Sharp Humor to Stand for $12,500

Swale Stakes (gr. II) winner Sharp Humor has been retired from racing after re-aggravating a knee injury and will enter stud for $12,500 in 2007 at WinStar Farm near Lexington as a Taylor Made/WinStar Venture stallion.

A New York-bred son of WinStar stallion Distorted Humor  , Sharp Humor won four of 10 starts and earned $490,410. He won the restricted Bertram F. Bongard and Sleepy Hollow Sakes and finished third in the New York Breeders' Futurity as a 2-year-old of 2005. In addition to his Swale victory, the colt ran a close second to Barbaro in this year's $1-million Florida Derby (gr. I) and was runner-up in the Hudson Handicap.

Trained by Dale Romans, Sharp Humor raced in the name of Purdedel Stable, which is a partnership between his breeders, Drs. Chris and Patricia Purdy, and Ed and Mara Edelberg.

"I'm disappointed we didn't get to prove how special he is, because he was a freakishly-fast horse who could carry his speed around two turns, but he's by the right horse in Distorted Humor, and has a real future ahead of him at stud," Romans said. "We almost beat Barbaro in the Florida Derby, and everyone knows what a great horse he is."

"WinStar purchased an interest in Sharp Humor prior to the Kentucky Derby," said Doug Cauthen, president of WinStar Farm. "In what is the best 3-year-old crop I have ever seen, Sharp Humor entered the classic picture in a serious way. His win in the grade II Swale Stakes was his third straight stakes victory. His awesome runner-up performance against Barbaro in the Florida Derby, in which he posted a triple digit Beyer Speed Figure, confirmed him in our minds as one of the most talented 3-year-olds of his generation. In fact, Sharp Humor's BRIS Speed Figure in the Florida Derby was equal to Barbaro¹s, and we all know now what an exceptionally talented racehorse Barbaro was. Unfortunately, Sharp Humor sustained an injury in the Kentucky Derby which precluded us from seeing the full extent of this horse's talent."