Bullet Work for Awesome Humor, Acorn Possible

(from Churchill Downs notes)
WinStar Farm's Awesome Humor, a multiple stakes winner who suffered the first loss of her career in a recent allowance race at Churchill Downs, rebounded from that setback with a sizzling half-mile work on Sunday.

The 3-year-old daughter of Distorted Humor covered the distance over a "fast" track in :47.20, the fastest of 49 works at the distance. Trainer Elliott Walden had planned to run the grade I winner in Belmont Park's Acorn (gr. I) on June 6, but those plans went on hold after her surprising loss. But Sunday's work had Walden returning to a New York state of mind.

"She worked awful good," he said. "We nominated her and we're going to look at it."

Awesome Humor underwent surgery to remove chips from both front ankles last fall and returned to competition on May 15 with a fourth-place finish to Love Talkin in an allowance race against older fillies and mares.

"We wanted to sharpen her up a little bit and get her back on her game," said Walden. "I just hope that the dirt in her face is what bothered her last time. She came out of the race in good order and I can't see any other probable reason for why she ran so poorly."

Awesome Humor broke poorly under jockey Pat Day in her comeback race and did get plenty of dirt thrown at her as she played catch-up against her veteran opponents.

"She was coughing quite a bit after the race like she just hated the dirt," Walden said. "She had shown that once in the morning when she got in behind another horse while working and didn't relish it then either. I just hope that was it and we're going to find out when we run her back."

Walden will decide in the next few days whether that next race will be the one-mile Acorn. The filly would not have to ship to New York until the middle of next week.

"All systems are go," he said. "She's doing well. It's just a matter of figuring out where's the best spot to run her."

Awesome Humor has a career record of 4-0-0 in five races and has earned $311,930.