You Funny Man may be primed for upset in John Wayne Stakes

Third in 2014 and 2015 and second last year in the John Wayne Stakes, maybe the 8-year-old You Funny Man gets up this year in the $50,000 Iowa-bred stakes Saturday at Prairie Meadows. You Funny Man is one of seven entrants in the six-furlong John Wayne, race 7 (post time: 7:43 p.m. Central).

Six horses exit the same Iowa-bred sprint allowance run April 30, a race won by Itsallaboutyou, who is listed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite for Saturday. That was Itsallaboutyou’s second straight win this year, but the victories, peak efforts, came on wet tracks, and Itsallaboutyou’s longer-term record suggests he can be opposed at a short price in the John Wayne.

One Fine Dream will garner betting support. He was third in the April 30 allowance race after solid efforts in open company at Oaklawn Park, but One Fine Dream prefers more distance, and his rail draw could be tricky.

Meanwhile, You Funny Man, 12-1 on the morning-line, was a no-factor sixth on April 30, but he has never loved wet tracks, and trainer Paul Pearson often has used allowance races to ready You Funny Man for stakes starts. If sufficient pace shows to set up You Funny Man’s late run, his backers could be laughing all the way to the bank.