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Speightstown, Constitution Lead the Way at WinStar

Speightstown will head the roster at WinStar Farm in 2022 with a fee of $90,000, stands and nurses, the same fee for which he stood in 2021. Right behind the chestnut is Constitution, North America's second-leading third-crop sire, who will stand for $85,000 S&N, also the same as 2021.

Among notable changes on the 18-horse roster, More Than Ready gets a trim from $65,000 to $50,000.

“Our 2022 roster is suited for breeders at every level,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. “Speightstown, Constitution, and More Than Ready continue to provide breeders with options from prolific sire lines that American racing thrives on. We have young, exciting Grade I-winning stallions, including Improbable, Audible, Yoshida (Jpn), Tom's d'Etat, and Global Campaign, who all have the potential to be top sires and lead the new generation of stallions at WinStar. We also have proven sires like Paynter and Take Charge Indy, who provide value with the possibility of getting a racehorse at the highest level.”

Speightstown, currently the third-leading general sire on the TDN sire list with progeny earnings of $13,443,275 thus far in 2021, has been represented on the track this season by Lexitonian, winner of the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.; Flagstaff, winner of the GI Churchill Downs S. and the GIII Commonwealth S.; and undefeated 3-year-old filly and 'TDN Rising Star' Carribean Caper, winner of five consecutive races, including the GIII Dogwood S. Speightstown has sired 21 Grade I Northern Hemisphere-foaled winners on every surface, from six furlongs to 1 1/4 miles all over the world, and one Southern Hemisphere-foaled Grade I winner.

Constitution, sire of last year's GI Belmont S. winner Tiz the Law from his first crop, is the second-leading third-crop sire in North America this year on the TDN sire list with progeny earnings of $8,282,355, 29 black-type horses, and four graded stakes winners.

More Than Ready will stand the upcoming breeding season for $50,000 S&N. From his Northern and Southern Hemisphere crops, More Than Ready has sired 212 black-type winners, is the only sire to have an Eclipse Award Champion each of the last four years, and he added a new Grade I winner this year in Hit the Road, winner of the GI Frank E. Kilroe Mile.

With first foals on the way in 2022, Improbable, the 2020 Eclipse Champion Older Male, will stand his second season at stud for $35,000 S&N, down from $40,000 last year. Undefeated at two and a five-length winner of the GI Los Alamitos Futurity, Improbable rattled off three consecutive Grade I victories in 2020.

Florida Derby winner Audible, who bred over 400 mares his first two years at stud–more than any WinStar stallion in history–will remain at $22,500 S&N. He has his first yearlings in 2022.

Paynter, who is currently ranked eighth on the general sires list with progeny earnings of $9,687,843, will stand for $7,500. That fee is only guaranteed through the Breeders' Cup where Paynter's son, Knicks Go, a four-time Grade I winner, is the likely favorite for the GI Breeders' Cup Classic.

Stallions will be available for inspection by appointment from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. during the Fasig-Tipton October Yearling Sale, Oct. 25-28.

The entire 2022 roster of stallions and fees (subject to change) for WinStar Farm are as follows:

Stallion, S&N Fee

Always Dreaming–$12,500

Audible–$22,500

Carpe Diem–$5,000

Constitution–$85,000

Exaggerator–$7,500

Global Campaign–$12,500

Good Samaritan–$7,500

Improbable–$35,000

WinStar Stallions Distorted Humor, Congrats Retired From Stud Duty

The upcoming breeding season marks a departure from WinStar Farm's stallion ranks for long-standing cornerstones Distorted Humor and Congrats as both are being retired from stud duty, the farm announced today.

Distorted Humor, a champion freshman sire and a champion general sire, served an instrumental role in helping WinStar scale new heights as a breeding operation, and the esteemed stallion has sired a plethora of big-name horses in a spectacular career at stud. Numbered among his top runners are classic winners Drosselmeyer and Funny Cide, and Grade 1 winners Commentator, Any Given Saturday, Flower Alley, Hystericalady, Boisterous, Awesome Humor, Restless Rider, and many others.

“We all owe Distorted Humor a debt of gratitude for all he has done for WinStar Farm, my family, and the many breeders who supported him from his humble beginnings,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. “He will be missed in the breeding shed this year, but we are so grateful that we can continue to see him at WinStar for the foreseeable future. What a horse.”

Over the last decade, Distorted Humor has also emerged as one of the leading and most influential broodmare sires in recent memory, being represented by such horses as racing's all-time leading earner Arrogate ($17,422,600), Elate, Practical Joke, New Money Honey, and Constitution. This year, he is represented as a broodmare sire by Grade 1 Woodward Stakes winner Art Collector, a leading candidate for next month's $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic.

Distorted Humor entered stud in 1999 and has provided many seminal moments during his remarkable and lengthy career as a stallion. He topped all freshman sires in 2002 and he was North America's leading general sire in 2011, the same year, his son and leading earner, Drosselmeyer ($3,728.170) captured the Breeders' Cup Classic. Drosselmeyer was also a classic winner, having won the 2010 Belmont Stakes. In 2003, Distorted Humor's Funny Cide, bred by WinStar and campaigned by Sackatoga Stable, won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes on his way to a career bankroll of $3,529,412.

A son of champion Forty Niner out of Danzig's Beauty, by Danzig, Distorted Humor is the sire of 163 black-type winners and 71 graded stakes winners with more than $152 million in total progeny earnings.

While he has made an indelible imprint on the breed as a stallion, Distorted Humor, bred in Kentucky by Charles Nuckols Jr. and sons, was also an accomplished racehorse.

Trained by Elliott Walden and owned by R.L. Renieman and Prestonwood Farms, Distorted Humor won the 1998 G2 Commonwealth Breeders' Cup Stakes at Keeneland, where he set a stakes record that still stands, getting the seven furlongs in 1:20.50. He also annexed the G2 Churchill Downs Handicap; the G3 Ack Ack Handicap, and the G3 Salvator Mile Handicap en route to earnings of $769,964.

Congrats, a top 10 sire by winners for the last six years (top 5 in three of those years) has been a perennial producer of top-class runners during his remarkably consistent career at stud and is once again among the leading sires of winners in 2021.

This year Congrats is represented by 122 winners and boasts progeny earnings of $4,843,399. His top runner this season is two-time graded stakes winner Last Judgment, winner of the G3 Pimlico Special Match Series Stakes at Pimlico and the G3 Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.

The only champion freshman sire by the legendary sire of sires, A.P. Indy, Congrats is the sire of such Grade 1 horses as Turbulent Descent, Haveyougoneaway, Wickedly Perfect, and Emma's Encore. Congrats has total progeny earnings of $71,982,417 and is the sire of 44 black-type winners. He is being retired to John Sykes' Woodford Thoroughbreds in Reddick, Fla.

“Congrats helped me get started in this business and has meant so much to Woodford Thoroughbreds,” said John Sykes. “We are happy to be bringing him home for his retirement.”

The post WinStar Stallions Distorted Humor, Congrats Retired From Stud Duty appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Distorted Humor, Congrats Pensioned by WinStar

Distorted Humor (Forty Niner–Danzig's Beauty, by Danzig), sire of 2003 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. hero Funny Cide from his first crop and an additional 17 Grade I/Group 1 winners to date, was pensioned from stud duty by WinStar Farm Monday at the age of 28. WinStar also announced it is pensioning stalwart Congrats (A.P. Indy–Praise, by Mr. Prospector) at the age of 21.

Humorous Beginnings…

The late Charles Nuckols, Jr. and Sons bred the chestnut son of 2-year-old champion Forty Niner from Danzig's Beauty, a Grade II winner and runner-up in the 2000 GI Acorn S. at Belmont Park. After winning his first start by a commanding 5 1/2 lengths with trainer Phil Gleaves, Prestonwood Farms purchased half of the colt and turned him over to Prestonwood trainer Elliott Walden.

Winner of Saratoga's Screen King S. (later Amsterdam S.) in August 1996, Distorted Humor was third to that year's GI Met Mile hero Honour and Glory (Relaunch) in the GII King's Bishop S. before finishing runner-up in the GII Jerome H. at Belmont and in the GII Fayette S. at Keeneland. Victorious in the GIII Salvator Mile H. at Monmouth in the summer of 1997, he celebrated his best year at the races as a 5-year-old, taking out the GII Commonwealth Breeders' Cup, the GII Churchill Downs H. and GIII Ack Ack S. before closing out his career with a troubled third in the GI Cigar Mile H. He retired to Prestonwood with a record of 8-5-3 from 23 starts and earnings of $769,964.

Distorted Humor stood his first year at stud in 1999 for a fee of $10,000 and became the leading first-crop sire of 2002 by earnings, owing largely to the exploits of the WinStar-owned and Walden-trained Awesome Humor, who was perfect in four juvenile appearances, including a 2 3/4-length victory in the GI Spinaway S. at Saratoga.

In 2000, Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner purchased the farm from the Preston brothers and renamed it WinStar Farm. Among the stallion's second crop was a New York-bred son of Belle's Good Cide (Slewacide) named Funny Cide. A $22,000 purchase out of the 2001 Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred yearling sale by Sackatoga Stable, the chestnut defeated his state-bred peers in three appearances at two before making a successful transition to open company in 2003. Runner-up to Empire Maker (Unbridled) in the GI Wood Memorial S., the 'gutsy gelding' turned the tables on his more fashionably bred foe in the 'Run for the Roses' scoring by 1 3/4 lengths before tacking on a 9 3/4-length romp at Old Hilltop. The even-money choice to become racing's first Triple Crown winner in a quarter-century, Funny Cide raced prominently over a sloppy Belmont main track, but gave way in the final furlong, ultimately settling for third to Empire Maker. Distorted Humor, who served mares at $20,000 in 2000, was runner-up among second-crop sires.

Distorted Humor sired two Grade I winners in each of those first two crops and sired at least one top-level winner from each of his first five North American crops. Commentator (2001) was a two-time winner of the prestigious of the GI Whitney H., while Flower Alley (2002) defeated the best of his generation in the 2005 GI Travers S. at the Spa. Hystericalady (2003) was victorious in the GI Humana Distaff H. and went within a whisker of winning the 2007 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, while Bit of Whimsy (2004) took out the time-honored GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup for Funny Cide's trainer Barclay Tagg. WinStar's Drosselmeyer (2007) became his sire's second Classic winner when upsetting the 2010 GI Belmont S. in the WinStar colors and added a season-ending success from the clouds in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in 2011. Distorted Humor's other domestic Grade I winners include Fourty Niners Son (Clement Hirsch Turf Championship), Any Given Saturday (Haskell Invitational), Boisterous (Man o'War S.), Jimmy Creed (Malibu S.), Joking (Vosburgh S.) and Restless Rider (Darley Alcibiades S.). Distorted Humor sired four international Group 1 winners: Pathfork (National S.) and Cursory Glance (Moyglare Stud S.) in Ireland; Aesop's Fables (Prix Jean Prat) in France; and Rinky Dink (Aus) (South Australian Oaks) from limited crops in Australia.

Overall, Distorted Humor has sired 1,147 winners to date (76.3% winners to runners), among them 163 black-type winners and 70 at the graded/group level in eight different jurisdictions, including England, United Arab Emirates and Turkey in addition to those previously mentioned.

Only a Horse of the Year season from Saint Ballado's son Saint Liam denied Distorted Humor a general sires' title in 2005 and he was among the top 10 sires from 2007-2010 before breaking through in 2011, owing to the exploits of Drosselmeyer. Distorted Humor stood for a six-figure stud fee from the mid-2000s, peaking at $300,000 in 2008. He commanded $50,000 at WinStar in 2020 before standing for an undisclosed fee this year.

Daughters of Distorted Humor have become important producers, having accounted for 115 black-type winners, 52 at the graded/group level and 19 to succeed at Grade I/Group 1 level. Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), a three-time top-level scorer in this country, added a spectacular victory in the G1 Dubai World Cup in 2017, and Distorted Humor is also the broodmare sire of Constitution (Tapit), the leading first-crop sire of 2019 by stakes winners and graded winners who also stands at WinStar.

His daughters have also produced the likes of Elate and New Money Honey–each by Medaglia d'Oro–Practical Joke (Into Mischief), 'TDN Rising Star' Guarana and Molly Morgan–both daughters of Ghostzapper–Book Review (Giant's Causeway), Carrick (Giant's Causeway) and Japanese G1SW Moanin (Henny Hughes).

Congrats

Congrats, a top 10 sire by winners for the last six years (top five in three of those years) has been a perennial producer of top-class runners during his remarkably consistent career at stud and is once again among the leading sires of winners in 2021.

A Grade II winner on the track and graded stakes-placed in four straight seasons from three to six, the bay entered stud in Florida at Cloverleaf Farms in 2007 before moving to Vinery from 2008-12 and calling WinStar home from 2013 on.

This year, Congrats is represented by 122 winners and boasts progeny earnings of $4,843,399. His top runner this season is two-time graded stakes winner Last Judgment, winner of the GIII Pimlico Special Match Series S. at Pimlico and the GIII Challenger Stakes S. at Tampa Bay Downs.

The only champion freshman sire by the legendary sire of sires, A.P. Indy, Congrats is the sire of Grade I winners Turbulent Descent, Haveyougoneaway, Wickedly Perfect, and Emma's Encore. He has total progeny earnings of $71,982,417 and is the sire of 44 black-type winners. He also has sired 12 graded stakes winners and is being retired to John Sykes' Woodford Thoroughbreds in Reddick, Fla.

“Congrats helped me get started in this business and has meant so much to Woodford Thoroughbreds,” said John Sykes. “We are happy to be bringing him home for his retirement.”

The post Distorted Humor, Congrats Pensioned by WinStar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Kentucky Oaks Winner Summerly Dies At Age 19

Summerly, the winner of the 2005 Kentucky Oaks, died earlier this year of colic, WinStar Farm CEO Elliott Walden confirmed to TwinSpires Edge. She was 19.

The daughter of Summer Squall had resided at WinStar Farm since 2006, when the operation purchased the mare for $3.3 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Bred in Kentucky by Tom Van Meter and Michael Lowenbaum, Summerly sold to Winchell Thoroughbreds for $410,000 at the 2003 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She was placed in the barn of Steve Asmussen, and ran third in the Grade 2 Golden Rod Stakes as a juvenile.

At three, Summerly rolled off wins in the G3 Silverbulletday Stakes and G2 Fair Grounds Oaks in Louisiana, then she finished fourth in the G1 Ashland Stakes ahead of the Kentucky Oaks. Under jockey Jerry Bailey, Summerly left the gate as the betting public's second choice and led at every point of call to win the race by two lengths.

Summerly added a win in the black type Ashado Stakes in Saratoga to kick off her 4-year-old campaign, and she retired at the end of the season with six wins in 14 starts for earnings of $907,652.

She entered the WinStar Farm broodmare band after selling at the Fasig-Tipton sale, where she produced five winners from eight starters. The most successful runners among them were the Brazilian Group 3-placed Unbridled's Song filly Allez Marie, and her first foal, the stakes-placed Distorted Humor colt Kentucky Reign.

Summerly's final foal was an Always Dreaming colt born on March 18. She was part of the first book of mares for WinStar resident Tom's d'Etat earlier this year.