Thin White Duke Breaks Maiden in Funny Cide

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY – Thin White Duke ensured Lookin for Trouble did not go station to station in the Funny Cide in Race 7, running down both Eagle Orb and the pacesetter from the outside in the stretch to break his maiden at fifth asking in the 6 1/2-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds.

Thin White Duke, who ran third in his first 2 starts at Belmont before finishing second in his last 2 attempts at the Spa this meet, finally earned a trip to the winner’s circle, tracking Lookin for Trouble’s early fractions of 22.13 for the 1/4-mile and the 1/2 in 45.07.

In the stretch, Joel Rosario set down the Dominus filly, who made a strong move from the outside to run down two rivals for a 1/2-length win in a final time of 1:16.75, giving trainer, breeder, and co-owner Phil Gleaves his first win of the meet.

Thin White Duke paid $12.20. Co-owned by Steven Crist, Ken deRegt, and Bryan Hillard, he was scratched out of a maiden race and handled the step up in class, outkicking Eagle Orb in second and Lookin for Trouble in third.

Gleaves said he used the Funny Cide as a way to gauge next steps for the improving gelding with an eye to potential starts at Belmont in the $100,000 Bertram F. Bongard at 7 furlongs (slated for October 2) or the $150,000 Sleepy Hollow, a one-turn mile (set for October 24).

“The only stakes in the fall for 2-year-old New York-breds are on the dirt – two at Finger Lakes and two at Belmont,” said Gleaves. “So, we needed to find out if he belonged with these types of horses. We scratched out of a maiden race to purposely run in this race to see where he stacked up. We felt like he would stack up and he showed it today.”