Retirement plans for Funtantes are on hold after she rediscovered winning form at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Ridden by apprentice Janette Johnson, Funtantes ($4.60) won the Uniform Management Services Handicap (1000m) by a long head from Delago Bolt ($3.30) with favourite Adebisi a length away third.
Funtantes, Janette Johnson - Photo by Daniel Costello
“The plan is to have her covered by a stallion at the end of the month then bring her back for a couple of fillies and mares quality races in September before we bring her racing career to an end,” trainer Robert Heathcote said.
“Rothesay, Real Saga and Show A Heart are the stallions that are in contention but we haven’t made a final decision on which one of those she will visit.”
Heathcote said Funtantes had been struggling on wet tracks during the winter carnival and he was confident the mare could return to winning form on Saturday.
“I said to the owners her form would pick up once she got back on top of the ground,” Heathcote said.
“She ran a blinder at her last run in Sydney on a wet track and I popped her out for a couple of weeks in the magic waters of Washpool Lodge and she’s really thrived.”
Johnson said Funtantes recovered quickly after beginning poorly.
“She didn’t begin all that well but she worked into a good spot and once we got into the straight and she tracked up behind the two leaders, I was fairly confident she’d win,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, the Group Three Newcastle Cup (2300m) on September 19 is on the agenda for Flying Home after his win in the McGrath Estate Agents Plate (2200m).
Trainer Barry Baldwin has been critical of the handicapping of Flying Home in recent months and specifically targeted the set weights conditions of Saturday’s race for the gelding.
“He keeps paying for his consistency by going up in the weights and this is about the only race that was suitable for him,” Baldwin said.
“I’ve had the Newcastle Cup in the back of my mind and if he comes through this race okay then we’ll probably head that way.”
Winning jockey Chris Munce threw away the script when there was a lack of pace early to take up the frontrunning role aboard Flying Home.
“I didn’t go out with the intention to lead but they went too slow early so I let him work around them at his own steam,” he said.
“The key to this horse is to get him to relax. If he can get back in a solidly run race one day you’ll see him really hit the line strongly.”
