Funny How overcame many obstacles just to get to the races. On Sunday, she overcame a slow start to gain her first stakes victory. After a slow break and getting squeezed back to last of six, Funny How rallied three-wide under Katie Davis to score a 4 1/4-length victory in the $100,000 Broadway Stakes for New York-bred females at Aqueduct. Betsy Blue, the 5-2 second choice, rallied to 4-5 favorite Bank Sting for second. Know It All Audrey finished fourth, followed by Honey Money and November Rein. It was the fifth consecutive victory for Funny How, a daughter of Overanalyze owned by Adelphi Racing Club and Cutair Racing and trained by Ray Handal. For Davis, it was her fourth career stakes victory, first in New York and first since she returned to riding last summer after having her first child in December 2021. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match and FREE Formulator PPs! Join DRF Bets. “I’m thrilled for Katie,” Handal said. “She’s put in so much work on her side and she helps me out so much. We had a  rider call out this morning and she galloped four horses for me. It’s a true team effort.” Part of that team includes Dr. Patty Hogan, of Hogan Equine in Cream Ride, N.J., who had to perform a serious surgery on Funny How’s sinus cavity before the filly ever made it to the races. Before that, early in her 2-year-old year, Funny How had a soft tissue injury in a hind ankle that Hogan also worked on. “She’s my super weapon,” Handal said of Hogan. Funny How lost the first two starts of her career last summer before winning a maiden race at Aqueduct on Sept. 29. She went through her New York-bred conditions and then won an open allowance on Jan. 7. “She earned this try,” Handal said. Handal knew Funny How would be facing Bank Sting, a five-time stakes winner. He was not expecting to also have to take on Betsy Blue, who was coming off two open-company stakes tries. Funny How had her head turned just before the gates sprang open, then she got pinched back to last. Funny How advanced three wide down the backside, inside of Honey Money and outside of Betsy Blue and Bank Sting while November Rein set the pace, stalked by Know It All Audrey. The half-mile went in 46.87 seconds. Funny How was still two lengths off the leaders turning for home, but kicked in above the three-sixteenths pole, took over at the eighth pole and drew clear. Funny How, owned by Adelphi Racing Club and Cutair Racing, covered the seven furlongs in 1:25.82 and returned $12.60 to win. “We definitely didn’t want to be last coming away from there,” Handal said. “The first eighth she grabbed the bit and got a little keen and wanted to do too much too soon. Katie did a good job of tucking her in and she was able to get her to relax.” Davis was riding Funny How for the second time. Her husband, Trevor McCarthy, rode Funny How for the first four races of her career but he is sidelined due to injury. Davis said when she warmed up Funny How, “she threw a buck jump, so she was feeling really good. She was eager to get out of the gate. I was okay that she didn’t break as well. I kept her calm and relaxed and made that one move with her while all the speed goes.” Handal said he may look to run Funny How in the Grade 3, $150,000 Distaff Handicap on April 7. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.