Boisterous, a 4-year-old Distorted Humor colt, came with a strong stretch drive to close out his 2011 campaign with an emphatic two-length victory in the $150,000 Red Smith H. (G2) on the Belmont turf course on Nov. 5.
Distorted Humor had a fantastic first weekend of November; in addition to Boisterous, Drosselmeyer captured the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) and Shumoos ran second in the inaugural $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint. Distorted Humor tops the 2011 General Sire List with $9,711,314 in progeny earnings, slightly more than $1 million than his closest pursuer.
Boisterous settled in mid-pack before gaining steadily on the final turn, then launched his rally on the outside at the top of the stretch and took command with less than a furlong to go. His winning time for the 1 3/8 miles over a turf course rated “good” was 2:20.26.
“At the three-eighths I asked him a little bit to see what I had. I was watching for the favorite [Grassy] to come to me, but he never showed up and I said ‘This horse is going to win!’” said winning rider Alan Garcia.
“I’m tickled to death with his last two races,” said Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey. “We got off track this summer a little bit, backed up for the (Grade 3) Knickerbocker, and I thought he ran really well there. I thought he ran really well today and Alan rode him great. He was a little bit sharp, and I was a little bit afraid of that, but Alan said he settled right in perfectly for him.”
The Phipps Stable homebred earned $90,000, extending his bankroll to $365,057. Overall, the dark bay colt is 6-0-1 from 14 lifetime starts, including four wins this year, led by wins in the aforementioned Knickerbocker H. and $60,000 Three Coins Up S.
