CT: Ray of Sunshine shines bright in Confucius Say
Earns first stakes win in thriller
The Biz
June 14, 2026
Jockey Reshawn Latchman kept asking for more. And Ray of Sunshine kept finding more.
John Funkhouser’s Ray of Sunshine shook loose from dogged pursuit and then held off the closers to win Saturday’s $75,000 Confucius Say Stakes for state-breds at Charles Town Races. The win was his fourth in five starts since switching into the barn of Stephen Murdock.
The Golden Years gelding’s first career stakes win also stamps him a player in a jumbled West Virginia-bred older male division. How jumbled? The first seven finishers in the Confucius Say were within three lengths of each other.
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Ray of Sunshine is now 7-for-16 in his career with $201,413 in earnings.
After Murdock took over the training, Ray of Sunshine has shown improvement start by start, and on May 15 he had recorded a career-best 86 Beyer speed figure when dead-heating for an allowance win with last year’s Russell Road Breeders’ Classic winner Spotafreeone.
That was the latter’s season debut, though, and bettors made Spotafreeone the 3-2 post time favorite in this 10-horse field. Jubawithatwist was 5-2, while Ray of Sunshine was the 3-1 third choice.
Ray of Sunshine was away alertly to avoid some of the gate confusion that tangled up, among others, morning line choice Pascaline.
Ray of Sunshine and Latchman zipped to the front but immediately had company to their outside in the form of 123-1 shot No Cash Refunds. That rival pressed the favorite through an opener in a moderate 23.89 seconds and a half-mile in a sharper 47.18.
A few lengths behind that pair, Catch the Humor, Runaldo, and Spotafreeone were biding their time, hoping the longshot would soften up Ray of Sunshine.
With a furlong to go, Nocashrefunds was still there, but he soon would tire, finishing seventh. Meanwhile, Catch the Humor and Runaldo were revving up their runs outside the top pair, with Catch the Humor widest of all. That pair came flying in the very late stages but could not quite catch Ray of Sunshine, who held on to win by a head over Catch the Humor, with Runaldo another neck back in third.
Running time for seven furlongs on a fast main track was 1:25.25.
Catch the Humor returned $8.60 to win. The exacta paid $39.20 for a one-dollar wager.
Im the Director, Juba’s Hat Trick, Judgement Day, and Jungle Beast were scratched.
Confucius Say, who won the West Virginia Breeders’ Classic in 2001, 2002, and again five years later in 2007, raced in the blue-and-gold colors of the Funkhouser family’s O’Sullivan Farms – the same silks worn by Latchman in winning Saturday’s Confucius Say.
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