Bred and raced by Ballymacoll Stud and trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of G1 Prix du Cadran heroine Sought Out (Ire) (Rainbow Quest) won one of two starts at two, and added the G2 Dante S. and G1 Derby in succession during the spring of 2004. A half-brother to multiple group winner Cover Up (Ire) (Machiavellian), he then found only Grey Swallow (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}) too good in the G1 Irish Derby and ended his season with a fifth in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. At four, he was second in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S., and ended his career with a mark of 7-3-3-0 and $1,989,577 in earnings.

Upon retirement, a majority interest in North Light was purchased by Frank Stronach, who stood the bay at his Adena Springs in Kentucky beginning in 2006. Moved to Adena North in Canada for his fifth season in 2010, he was leased to Kirsten Rausing's Lanwades Stud in England for one season in 2014. Repatriated to Canada beginning in 2015, he was pensioned in October of 2019 and lived out the rest of his days at Adena South.

(North Light)
Vodafone Derby 2004 pic.twitter.com/HmppDndrqQ

— Racing Tales (@Racing_Tales) May 5, 2020

Among his nine worldwide stakes winners were G1 St Leger hero Arctic Cosmos, who also was placed in three other group races, GII Del Mar H. hero Celtic New Year, Grade III winners Chips All In and Go Forth North, and Brazilian Group 2 winner Gol Tricolor (Brz). His daughters have produced five stakes winners, three of them Grade/Group 1 scorers–triple top-level winner War Like Goddess (English Channel), G1 Coolmore Classic heroine Lighthouse (Mizzen Mast), and Olympic Jolteon (Brz) (Elmustanser {GB}).

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“Falbrav passed away at the age of 26 in Shadai Stallion Station, Japan,” the Japanese news site posted on X. “Rest in peace.”

Eisuke Tokutake, manager of Shadai Stallion Station, told Sanspo.com, “He had a little colic and was a little sick since the end of last year.”

Bred by Azienda Agricola Francesca and raced by Scuderia Rencati originally, the bay won one of four starts at two in Italy for trainer Luciano d'Auria. At three, he ran second in the G1 Derby Italiano, however it was at four and five that he truly shone. The G1 Premio Presidente della Repubblica and G1 Gran Premio di Milano went his way in consecutive starts in the late spring of 2002, and his first start outside of Italy was a third in that September's G2 Prix Foy. His final appearance at four was a nose victory over Sarafan (Lear Fan) in the G1 Japan Cup.

Transferred to Luca Cumani, he started his 5-year-old season with a third in the G1 Prix Ganay in the spring and won the G1 Prix d'Ispahan in May, with new co-owner Teruya Yoshida signed on. Successful in the G1 Eclipse S. in England in July, he added the G1 International S. two starts later in August and would never be out of the money in four more appearances that season.

Second to High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) in the G1 Irish Champion S. in September of 2003, Falbrav cut back to a mile and landed the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. later that month. At the Breeders' Cup, held that year in California, he was only a head behind GI Turf deadheaters High Chaparral and Johar (Gone West) at the end of October. His career swansong was a two-length victory in the G1 Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin that December. His record stands at eight Group/Grade 1 wins in five different countries with a mark of 26-13-5-5 and $5,825,517 in earnings.

Falbrav spent the majority of his career at Shadai Stallion Station in Japan, although he did stand at Cheveley Park Stud in England at one point and also shuttled to Australia. A total of 18 of his 819 foals were stakes winners, with 12 making the grade at Pattern level. His best progeny included Fravashi (Aus), I'm Yours (Jpn), Fanunalter (GB), A Shin Virgo (Jpn), and Brava Fortune (Aus), who won Group 2 races in Australia, Japan, the UK, Japan, and Australia, respectively.

As a broodmare sire, Falbrav is responsible for 18 stakes winners overall and 11 group winners, with Group 1 winners Kenedna (Aus), a dual Group 1 winner in Australia, and Harp Star (Jpn) and Stelvio (Jpn) flying the flag for his daughters.

Out of the Slewpy mare Gift Of The Night, who ran second in the Listed Prix Herod, Falbrav was a half-brother to the stakes-placed Fattsota (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}), and three of his half-sisters are black-type producers.

How good was Falbrav

He conquered Group 1 races across the globe

The Japan Cup
The Prix d'Ispahan
The Coral-Eclipse Stakes
Juddmonte International
Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
Hong Kong Cup pic.twitter.com/eIAPtUvToT

— Champions Series (@ChampionsSeries) November 25, 2023

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Jonesboro is a son of Mom's Command, the 1985 Eclipse champion 3-year-old filly whose five Grade I wins included the Filly Triple Crown. Bred by Peter Fuller, who campaigned Mom's Command, Jonesboro raced for Michael Langford and trainer Randy Morse.

“Like most of us, Jonesboro owes a lot to his mother,” said Old Friends President Michael Blowen. “Mom's Command was owned by Peter Fuller, who also campaigned Dancer's Image [Native Dancer]. Peter contributed $500 to Old Friends when we first started. And his daughter, Abby, who rode Mom, is a lifelong friend. Generosity and nepotism still matter.”

The now 20-year-old stallion arrived at Old Friends Sept. 11.

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The Pin Oak homebred won nine of 14 career starts, and won or placed in six graded stakes, earning $725,296. Trained by Graham Motion, Broken Vow won the GII Philip H. Iselin H. and GIII Ben Ali S. and placed in the GI Gulfstream Park H., GIII Fayette S., and the GII Meadowlands Cup H. before retiring to start his career at stud.

“He was an incredibly influential horse on my career and was probably my first 'big' horse,” commented Motion. “I'm so glad that I got to visit him in his field this past Spring. He was a happy horse enjoying his retirement. This truly is the end of an era.”

The stallion, who stood two decades at Pin Oak, was among the top 15 active sires, with 15% black-type horses from starters. He is the sire of 159 black-type horses in total, 80 of those black-type winners and 27 graded scorers. He also is responsible for six champions. Included among his six Grade I winners: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner and Eclipse Champion Champagne Room, the co-topweight female sprinter of her year Sassy Image, as well as Cotton Blossom, Unbridled Belle, and Rosalind. As a broodmare sire, his daughters have already produced three champions and approximately 100 black-type horses, including Eclipse Champion Runhappy.

“Words cannot express the loss of Broken Vow to everyone here at Pin Oak,” said long time manager Clifford Barry. “We had been with him from birth to breaking, his races and his stud career.”

Barry continued, “As we reflect on the many great memories he provided, how we cheered for him in the royal blue and gray silks of Pin Oak, and we cheered even louder for his offspring as if they were ours and for the loyal breeders that supported him. He was a very special horse to be around–smart, classy and a huge will to succeed. And if he could speak, he would have said thank you to the vets and grooms that cared for him throughout his life. It's testament to Ms. [Josephine] Abercrombie's program that he spent his whole life here at the farm. I know she's getting to feed him sugar again.”

Broken Vow will be buried alongside other former Pin Oak stallions Sky Classic, Peaks and Valleys, and Maria's Mon.

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“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.”

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.”

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Bred by Southern Bloodstock, the bay raced for Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor. A winner at two for Aidan O'Brien, Duke of Marmalade was also second in the G2 Vintage S. At three the colt did not win, but placed three times in Group 1 company when second in the St. James's Palace S. and the Irish Champion S. and third in the Queen Elizabeth II S.

Kept in training at four, the half-brother to G1 Derby winner Ruler of the World (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) reeled off five consecutive Group 1 wins from seven starts-the Prix Ganay, the Tattersalls Gold Cup, Royal Ascot's Prince of Wales's S., the G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S. and finally the G1 Juddmonte International S. Unplaced in his final two runs–the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic–his record at retirement stood at 16-6-4-1 and $2,777,768 in earnings.

“Duke of Marmalade has been retired from the breeding shed on veterinary advice,” the stud tweeted. “He will live out his days at Drakenstein Stud and watch from his paddock his every growing influence as a broodmare sire around the world.”

Retired to Coolmore Stud in Ireland where he covered mares from 2009 through 2013, Duke of Marmalade moved to South Africa's Drakenstein Stud for the 2014 season. The bay sired a total of 46 black-type winners internationally, 26 at the group level. His best runners were a septet of Group 1 winners led by G1 St Leger winner Simple Verse (Ire), G1 Gold Cup hero Big Orange (GB), and G1 Prix de Diane heroine Star of Seville (GB). As a broodmare sire, his six of his seven black-type winners were at the group level.

Also a half-brother to group winners Norway (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Annus Mirabilis (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}), Duke of Marmalade's female family traces to the prolific producer Lassie Dear (Buckpasser) as his third dam, responsible for Group 1 winner and sire Wolfhound (Nureyev) and dual Grade III winner and GI La Canada S. second Weekend Surprise (Secretariat). The latter foaled American Horse of the Year and top sire A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew).

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