Funcaandun dominates She’s A Maneater Trophy with impressive win
In a dominant display of speed and class, Funcaandun cruised to a convincing 7 ¾ -length victory in the fourth edition of the prestigious $1.75-million She’s A Maneater Trophy on Saturday, July 27, 2024.
Despite carrying a relatively light weight of 46.0kgs (101lb), the three-year-old American-bred colt, trained by Jason DaCosta, showcased his exceptional talent and determination, leaving a strong field of contenders in his wake in the Graded Stakes/Open Allowance contest.
Funcaandun faced a challenge at the start, missing the break badly. However, he quickly regained his composure and began to make his move as the race progressed, running on strongly in deep stretch.
The winning time of 1:39.0 for the one-mile course was a testament to
Funcaandun’s impressive performance, which left even his trainer impressed.
“It was a good performance,” DaCosta said. “He missed the break badly and he ran on pretty strong to win fairly comfortable, and so I am happy with the performance.”
DaCosta revealed that the plan was to take Horse of the Year Atomica off her game, using Mamma Mia to set the pace and Funcaandun to run on strong. The strategy paid off, with both horses performing admirably.
“Both horses [ Mamma Mia and Funcaandun] were pretty light in the handicap and so we have to take advantage of that, having one to lead and one to run on,” DaCosta said.
“We figured if Mamma Mia got an easy lead she would be tough to beat, and we will always try to run on with Funcaandun.
Mamma Mia took a lot of pressure and still held on gamely,” DaCosta noted. “I am happy with both of their performances today.”
With this impressive win, Funcaandun has cemented his position as a horse to watch in the future.
“Let’s see how they come out of the race and then we will choose some spots for them,” DaCosta said.
With Jordan Barrett in the saddle, Funcaandun broke off well behind runners at the start that saw him trailing the pack from second to last position in the six-horse field.
Mamma Mia showed the way ahead of Atomica, Further and Beyond (Raddesh Roman), and Big Big Daddy (Natalie Berger) down the backstretch.
Approaching the half-mile (800m) turn, Funcaandun seized the moment to launch his move, deftly slipping into third place behind Mamma Mia and Atomica. With momentum now on his side, he joined the front-runners at the top of the stretch and then unleashed a blistering sprint to cross the wire an easy winner.
