Swale S. (gr. II)
(gr. II , 7f ,)
SHARP HUMOR
(B h,
118
lb) $90,000
Distorted Humor —Bellona , by
Hansel
B—Patricia S Purdy,
NY.;
O—Purdedel Stable;
T—Dale L. Romans
Noonmark
(DK B/ h,
116
lb) $30,000
Unbridled's Song —In the Storm , by
Storm Cat
B—John D. Murphy Sr.,
KY.;
O—Bolton, George, Corrigan, Joan and Beck, Antony;
T—Steven M. Asmussen
Court Folly
(B g,
116
lb) $16,500
Royal Academy —Confidentially , by
Saratoga Six
B—Carl A. Nafzger,
KY.;
O—Manfuso, Robert T., et al;
T—Ian R. Wilkes
Margins: neck, 2½, 2¼. Others: In Summation 120($9,000) , Beacon Shine 118($4,500) , Praying for Cash 116 , Electrify 120 , Bear Character 118 , Yes He's the Man 116 , City Attraction 116 , Catcominatcha 116 . Winning Jockey, Mark Guidry.
Longshot Sharp Humor displayed his serious side when he prevailed by a neck to secure his third straight victory, in the March 4 Swale Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park. His 10 opponents knew he wasn’t all fun and games when he passed favored Noonmark, covering the seven furlongs in 1:22.14 with jockey Mark Guidry aboard. Like his previous two victories, Sharp Humor finished the race in a tenacious fashion down the stretch.
The Swale was Sharp Humor’s first graded score and fourth win in six career starts. The Gulfstream race was also his 3-year-old debut and his first time to compete in more than four months.
During his 2-year-old campaign, the son of Distorted Humor broke his maiden in his first try, and then missed in his next two starts, though he finished in the money in the New York Breeders’ Futurity at Finger Lakes. Sharp Humor then began his winning streak at Belmont Park, first with the Bertram F. Bongard Stakes last September, and then the Sleepy Hollow Stakes the following month.
Dale Romans conditions the colt for Purdedel Stable and pointed out that one son of Distorted Humor, Funny Cide, had already won the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), and Sharp Humor, who is nominated for this year’s Run for the Roses, could be next.
Purdedel Stable is a partnership of Chicago real estate developer Ed Edelberg and Patricia Purdy, who bred Sharp Humor at her Ivy League Farm in Ithaca, N.Y.
Sharp Humor is out of the unraced Hansel mare Bellona, who is a half-sister to group III-placed Melting Gold (by Cadeaux Genereux).
In 2002, Bellona went through the sale ring carrying Sharp Humor at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed sale. Consigned by Purdy through Jeffrey Minton, agent, Bellona failed to meet her reserve and was bought back for $29,500.
Bellona has a 2-year-old colt, Swell Being, by Pure Prize, and produced a filly by Montbrook Feb. 6. She is kept at Purdy’s Ivy League Farm.
Distorted Humor is the sire of 33 other stakes winners. He is represented in 2006 by added-money winners Da Stoops and Heavenly Humor. The 13-year-old son of Forty Niner stands at Kenny Troutt and Bill Casner’s WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky., for a fee of $150,000.—E.M.
