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


Unraced filly Wicked Funny is wicked fast.
(Click on photo for larger image of filly.)

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.
“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.


Trainer Rick Violette

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 GulfstreamPark 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.
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 GulfstreamPark 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.


Distorted Humor is the sire of Wicked Funny

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 second-leading sire of his crop behind Smarty Jones’ sire.
For the current season, Distorted Humor stands for a fee of $150,000 live foal at WinStar Farm near Versailles, Kentucky.


Wicked Funny, photographed yesterday
at PalmMeadowsTrainingCenter

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 traces to Rock Drill 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.