Grade 1 Winner Funtastic Retired to Three Chimneys

Three Chimneys Farm announced Oct. 24 that grade 1 winner Funtastic , raced by the Torrealba family, will take up stud duty at the Kentucky farm for the 2019 breeding season.

A son of More Than Ready , who has sired more than 100 stakes winners, Funtastic finished on the board in seven of 11 starts and scored a top-level victory in the United Nations Stakes (G1T) at Monmouth Park against a field that included grade/group 1 winners Bigger Picture and Silverwave, and multiple graded stakes winners Oscar Nominated and Money Multiplier. After running the first six furlongs in 1:13.52, Funtastic made a bold move to pick up the pace turning for home and stopped the clock in 2:12.36 for the 1 3/8-mile contest.

Funtastic is out of Quiet Dance, who is Saint Liam's dam and Gun Runner's second dam. He was retired with earnings $410,711.

"We've enjoyed immeasurable success from the family of Horses of the Year Gun Runner  and Saint Liam. Gun Runner took us on the ride of our lives," said Three Chimneys chairman Goncalo Torrealba.

"I have long believed in the importance of foundational female families as a cornerstone for long-term success in the breeding business. The racing dynasties of the past were all built upon these rock-solid foundational families. In the case of Funtastic, it was the Evans family who devoted limitless passion and capital, which resulted in a family that stands to reshape the breed for years to come.

"At the end of the day, it's about breeding Saturday afternoon racehorses. I am in awe of the genetic dominance represented by Funtastic's family," added Torrealba. "If you consider that Horse of the Year Saint Liam sired Horse of the Year Havre de Grace—one of only a handful of mares to earn that title—in his only crop, there is clearly a concentration of dominant traits that pervades multiple generations of this important pedigree."

"Ned Evans was an artist at breeding grade 1 winners and developing female families," said Three Chimneys chief operating officer Chris Baker, who formerly worked for Evans. "This family was his masterpiece. Funtastic will get our full support as Three Chimneys looks to extend this legacy through his offspring. We encourage breeders to come see him."

Funtastic will stand for a fee of $7,500, stands and nurses.

Three Chimneys board member Doug Cauthen added, "Funtastic is bred very similarly to Saint Liam, being by More Than Ready. When you look at him physically, he looks more like a sprinter/miler than a horse that can get a classic distance. When a breeder looks at the complete picture before them, I believe they will see good value in a horse like him at $7,500."