Say Florida Sandy Preview: Funny Guy Ready to Laugh Again

OZONE PARK, NY – Trainer John Terranova’s Funny Guy is ready to laugh again as he faces a short field of grizzled veterans in Staurday’s $100,000 Say Florida Sandy Stakes at Aqueduct.

The Say Florida Sandy is a 7-furlong dirt sprint restricted to New York-bred horses ages 4 and up. This year’s edition is the third event on a 9-race card and has a local post time of 1:20 PM.

Here’s a look at the full field for the Say Florida Sandy:

1. Funny Guy 3/5 – Funny Guy exits a strong neck score in the NYSSS Thunder Rumble Stakes over this course and distance, defeating a third-place finisher who returned to win the Alex M. Robb Stakes. He earned Beyer Speed Figures ranging from 94-101 in his 5 dirt sprints last year and earned a 96 in the Thunder Rumble that’s the best last-out Figure in this field.

“We weren’t too sure exactly where to go to kick off this year, but he came out of the last race just fine and was training just fine, so this seemed like a good spot to get him started,” Terranova said. “Distance-wise, it’s just right. I’m just happy to have him happy and sound and I’m looking forward to starting the season with him and having some fun. We’re certainly proud of what he accomplished last year and he’s great to be around in the barn. We’re grateful we have some nice owners behind him and that we continue to have good opportunities to run him.”

2. Our Last Buck 4/1 – He steps up to the stakes ranks for the first time after defeating open company allowance rivals going 1 mile over this course last month. He’s never tackled 7 furlongs before, but he’s won going shorter and longer, and 3 of his 5 career wins came locally. Aggressive gate jockey Kendrick Carmouche takes the mount for the first time.

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3. My Boy Tate 5/2 – He returns a week after finishing a well-beaten fourth as the 7/5 favorite in the Gravesend Stakes, a 6 1/2-furlong contest against open company sprinters. It was the worst result of his past 5 starts, so assuming he’s no worse for the wear, expect a better effort here. He changes jockeys to Jose Lezcano, aboard for a runner-up effort in the Tale of the Cat Stakes.

4. Runningwscissors 12/1 – He brings a 2-race win streak into his stakes debut, victories that he earned by multiple lengths going 6 furlongs over the local dirt. 4 of his 7 career trips to the winner’s circle came in 2020 and he seems to be clicking at his best for owner/trainer Jeffrey Englehart, who connects at 31% with horses who crossed first last time out.

5. Celtic Chaos 10/1 – He steps up to the stakes ranks for the first time since trainer Rudy Rodriguez claimed him for $40k in September; Rodriguez wins 21% at the stakes level with an impressive $3.12 ROI. The intact, hard-knocking 8-year-old’s 10 career wins are the most in the field, with 1 of those coming in a stakes – 2019’s John Morrissey.

“He came back out of the last race pretty good (finishing third in an open company optional claiming sprint going this distance) and looks solid,” Rodriguez said. “He always tries. If you give him the time, he gives you big efforts. He likes the distance. I’m hoping he can duplicate the last effort and get a piece of it. He’s a warrior. To run like this at 7 and 8 years old, you don’t see that many that compete at that level.”

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