When the racing career of US Gr 2 winner Distorted Humor came to an end, Winstar Farm in Kentucky emerged as a potential buyer. The farm enlisted the services of pedigree analyst John Prather in an attempt to establish Distorted Humor’s sire potential. Prather, together with his fellow analyst Les Brinsfield, zeroed in on the fact that Distorted Humor has many background lines of Ormonde and his full sister Ornament. These siblings have 14 fully related and 3 3/4 related siblings, and are prime movers also in the pedigree of La Troienne, who does not appear in Distorted Humor’s pedigree. Prather and Brinsfield thought La Troienne would add firepower, and made mares by Seattle Slew prime subjects to pick up Striking/Busher. Further advice was to get mares by ons of Slew who have more La Troienne in their dams. John Prather suggested to put 14 of Winstar’s mares with La Troienne to Distorted Humor in his first crop. He got four graded winners, two Gr1, including Funny Cide, champion US 3yo after winning two legs of the Triple Crown. It went on like this, year after year. In 2007 Distorted Humor became the only stallion in 30 years, apart from Danzig, to be the leading sire of US stakes winners three years in a row. In 2010 two sons of Distorted Humor ran in the Belmont Stakes, one finished first and one finished last – the first had a dam with four shots of La Troienne plus sister Adargatis, and the other’s dam had none. Then the unthinkable happened. Les Brinsfield sent an email in early 2010. It read: “End of streak. It took a horse from the 8th crop of Distorted Humor to be first graded SW in northern hemisphere from a mare NOT carrying La Troienne when Radharcnafarraige won a Gr3 in UK.” In the face of defeat flies opportunity. Then for Brinsfield earth shattering event sparked a 3-way email debate, which led to discovery. Not only of how things other than La Troienne fitted the bill. But by chance (‘where have I seen this before?’) also of a remarkable similarity between the pedigrees of Distorted Humor and Trippi, and between the pedigrees of the best offspring of both stallions (Trippi started his career in the US before export to South Africa).

Distorted Humor is by Forty Niner, Trippi by a son of Forty Niner. Distorted Humor’s grandma Sweetest Chant and Trippi’s third dam Only The Loyal have a similar make-up, and are close kin. Their sires Never Bend and Mr Leader are close kin, and the two mares also share the same bottom female line (to which Trippi’s 5th dam is inbred, to boot). It is the female line, too, of influential sire Bull Lea, who is close kin to La Troienne.

A look at the best offspring of the two sires. Distorted Humor’s Gr1 winner Awesome Humor vs Trippi’s Green Vegas (SW; SP). Dams of both have The Axe and Cox’s Ridge close up.Cox’s Ridge and his sire Best Turn are close kin to the kin-pair Sweetest Chant and Only The Loyal from the two sires. The Axe is from the La Troienne female line. In the same camp belongs Trippi’s Let It Rock (G3; SP), whose dam comes with The Axe, and is from the same female line as DH and Trippi.

Trippi is sire of Miss Macy Sue (G3, SW; SP; 3rd Breeders Cup F&M Sprint). Her dam is inbred 2x3 to the mare Ta Wee, a daughter of Aspidistra who has as her damsire a potent La Troienne carrier, Better Self (by Bimelech). DH multiple Gr1 winning son Commentator, out of a mare by Storm Bird, with the next dam with The Axe and a double Buckpasser. Storm Bird’s damsire is by New Providence, by a son of Bull Lea out of a mare from the same female line Storm Bird is damsire of the 2010 Irish Gr3 winner which so unsettled Les Brinsfield, and sire of the dam of Trippi’s Storm (G2; G1/2 placed). Then there’s A Sea Trippi (SW, SP), dam inbred to Never Bend (also sire of Trippi’s 3rd dam Only The Loyal, and carrying La Troienne). Best Distictive, the 4th dam of A Sea Trippi is close kin to Only The Loyal. She’s inbred to the mare Albania, who is close kin (and from the same bottom line) as Bull Lea. DH’s G1 winners Awesome Humor and Fourty Niner’s Son both have Quadrangle, through Angle Light and Rokeby Venus (who is kin to the 3rd dam of DH). Quadrangle has Bull Lea as well as La Troienne. Angle Light especially looks a beauty – in South Africa we know him as damsire of All Fired Up.

Follow the leader. What works for Distorted Humor works for Trippi. La Troienne in spades, especially through Seattle Slew who’s known for affinities with the great mare. The key is Buckpasser and relatives, of which there are many. Buckpasser in Northern Guest, National Assembly, and Secret Prospector who is from the La Troienne female line as well. Bull Lea and son Bull Page. Find him in Al Mufti together with Buckpasser. In Nijinsky, whose son Dancing Champ relates so well to Al Mufti’s Buckpasser. Bull Page and Nijinsky are together in Silvano. Nijinsky and Buckpasser are together in Lecture, who goes so well with Al Mufti. The Bull Lea in Al Mufti comes from his sire Roberto, who has a full sister as dam of Rollins, in Jet Master. Camden Park, whose grandam is close kin to Trippi’s grandam Jealous Cat, and whose sire A.P. Indy is out of a sister to Al Mufti – that’s Buckpasser again. Bull Lea is doubled in the dam of Alydar – think Slew The Red, who also has Roberto and Seattle Slew. Storm Bird, of course, and his close kin Nijinsky and The Minstrel. Storm Bird is sire of Storm Cat (with Buckpasser in Windrush and Tiger Ridge, or Var) and Bluebird (close kin to Nijinsky), Opera King (who also has Quadrangle). Then Never Bend, already in Trippi - he has La Troienne. He can be found in Bold Reason, Mill Reef, Riverman. Less easily available, but apparently highly potent are The Axe and Best Turn (in Best By Test, Galba), Quadrangle (in All Fired Up, and Opera King, a son of Storm Bird).

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