the race in less-than-ideal conditions.

The six-horse field will be completed by Supervisior, the third-place finisher in the Peter Pan, and Scrimshaw, the third-place finisher in the Preakness.

SELECTIONS:

135th Belmont Stakes
Belmont Park, Saturday 6/7 - Race 11
Purse: $1,000,000, Distance: 1 1/2 miles
1) 4-Funny Cide
2) 6-Ten Most Wanted
3) 5-Dynever
4) 1-Empire Maker

$100 PLAY

Play Funny Cide to win and then try to bump up your return on investment by playing him in exacta boxes with possible upsetter Ten Most Wanted.

$80 win: 4-Funny Cide = $80
$10 exacta box: 4-Funny Cide / 6-Ten Most Wanted = $20