NEW YORK, June 5: Funny Cide, the three-year-old gelding who has become a household name here in the past three weeks, drew the four post for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes in his bid to enter racing’s history books.

“I am happy with the post position,” said his 65-year-old trainer Barclay Tagg after the draw at Belmont Park racetrack Wednesday morning.

And jockey Jose Santos, 42, added, “It is a great post. But it is a small field and anything can happen when the gates open.”

It will be Santos’ 12th mount in the Belmont. He won on long shot Lemon Drop Kid in 1999 spoiling Charismatic’s bid to complete the Triple Crown.

Charismatic finished third. Tagg will be saddling his first runner in the Belmont.

Funny Cide, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, is just one win away from becoming only the 12th horse and first gelding to win America’s Triple Crown and the first since Steve Cauthen guided Affirmed to the treble in 1978.

Only five others - Dynever, Empire Maker, Scrimshaw, Supervisor and Ten Most Wanted - will run in the one-and-a-half-mile one million-dollars Belmont. If Funny Cide wins, it will take his career earnings to a record 7.48 million dollars for a gelding. This will include the five million-dollar bonus for taking the Triple Crown.

Empire Maker, who is expected to challenge Funny Cide in the closing stages of the race, drew the first post, with Supervisor at two, Scrimshaw three, Dynever five and Ten Most Wanted six.

Jerry Bailey, who will ride Empire Maker, said, “That’s fine (the post position). It is not relevant (because of the small field) in this race.”

Asked about his role of being the spoiler if Empire Maker wins and wrecks Funny Cide’s Triple Crown chances, Bailey said, “That’s fine. Either you are favourite or the underdog. Even if you are the underdog it doesn’t matter when the gates open.”

Asked who would win if Empire Maker and Funny Cide were in front with a furlong left, he said “my horse because of the pedigree.”

Ten Most Wanted trainer Wallace Dollase said his horse had recovered from a displaced vertebrae after the Derby and was “fine and in terrific shape and should run a good race.”

Peter Karches, a part owner of Dynever, was also happy with his three-year-old’s post. “He is a lightly raced horse and from what he has shown us he will give them a good run on Saturday. It is going to be a fun race.”

Heavy rain fell overnight in New York, but this will not affect Funny Cide, said Tagg.

“I’m not thinking about the weather, what can I do about it?” he asked.

English Derby runners

LONDON: Runners and riders for the English Derby, a group one race for three-year-old colts and fillieds, run over one and a half miles (2.4 kms) at Epsom on Saturday (tabulated under - latest form, horse, trainer, jockey):