Varda is the 18th Gr1 winner for Distorted Humor winning the Starlet Stakes (8.5f) for 2yo fillies at Los Alamitos.
The race had its share of drama when the favourite Princess Noor was eased out of the race when taking the lead around the home turn, leaving stablemate Varda to finish determinedly from last into the stretch and defeat Kalypso going away by 1-1/2 lengths.
Varda sold for $100,000 as a Fasig-Tipton yearling to Raven Bloodstock and then for $700,000 as a two-year-old in training to Baoma Corp.
She is now the winner of two of her three starts for trainer Bob Baffert, winning this race for the fourth straight year along with jockey Drayden Van Dyke.
Distorted Humor (Forty Niner) is currently listed as ‘Private’ at WinStar Farm in Kentucky. He has enjoyed good success with mares by A P Indy, the maternal great grandsire of Varda, notably Gr1 winners Any Given Saturday and Joking as well as Gr2 winners Honourable Duty, Irononicus and Dramedy plus Gr3 Brethren, Endorsement, Painting and Z Humor.
He has Gr3 winner Happy Like A Fool out of a Sky Mesa (Pulpit) mare.
Princess Noor walked onto a horse ambulance and was transported to trainer Bob Baffert’s stable for evaluation, Baffert tweeting X-rays did not reveal any significant injuries.