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American Morning
Interview With Owners of Funny Cide
Aired June 06, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Racing history can be made over the weekend. In fact, we're looking at tomorrow, Triple Crown, Funny Cide, the horse, that is going for history: first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Of course the horse is a great story, but the ownership group of this horse is a great story as well, and we have the owners with us here, of Sackatoga Stable. Most of you childhood friends. I want to introduce a few of you, and you guys can include your other friends as we go along. We Jack Knowlton, Dave Mahon (ph), and Jon Constance.
Gentlemen, congratulations so far on exactly -- on the incredible success of Funny Cide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, thank you so much. For the group of us, six that started this eight years ago, Funny Cide's only the ninth horse we've ever owned, the most expensive horse at $75,000. Won the first two legs of the Triple Crown and over 1.8 million, and if he can get it done tomorrow, we get a $5 million Visa bonus. So we're really excited, hoping for the Triple Crown.
KAGAN: Cha-ching (ph), and $5 million would mean a lot to guys like you, because I have got to say, what's a bunch of non-Saudi princes like you guys doing in a race like this for the Triple Crown?
JACKSON KNOWLTON, MANAGING PARTNER, SACKATOGA STABLE: The prince and the pauper, so to speak. We are not quite paupers, but we're not princes either. So we don't try to think about the money too much. This is the history of the sport we are going for right now, and if we get to walk the Winner's Circle, I'll start thinking about it then.
KAGAN: And just real quickly about Funny Cide, he is a gelding, and I think, uncomfortably, people know at home what that means. He has a lot but is missing something. But how did you find this particular horse?
JON CONSTANCE, CO-OWNER, FUNNY CIDE: The horse was picked out by our trainer, Barkley Tagg, Robin Smullen. They have done a great job for us all along. They spotted the horse about a year ago and asked us if we were interested, and thank God we were.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There is going to be a major story tomorrow regarding the weather. It may rain. Jack, how's Funny Cide done in the past? Would you consider it a mudder or not?
KNOWLTON: Oh, absolutely. The Preakness that we won three weeks ago was a very wet track. They officially had it as good as race time, but it was a sloppy mess earlier in the card (ph). HEMMER: Now, wet is one thing, right?
KNOWLTON: Yes.
HEMMER: But muddy is a completely different matter.
KNOWLTON: He ran a good race. Second to (ph) Empire Maker by half a length in Wood Memorial, and that was on a muddy track. And we know from working out in the morning he's been able to run well in the slop and the mud. He really doesn't care. Robin Smullen, our assistant trainer, said he could run over a plowed field. I just doesn't matter. He loves to race.
HEMMER: What is going on in Sackets Harbor, by the way? Population 1,300, no stop lights?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No stop lights. It's the place to be. It's live in Sackets Harbor this weekend.
KAGAN: The one little dark cloud that hung over this incredible success story is what happened after the Kentucky Derby, the charges that your jockey, Jose Santos, was cheating with something in this hand. Of course, has been completely vindicated. But has that spoiled this amazing experience for you guys at all?
KNOWLTON: No. It was just a glitch for a couple of days. We felt really bad for Jose and his family, especially because they were calling him a cheater, which was not the case, and proved so. But life goes on. We go on to the Preakness, we do well there, and Saturday's a new day.
KAGAN: And Saturday, it is a new day, but you guys are going to travel in the same kind of style. The school bus. Tell us about traveling on the school bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Dave, one of the people who really helps put all this together, the hotels, the transportation, the food, and when we were in Louisville, he talked to the hotel people and they wanted $3,600 for a regular bus down there, and Dave said, Are there any options that we have got? And they said, Well, for $1200 we can get you a yellow school bus, and Dave said, Sold.
HEMMER: Maybe you guys can afford it these days. Quick question for you. When it comes to big races, handicappers will tell you, the horse has to respond to the crowd and the people around it to really show that it can indeed compete on this level. Why do you think Funny Cide right now has responded to the crowds and the people at the Preakness and at the Kentucky Derby?
CONSTANCE: Funny Cide loves the crowd and he loves to run in New York.
KAGAN: It is New York story. Gentlemen, good luck tomorrow. We will be watching.
Go Funny Cide. Appreciate it so much. Belmont Stakes, tomorrow, Long Island.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 6, 2003 - 09:43 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Racing history can be made over the weekend. In fact, we're looking at tomorrow, Triple Crown, Funny Cide, the horse, that is going for history: first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. Of course the horse is a great story, but the ownership group of this horse is a great story as well, and we have the owners with us here, of Sackatoga Stable. Most of you childhood friends. I want to introduce a few of you, and you guys can include your other friends as we go along. We Jack Knowlton, Dave Mahon (ph), and Jon Constance.
Gentlemen, congratulations so far on exactly -- on the incredible success of Funny Cide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, thank you so much. For the group of us, six that started this eight years ago, Funny Cide's only the ninth horse we've ever owned, the most expensive horse at $75,000. Won the first two legs of the Triple Crown and over 1.8 million, and if he can get it done tomorrow, we get a $5 million Visa bonus. So we're really excited, hoping for the Triple Crown.
KAGAN: Cha-ching (ph), and $5 million would mean a lot to guys like you, because I have got to say, what's a bunch of non-Saudi princes like you guys doing in a race like this for the Triple Crown?
JACKSON KNOWLTON, MANAGING PARTNER, SACKATOGA STABLE: The prince and the pauper, so to speak. We are not quite paupers, but we're not princes either. So we don't try to think about the money too much. This is the history of the sport we are going for right now, and if we get to walk the Winner's Circle, I'll start thinking about it then.
KAGAN: And just real quickly about Funny Cide, he is a gelding, and I think, uncomfortably, people know at home what that means. He has a lot but is missing something. But how did you find this particular horse?
JON CONSTANCE, CO-OWNER, FUNNY CIDE: The horse was picked out by our trainer, Barkley Tagg, Robin Smullen. They have done a great job for us all along. They spotted the horse about a year ago and asked us if we were interested, and thank God we were.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There is going to be a major story tomorrow regarding the weather. It may rain. Jack, how's Funny Cide done in the past? Would you consider it a mudder or not?
KNOWLTON: Oh, absolutely. The Preakness that we won three weeks ago was a very wet track. They officially had it as good as race time, but it was a sloppy mess earlier in the card (ph). HEMMER: Now, wet is one thing, right?
KNOWLTON: Yes.
HEMMER: But muddy is a completely different matter.
KNOWLTON: He ran a good race. Second to (ph) Empire Maker by half a length in Wood Memorial, and that was on a muddy track. And we know from working out in the morning he's been able to run well in the slop and the mud. He really doesn't care. Robin Smullen, our assistant trainer, said he could run over a plowed field. I just doesn't matter. He loves to race.
HEMMER: What is going on in Sackets Harbor, by the way? Population 1,300, no stop lights?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No stop lights. It's the place to be. It's live in Sackets Harbor this weekend.
KAGAN: The one little dark cloud that hung over this incredible success story is what happened after the Kentucky Derby, the charges that your jockey, Jose Santos, was cheating with something in this hand. Of course, has been completely vindicated. But has that spoiled this amazing experience for you guys at all?
KNOWLTON: No. It was just a glitch for a couple of days. We felt really bad for Jose and his family, especially because they were calling him a cheater, which was not the case, and proved so. But life goes on. We go on to the Preakness, we do well there, and Saturday's a new day.
KAGAN: And Saturday, it is a new day, but you guys are going to travel in the same kind of style. The school bus. Tell us about traveling on the school bus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Dave, one of the people who really helps put all this together, the hotels, the transportation, the food, and when we were in Louisville, he talked to the hotel people and they wanted $3,600 for a regular bus down there, and Dave said, Are there any options that we have got? And they said, Well, for $1200 we can get you a yellow school bus, and Dave said, Sold.
HEMMER: Maybe you guys can afford it these days. Quick question for you. When it comes to big races, handicappers will tell you, the horse has to respond to the crowd and the people around it to really show that it can indeed compete on this level. Why do you think Funny Cide right now has responded to the crowds and the people at the Preakness and at the Kentucky Derby?
CONSTANCE: Funny Cide loves the crowd and he loves to run in New York.
KAGAN: It is New York story. Gentlemen, good luck tomorrow. We will be watching.
Go Funny Cide. Appreciate it so much. Belmont Stakes, tomorrow, Long Island.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
