GLORIOUS FINISH
1993 Forty Niner / Danzig's Beauty by Danzig
Winning is in His Blood
America's #1 Freshman Sire in 2002, #2 on the General Sire List in 2005 and currently #4
Active Sire in the WORLD by Apex A Runner Index. Worldwide progeny earnings now in excess
of $22M.
Distorted Humor’s top performers include Funny Cide winner of the Kentucky Derby (G1),
Preakness Stakes (G1), Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1), Excelsior Breeders Cup Handicap
(G3), Sleepy Hollow S., Bertram F. Bongard S., and second in the Wood Memorial S. (G1),
Flower Alley,winner of the Travers S. (G1),Jim Dandy S. (G2), Lane's End S. (G2), and
second in the Breeders Cup Classic (G1) and Arkansas Derby (G2)
Commentator,winner of the Whitney S. (G1), Perryville S. and 3rd in the Woodward S.
(G1)
Awesome Humor, winner of the Spinaway S.(G1), Adirondack S.(G2), Debutante S.(G3),
Indiana B.C. Oaks (G3), and second in the Alabama (G1), and Churchill Downs Distaff H.
(G2)
Rinky Dink(AUS), winner of the Australian Oaks (G1),
Don Dandy winner of the Clasico Dia de Reyes (G1) and the Clasico Antonio R. Barcelo
(G1)
Fourty Niners Son, 2nd Eddie Read H. (G1), 3rd Arlington Million (G1), 3rd American
Invitational H. (G2), Sensibly Chic winner of the Vagrancy H. (G2), What a Summer S. etc.,
,Go Rockin’ Robin, winner of the Peter Pan (G2), Humorous Lady, winner of the Astarita
(G2), Original Spin winner of the Arlington-Washington Lassie S.(G3), and 3rd in the
Breeders Cup Juvenile Filly (G1),Tirade(AUS),winner of the Guineas Prelude (G3), as well
as multiple stakes winners Heavenly Humor, Crackup, Kool Humor, Saratoga Humor,
Sharp Humor, Twisted Wit etc.
February 9, 2005
TEAM VALOR BUYS UNRACED 3YO DISTORTED HUMOR FILLY,
RICK VIOLETTE WILL PREPARE SPEEDSTER FOR
MARCH DEBUT
Team Valor has bought a 3-year-old filly by Distorted Humor
from a productive Kentucky family.
Barry Irwin saw the filly train last month when he visited Ocala,
Florida, where he was touted on the Kentucky-bred by Nick de
Meric of Manuden Farm.
“She was a buy back last year at the Keeneland 2-year-old sale,”
Irwin said. “Nick knows that Team Valor is always in the market
for top prospects, which is why he recommended the filly to us.”
Irwin said it was foggy the morning of the breeze last month at
Manuden Farm. De Meric was so insistent that the filly was an
undiscovered gem that Irwin made a deal with him, as follows:
“When I was a bloodstock agent, if I really believe in a horse,
what I would do is just send it to a trainer with live clients. I
would say ‘Here it is. You train it for a month. If you like it, you
buy it. If not I will go elsewhere. I never failed to make a sale.
Unraced filly Wicked Funny is wicked fast.
(Click on photo for larger image of filly.)
“We have several trainers right here in Florida. I will give you a
list, you choose the trainer, send it to him, I will watch it train, listen to the trainer, and let you know in a
month if I want her.”
De Meric thought it over, picked Rick Violette, and sent the filly to him last month. Violette took his time
with her and has breezed the filly twice. Last week she went a sharp half in 48 seconds flat. This week she
skipped five-eighths in 1:01.
Said Violette: “She’s plenty fast. I like her. She can definitely run. She
is pretty green though. If you ran her within two weeks, she might not
win. But, if you let me work on her a bit at the gate and with other
horses, I would feel confident sending her over at Gulfstream Park that
she would win first time out. She’s that talented.”
Irwin has seen her twice and was impressed both times. “She is what
you want in a filly. She is feminine, well balanced, with an ample butt.
She has lots of gas, but is not stupid about it, and has a good chance to
run around two turns.”
The filly had been named Secret Humor, but Team Valor changed it this
week to Wicked Funny, which seems appropriate, as she is by Distorted
Humor out of a mare by The Wicked North.
Trainer Rick Violette
Wicked Funny’s pedigree brings up some bittersweet memories for
Team Valor, as the stable tried hard to buy both her sire and her
broodmare sire. “I can assure you it was no laughing matter when we
lost Distorted Humor,” said Barry Irwin. “Same thing goes with
broodmare sire.”
Distorted Humor was so impressive breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Park that Irwin left the grandstand
for the backstretch to see if he could buy him through Phil Gleaves, his trainer. But bloodstock agent Don
Brauer was also there, he had a relationship with the owner-breeder, and Gleaves said the colt could only
be bought if he was retained as the trainer.
“I’d had my Gleaves experience and that was enough for me,” said Irwin. “Because of his relationship with
the owner, from whom he later bought Kentucky Derby winner War Emblem, Don was able to buy the colt
and take it away from Gleaves in the bargain. It was a heartbreaker.”
Distorted Humor went on to a distinguished career as one of the top sprinter/milers of his generation. He
started at stud with a low fee, was bred to average mares
and has made the most of his opportunities.
Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Jockey Club Gold Cup
hero Funny Cide put Distorted Humor on the map, but
other Grade 1 winners like Spinaway heroine Awesome
Humor and Group 1 Australasian Oaks heroine Rinky Dink
solidified his position as a top-flight Kentucky sire.
The son of Forty Niner (Mr. Prospector) led all sire in his
crop to cop the Freshman Sire title over Elusive Quality,
sire of Smarty Jones. He currently ranks as the secondleading sire of his crop behind Smarty Jones’ sire.
Distorted Humor is the sire of Wicked Funny
For the current season, Distorted Humor stands for a fee of
$150,000 live foal at WinStar Farm near Versailles, Kentucky.
Team Valor’s latest filly purchase hails
from a very productive and famous
Kentucky family tracing back to her
fifth dam, the foundation matron Rock
Drill, a daughter of Triple Crown hero
Whirlaway.
Rock Drill was a stakes winner and a
fabulously successful producer. She
foaled 4 stakes winners, among the
Champion Filly at 3 Lady Pitt. Famous
runners to descend from Rock Drill
include a bevy of top fillies raced by the
Phipps Family, including Champion
Filly at 3 Heavenly Prize and Grade 1
Ballerina Stakes heroine Furlough, and
the Phipps Family’s Breeders’ Cup
Sprint hero Dancing Spree.
Wicked Funny, photographed yesterday
Wicked Funny traces to Rock Drill
at Palm Meadows Training Center
through three stakes-producing mares
which are themselves responsible for the likes of Danzig’s son Posen (won 4 Graded grass stakes), Flower
Girl (stakes winner sprinting on grass in both California and Germany), and Cathy’s Reject, a Graded
stakes winner on the Triple Crown trail who went to stud in the bluegrass.