Triple Crown hope Funny Cide earns a washdown

The three-year-old will attempt on Saturday to claim the Belmont Stakes and become the first horse to win the treble for 25 years and the first ever gelding to achieve the feat.

And he was faster than expected when completing a five-furlong dash in 57.8 seconds under exercise rider Robin Smullen.

It was a full two seconds faster than his previous effort on a rain-sapped Belmont track a week earlier.

Mike Silleto, jockey Jose Santos' agent, said Funny Cide looked "awesome."

Siletto added: "He didn't even look like he had just done anything when he walked off the track."

Funny Cide beat hot favourite Empire Maker by 1� lengths to take the Kentucky Derby, first leg of the Triple Crown, last month.

Then he stormed home in the Preakness Stakes by 9� lengths and now just the Belmont Stakes on Saturday stands between the gelding and history.

"He's good and strong, he's training well, and he's eating up at night," Tagg told the Bloodhorse website before his latest gallop.

"He's doing everything the right way and he is strong as iron. I just want to get him there as peacefully and perfectly as possible. We want him happy and healthy and sound."

THE US TRIPLE CROWN Kentucky Derby 2003 race report Preakness Stakes 2003 race report Belmont Stakes

Four horses in the last six years have won the first two legs of the Triple Crown but none has captured the imagination of the American public in the way that Funny Cide has.

In a sport where it is not uncommon for horses to trade hands for millions of dollars, Funny Cide was bought for just $75,000 (�45,500) and he is owned not by any of the usual bloodstock magnates but by a syndicate of 10.

He is trained by the unheralded Barclay Tagg and his win in the Kentucky Derby was the first runner the trainer had ever had in the race.

New York is not one of the US's big racing centres but Funny Cide is one of the few top-class horses to be trained locally.

And with the Belmont Stakes taking place there, it is estimated that about 125,000 could turn up to watch Funny Cide's attempt at history, which would be the biggest crowd ever for a sporting event in New York.