NEWS
D’ Funnybone rebounds with Hutcheson score
Posted: Saturday, February 20, 2010 6:12 PM
D' FUNNYBONE
Coglianese Photos
To view the Hutcheson Stakes, click here.
by Patrick Reed
In his first start since a last-place finish in the 2009 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), multiple Grade 2 winner D’ Funnybone took command in early stretch and held off A Little Warm by a length to win the $150,000 Hutcheson Stakes (G2) on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Paul Pompa Jr.’s three-year-old D’wildcat colt, who annexed the 2009 Saratoga Special (G2) and Futurity (G2) Stakes by open lengths leading up to his start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, responded to a return to dirt and a one-turn race with a professional score under Edgar Prado.
Sent off as the post-time favorite at 11-to-10 odds, D’ Funnybone settled in third as pacesetter Wildcat Frankie led the seven-horse field through a half-mile in :45.10. Prado angled D’ Funnybone three wide on the turn and he quickly took the lead with more than a furlong remaining.
D’ Funnybone maintained a safe advantage in the final strides, completing seven furlongs in 1:22.14 on a track rated as fast.
Spectacular Bid Stakes winner and 2:40-to-1 second betting choice A Little Warm finished willingly but settled for second, one length ahead of three-time stakes winner Ibboyee, who was making his first start outside of his native New York.
Following the race, trainer Rick Dutrow Jr. said that D’ Funnybone’s bounce-back performance in the Hutcheson earned the colt another shot at longer distances. Dutrow set his sights on the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby (G1) on March 20.
“I’m happy to get him back and run so well off of the layoff,” Dutrow said. “At this point, I’m not ready to concede that his race in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was attributable to the distance, but rather to the [synthetic] track.
“Training any three-year-old at this time of the year, you think about the Kentucky Derby (G1), so unless something develops to change my mind, the Florida Derby is likely where he’ll go next.”
D’ Funnybone improved his career record to four wins in six starts with his third Grade 2 win and boosted his earnings to $368,200. Bred in Florida by Harold J. Plumley, he is the third winner out of the winning Woodman mare Elbow.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Patrick Reed is a Thoroughbred Times contributing writer
