$1,650,000 Distorted Humor Colt Tops Day 1 of Keeneland September Yearling Sale

The first night of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale is in the books and true to its elite status, Book 1 did not disappoint.

Five of the 114 yearlings that went through the ring sold for more than a million dollars, while 10 others passed the $500,000 mark.

One yearling proved that the crowd was still strong at the end of the night. Hip No. 131, the second to last in the ring, sold for a session topping $1.65 million.

The Distorted Humor son out of the Grade 1 winner Muska sold to Shadwell Estate Company, Ltd. Shadwell also signed the ticket for four other horses, with its second-biggest purchase being a $850,000 Distorted Humor half-brother to My Miss Aurelia.

Shadwell’s biggest purchase has a solid family behind him on both sides. His sire, Distorted Humor, has sired multiple Grade 1 winners, including near Triple Crown winner Funny Cide and last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic winner and 2010 Belmont winner, Drosselmeyer.

Mushka is sired by Empire Maker, sire of Bodemeister and Royal Delta among others. Seven of the Book 1 horses are by Empire Maker. In a twist of irony, Empire Maker upset Funny Cide’s bid at the Triple Crown in 2003 by winning the Belmont Stakes, a race in which Funny Cide finished third.

Mushka’s success on the track brought her six wins in 19 starts with almost $1.1 million in earnings. The highlights of her career were a win in the 2009 G1 Juddmonte Spinster Stakes and finishing second that year to Life Is Sweet in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic.

Mushka finished her career in March of 2010 with a fourth in the G3 Orchid Stakes. The Distorted Humor colt is her first foal.

Mushka’s dam, Sluice, was a winner of the 2001 Misty Isle Stakes at Arlington Park over 1 1/16 miles, in addition to placing in other ungraded stakes races. Of three foals to race, Sluice has produced two winners. Mushka is her only Black-type winner.

Mushka’s second dam is where this colt’s pedigree gets interesting, with multiple-Grade 1 winner Lakeway. Lakeway was the winner of four Grade 1 races, including the G1 Mother Goose, in addition to finishing second in the G1 Kentucky Oaks.

Lakeway was a producer as well as a talented race mare, not only producing Sluice but also Flying Spur and In Excelsis. Like her dam, Flying Spur couldn’t quite win the G1 Kentucky Oaks, finishing third in the race.

In Excelsis also had some stakes success, finishing second in the Oceanside Stakes after spending his two-year-old year racing in Ireland. While Lakeway’s daughter Lakefront never made it to the track, she produced Black-type winner Dattts Our Girl, winner of the 2009 Red Carpet Stakes.

The last dam on Hip No. 131’s page is Milliardaire, a winner of both of her starts. She is the full sister to multiple Graded Stakes winner Saratoga Six and G3-placed Priceless Pearl.

In addition to Lakeway, Milliardaire produced Black-type-placed winners Monarchoftheglen, winner of seven of his 36 starts, and a full stakes-placed sister to Lakeway named Devine, who won three of her seven starts.

Hip No. 131 was consigned by Eaton Sales.