Breeding

Menifee Leading Sire In Korea For Sixth Straight Year

Menifee has once more dominated the Leading Sire in Korea ranks. Grand Prix Stakes winner Power Blade was once again Menifee’s leading money earner as his progeny won almost double that of nearest rival Ecton Park. It was also an encouraging year for Hansen, whose first Korean crop of juveniles hit the track.

Menifee

Menifee, Korea’s leading sire, again

2017 Korea Leading General Sire (Money earned in 1000 Korean Won units – Chief Money Earner)

1. Menifee (USA) 8,973,350 – Power Blade
2. Ecton Park (USA) 5,272,610 – Triple Nine
3. Officer (USA) 4,074,930 – World Sun
4. Vicar (USA) 3,977,090 – Phantom Blade
5. Peace Rules (USA) 3,861,780 – Success Story
6. Forest Camp (USA) 3,627,530 – Raon Magic
7. Sharp Humor (USA) 3,583,880 – Golden Gate
8. Colors Flying (USA) 2,744,590 – Yeonggwanguihunter
9. Exploit (USA) 2,340,220 – Singgeureoun Gom
10. Ingrandire (JPN) 2,322,860 – Geombit Gangja
11. One Cool Cat (USA) 12. Whywhywhy (USA) 13. Chapel Royal (USA) 14. Rock Hard Ten (USA) 15. Cowboy Cal (USA) 16. Didyme (USA) 17. Hawk Wing (USA) 18. Simon Pure (USA) 19. Hansen (USA) 20. Pico Central (BRZ)

As ever Menifee was way out in front in terms of Starters, Winners, Strike Rate and Money Earned. He is covering progressively fewer each year (64 in 2017) as he nears retirement but he’ll up around the top for a few more years yet. Even without Power Blade’s 1.2 Billion Won in earnings, he was still significantly ahead of his nearest rival. This year, that was Isidore Farm’s Ecton Park, sire of Triple Nine while Officer jumped up from 7th to 3rd. Vicar and Peace Rules in 4th and 5th finished in exactly the same positons they did last year while Forest Camp dropped from 2nd to 6th.

For the second year running, Cowboy Cal was the highest placed stallion from outside of Korea  – he is now in Korea himself but all his runners were sired in the USA. Further down the list, Hansen entered the top twenty for the first time, which leads us to:

2017 Leading Sire of 2-Year-Olds in Korea

1. Menifee (USA) 1,369,930 – Choinma
2. Hansen (USA) 1,140,100 – Sinui Myeongryeong
3. Ecton Park (USA) 868,870 – Ecton Blade
4. Thunder Moccasin (USA) 829,580 – Yeongcheon Derby
5. Old Fashioned (USA) 550,640 – P.K. Party

Hansen actually had one more 2-year-old than Menifee make it to the track with 10 of his 33 winning at least once to Menifee’s imperious 18 from 32. Ecton Park has produced another solid crop while Pegasus Farm’s Thunder Moccasin got off to an excellent start in 4th place. Old Fashioned is now in Korea but his 5th place still relied totally on imports or those imported in-utero. Since coming to Korea Old Fashioned has already covered well in excess of 200 mares and he looks set to be a major player in years to come.

Accordingly Hansen and Thunder Moccasin were 1st and 2nd on the Leading First-Crop Sire list with the remianing top five being filled out by the Nokwon Farm based trio of Eurosilver, Testa Matta and Spicule.

Seven stallions were imported into Korea for breeding purposes in 2017, all from the United States. They are Afleet Express, Archarcharch, Modern Cowboy, Purge, Take Charge Indy, Tizway and With Distinction. With the exception of Take Charge Indy, who is owned by the Korea Racing Authority, all are standing privately.

Sadly some stallions did pass away during 2017. The most well-known was Whywhywhy who succumbed to complications arising from a debilitating back injury in September aged 17. Pensioned stallions who passed on during the year were Psychobabble and Silent Warrior, aged 26 and 25 respectively and Wheelaway, who was 20.

 

Obituary: Whywhywhy (2000-2017)

Sad news from the farms as American bred stallion Whywhywhy has passed away aged 17. 

On the racecourse, Whywhywhy [Mr. Greeley – Thorough Fair (Quiet American)] was a stand-out juvenile. Trained by Patrick Biancone, he won three of five races in his two-year-old season in 2002 including the G1 Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park as well as the G3 Flash Stakes at the same track and the G2 Sanford Stakes at Saratoga. He only ran four times as a three-year-old, not picking up any further wins and he was retired midway through 2003.

Whywhywhy proved reasonably successful at stud, siring nine Stakes winners in the USA with the best known being 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Nownownow after which he was standing for a fee of $10,000 at Gainseway Farm. This had dropped to $3,500 by the time he was purchased by Korean interests in 2011. In Korea, he stood privately at Challenger Farm on Jeju Island.

He didn’t sire any superstars in Korea but was producing very solid horses with a win rate comparable to the top sires in the country. He was 13th on the Leading General sire list in 2016 and currently lies in 12th in this year’s table with all eleven stallions ahead of him having had more runners.

Whywhywhy hadn’t covered for the past two seasons due to a leg injury but given his early popularity, it was hoped that he would return to duties. According to the farm where he stood, he had suffered from debilitating back problems for a number of years and it was complications arising from this that led to his early death which occurred on September 1st. A fuller report has been requested.

The loss of Whywhywhy is probably the highest profile in Korea this year but follows the deaths of two pensioned stallions who were prominent in the early development of the Korean breeding industry in the late 1990s, Psychobabble (Carleon) passing in March at the age of 26 and Silent Warrior (Nashwan) in February at age 25.

Menifee Heads All US Top Ten Leading Sires In Korea For 2016

For the fifth year running, Menifee claimed the Leading General Sire in Korea title in 2016. The 20-year-old stallion headed an all American-bred top ten with his progeny winning nearly double the amount of prize-money than nearest rival, Forest Camp.

Menifee

Menifee is Korea’s leading sire once again

2016 Korea Leading General Sire (Money earned in 1000 Korean Won units – Chief Money Earner)

1. Menifee (USA) 7,927,060 – Power Blade
2. Forest Camp (USA) 4,229,230 – Ottug Ottugi
3. Ecton Park (USA) 4,199,740 – Triple Nine
4. Vicar (USA) 3, 636,710 – Haemaru
5. Peace Rules (USA) 3,439,700 – Success Story
6. Colors Flying (USA) 3,373,000 – Touch Flying
7. Officer (USA) 3,248,690 – Ice Marine
8. Didyme (USA) 3,196,550 – Hoseungjibyeok
9. Sharp Humor (USA) 2,846,480 – Gorgeous Dream
10. Exploit (USA) 2,758,910 – Dixie Ploit
11. One Cool Cat (USA) 12. Creek Cat (USA) 13. Whywhywhy (USA) 14. Volponi (USA) 15. Pico Central (BRZ) 16. Hawk Wing (USA) 17. Cielo Gold (USA) 18. Cowboy Cal (USA) 19. Ingrandire (JPN) 20. Capital Spending (USA)

Menifee continued to dominate. Even without Triple Crown  winner Power Blade, who contributed nearly 1.5Billion Won to his total, he still had more runners, more starters and more winners than any other Korea based stallion and while he is now covering fewer, it’s inevitable that he’ll be on top for at least a further year. Forest Camp rose six places on 2015 with Oaks winner Ottug Ottugi his chief earner for the second year running. Colors Flying and the late Sharp Humor entered the top ten for the first time while two more who have passed away in recent years, Creek Cat and Pico Central, dropped out. The latter was the top non-US bred on the list. The highest placed stallion not standing in Korea was Cowboy Cal in 18th place. That’s been put right though as Cowboy Cal landed in Korea on December 29th and is currently in quarantine having been purchased by local interests.

2016 Korea Leading Sire of 2-year-olds

1. Menifee (USA) – Final Boss
2. Officer (USA) – Ice Marine
3. Sharp Humor (USA) – Europa
4. Chapel Royal (USA) – Wonder Wall
5. Ecton Park (USA) – American Power
6. Forest Camp (USA) 7. Exploit (USA) 8. Vicar (USA) 9. Ingrandire (JPN) 10. Whywhywhy (USA)

Menifee was also leading sire of 2-year-olds with his colt Final Boss winning both the Gwacheon Mayor’s Cup and Breeders’ Cup to be crowned champion juvenile. Newcomer Chapel Royal posted strong figures. Sharp Humor sadly passed away over a year ago and his final full crop is set to hit the track in 2017.

2016 Korea Leading First-Crop Sires

1. Chapel Royal (USA)
2. Simon Pure (USA)
3. Rock Hard Ten (USA)
4. Symphony Sonata (KOR)
5. Raconteur (USA)

Only five first-crop sires managed to deliver a winner and only Chapel Royal delivered significant numbers in terms of runners and winners. Last year’s first-crop winner Strike Again finished in 24th place in this year’s General List, however, he only has very small crops racing at the moment. His unexpected success in this category in 2015 led him to cover 72 mares in 2016 – an almost five-fold increase on 2015 and only four fewer than Menifee – so he may well rise in future years.

Korea Owned J.S. Choice Set For BC Juvenile Turf

It looks like J.S. Choice will run in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf this coming Friday. The Todd Pletcher trained colt is owned by none other than the Korea Racing Authority Stud Farm.

I’m not going to claim this news sets the pulse racing to any great extent although the Korea Racing Authority and the racing media in Korea seem to be quite excited about it and there will be a sizable Korean contingent at Santa Anita to watch him. However, ultimately he’s an American horse, who has never set hoof in Korea, trained by an American trainer running in an American race ridden and will be ridden by an American jockey (Kent Desormeaux).

That’s not his fault though and he looks to be a promising horse. J.S. Choice has raced three times so far and having been 5th on his debut at Saratoga in August, he came back out at the same track to win at the second time of asking on September 5. He was then entered for the Group 3 Pilgrim Stakes at Belmont on October 1st and ran 2nd (albeit quite well beaten by Oscar Performance who also runs on Friday) and this has proven enough to allow him to take his chance at Santa Anita.

The experiment is not without merit and is not purely a vanity project. The idea is that he was purchased in the sales having been selected for potential value by the KRA’s “K-Nicks” database and then sent to a top American trainer. He will do his racing in the United States and will then be retired for Stud duties in Korea. Interestingly, he has done his racing on Turf and with the KRA serious about installing a turf track at Seoul – something that would arguably be the biggest development in racing history here and on which work has already begun – stallions who have demonstrated ability on the surface are going to be required and the Authority, Korean horsemen and also punters will all need to become familiar with racing on a surface that was meant to be raced on.

J.S. Choice [Congrats – Oil Empress (Empire Maker)] is named with a nod to 2007 Korean Triple Crown winner J.S. Hold. He runs in the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita on Friday November 4th with an expected morning line of 20/1. I haven’t quite decided if I’ll be setting my alarm for what will be early Saturday Seoul time, but I do really hope he does well.

Japan-Raced Stallions Biwa Shinseiki & Eagle Cafe Have Died

Biwa Shinseiki, sire of three-time President’s Cup winner Dangdae Bulpae, has died aged 18. The Japanese-bred stallion was standing privately in Korea. Eagle Cafe, winner of the NHK Mile in 2000 and Japan Cup Dirt in 2002, also passed away on Jeju Island in September.

Dangdae Bulpae Jo SUng Gon

Biwa Shinseiki’s best was Dangdae Bulpae, seen here on one of his three visits to the President’s Cup winner’s circle

Bred by Hayata Farms, Biwa Shinseiki [Forty Niner – Oceana (Northern Dancer)] was a very good racehorse in Japan landing 10 wins, 7 places and 8 shows from a total of 33 starts in a career lasting from 2001 until 2004. Those wins included two big Stakes races as well as five consecutive victories between May and December in 2002.

That winning streak came to an end when he was 2nd in that year’s Tokyo Daishoten at Ohi, a race in which he would finish 3rd in 2003. Also in 2003, he was 2nd in the February Stakes, one of the few Grade 1 races in Japan to be run on dirt. Usually run over a mile at Tokyo Racecourse, in 2003 it was held at Nakayama over 1800M.

Due to its dirt and its distance, the February Stakes is a popular race among Korean breeders with past winners Meisei Opera (1999), Admire Don (2004) and most recently Testa Matta (2012) all going on to stand at stud in Korea. Following a racing career in which he earned in excess of 370 Million Japanese  Yen, Biwa Shinseiki was purchased by Korean interests in 2005 to stand at Pureun Farm.

For a privately standing sire, he got plenty of mares but it was in his very first season at Stud, in 2006, when he covered the Alydeed mare Indeed My Dear. She had produced some very average racehorses beforehand but the resulting foal would become one of the best horses Korea has seen.

Dangdae Bulpae would win 19 of his 32 races between 2009 and 2013. He was quite a late-developer as a three-year-old only managing 3rd in the 2010 Korean Derby but he won the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Minister’s Cup, in October and a month later returned to Seoul the following month to claim Korea’s joint-richest race, the President’s Cup, something he would go on to do for the following two years.

Dangdae Bulpae’s exploits helped Biwa Shinseiki to 8th place on the Leading Sire list on 2010, to 10th in 2011 and 12th in 2012. None of his other foals would be anything like as good although he produced many winners even if few made it up to class 1 level. Biwa Shinseiki died on September 28. Cause of death is yet to be officially confirmed.

Also passing away in September was Nokwon Farm’s Eagle Cafe (Gulch), another horse who raced in Japan. He was the winner of just five races, however, they included the NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo in 2000 and then in 2002, the Japan Cup Dirt (now known as the Champion’s Cup) under Frankie Dettori.

Eagle Cafe [Gulch – Net Dancer (Nureyev)] was bred in the US but trained in Japan. He also raced in Dubai and France. He came to Korea to stand at Nokwon – a farm with close Japanese ties – in 2011 but covered few mares and was to all intents and purposes retired in 2014. His gelding Honey Butter Nino is the first Korea-based horse in training for Japanese owner Shigeo Kadono. Eagle Cafe died from colic aged 19 on September 30.

Colonel John Headed to Korea

It’s been reported in the US this morning that Colonel John is to be the latest addition to the Stallion ranks in Korea. He’s been purchased by the Korean Thoroughbred Breeders Association and will stand in 2017 on Jeju Island.

Colonel John [Tiznow – Sweet Damsel (Turkoman)] won the Santa Anita Derby and the Travers Stakes in 2008 and had been standing for $7,500 at WinStar Farm. He currently lies in 33rd place on the Leading sire list for 2016.

Colonel John has had a number of his progeny run in Korea with the most successful of them having being imported in-utero.

His four-year-old filly Queen’s Champion and three-year-old gelding Baekdu are both prolific winners who have made it up to class 1 level at Seoul while his gelding Call Me Rocket won six of his twelve starts in a seven-month period in 2013 before having to be retired with an injury (he is now a riding horse at Haenam Equestrian Club).

The 11-year-old will enter quarantine shortly. He’ll be an interesting addition.

Vicar, 1999 Florida Derby Winner & Sire of Korean Classic Winners, has Died

Vicar has died, aged 20, at the KRA Jeju Stud Farm. The cause of death, as per the Korean Studbook, has been recorded as a “throat obstruction”. He passed away on January 24th. 

Vicar

Vicar 1996-2016

Vicar [Wild Again – Escrow Agent (El Gran Senor)] was a solid racehorse in the United States. Handled by Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger, Vicar won 4 of 17 outings including victories in what was then the Grade I  Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby, both at Gulfstream Park, in 1999.

He would go on to compete in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and the Breeders’ Cup Sprint later that year without success and wouldn’t actually win another race before retirement in mid-July of 2000 having won in excess of $800,000.

Vicar didn’t meet with a huge amount of success at Stud in the United States and was sold to the Korea Racing Authority in 2006. He would prove to be a good match for the Korean breeding program. Covering for the first time in 2007, his first foals hit the track in 2010 when he was 5th on the Leading Sire of Two-Year-Olds list. In each of the next four years, he would end up in 3rd place on the General Sire list.

In 2011, he got winners of two legs of the Triple Crown with Gwangyajeil winning the Korean Derby and Dongseo Jeongbeol the Minister’s Cup. Wonderful Namhae and the filly Joy Lucky would be his chief earners over the next two years before Gumpo Sky, 2nd in last year’s Grand Prix Stakes, took over in 2014 and 2015.

He would finish in 5th in terms of Leading Sire in 2015 and while it is very early days he already lies in 2nd place in the 2016 list after his Gumanseok returned to class 1 winning form in January.

Here is his appearance video, taken in Jeju Island shortly after his arrival in 2007:

 

2015 Review: Leading Sires

Menifee is the Leading Sire in Korea for the 4th year running. It wasn’t quite as one-sided as last year but he still earned $2 Million more than closest challenger, Ecton Park. Menifee stands in good stead for the future too as he also comfortably claimed the Leading Sire of Two-Year-Olds title. Strike Again is Leading First Crop Sire.

Menifee

Menifee, Korea’s leading sire, walks in the rain

Siring the Derby winner as well as significantly more winners than any other sire, Menifee is, for the 4th year running, the Leading Sire. He is quite the phenom here in Korea and will be hot favourite to win next year too, simply by weight of numbers. There will, however, be a change below soon with both Didyme and Creek Cat, mainstays of the Korean breeding program, having passed away recently.

Leading General Sire

Name, Earnings ‘000 KRW (Runners/Winners/Starts/Wins) Winning % (Chief Earner)

1. Menifee (USA) 7,680,833 (144/74/921/124) 13.5% (Yeongcheon Ace)
2. Ecton Park (USA) 5,447,012 (92/37/574/75) 13.1% (Triple Nine)
3. Creek Cat (USA) 3,810,773 (99/43/647/67) 10.4% (Jangpung Parang)
4. Didyme (USA) 3,519,796 (90/36/554/68) 12.3% (Best Guy)
5. Vicar (USA) 3,515,249 (106/36/609/55) 9.0% (Gumpo Sky)
6. Peace Rules (USA) 3,404,896 (76/32/508/57) 11.2% (Heba)
7. Forest Camp (USA) 3,307,403 (135/40/809/61) 7.5% (Ottug Ottugi)
8. Pico Central (BRZ) 3,161,609 (98/44/639/69) 10.8% (Daepungnyeon)
9. Volponi (USA) 3,035,469 (88/36/674/56) 8.3% (Goldholic)
10. Exploit (USA) 2,582,665 (114/43/714/53) 7.4% (Lion Star)
11. Colors Flying (USA) 12. Ft. Stockton (USA) 13. Hawk Wing (USA) 14. Officer (USA) 15. One Cool Cat (USA) 16. Biwa Shinseiki (JPN) 17. Capital Spending (USA) 18. Revere (IRE) 19. Cielo Gold (USA) 20. Admire Don (JPN)

Menifee is also leading sire of two-year-olds. Colors Flying has been producing foals which really run well on the sand tracks of Korea and will be featuring highly on the general sire list from next year while freshman Strike Again also signals intention here. There also needs to be a word for Cowboy Cal. It’s unusual for a non-Korean based sire to appear on these lists but from nine two-year-old runners, he has got six winners:

Leading Sire of Two-Year-Olds

1. Menifee (USA) 896,150 (23/10/69/17) 24.6% (Power Blade)
2. Forest Camp (USA) 641,100 (29/10/80/17) 21.3% (Ottug Ottugi)
3. Colors Flying (USA) 468,300 (26/8/79/13) 16.5% (Baedari Bobae)
4. Strike Again (USA) 387,100 (13/3/35/7) 20.0% (Winners Glory)
5. One Cool Cat (USA) 352,950 (26/7/65/8) 12.3% (Major Winner)
6. Didyme (USA) 335,050 (19/6/50/7) 14.0% (Seomgwangi)
7. Sharp Humor (USA) 334,800 (35/8/73/10) 13.7% (Pokpung Sinhwa)
8. Vicar (USA) 300,300 (23/5/53/6) 11.3% (Sidaeuiyeowang)
9. Cowboy Cal (USA) 293,100 (9/6/30/7) 23.3% (Miso Wangja)
10. Pico Central (BRZ) 277,950 (15/4/40/4) 10.0% (Waikiki)

The Korean breeding program suffered a sad setback with the loss of Sharp Humor. The stallion reportedly suffered fatal injuries while rearing up during a thunderstorm and slipping. Sharp Humor is second on the First-Crop sire list behind Strike Again.

Leading First-Crop Sires

1. Strike Again (USA) 387,100 (13/3/35/7) 20.0% (Winners Glory)
2. Sharp Humor (USA) 334,800 (35/8/73/10) 13.7% (Pokpung Sinhwa)
3. Whywhywhy (USA) 200,000 (25/4/71/5) 7.0% (Doctor Why)
4. Delago Brom (AUS) 72,350 (7/3/24/3) 12.5% (Delago Dream)
5. Stromberg Carlson (AUS) 57,850 (2/1/8/1) 12.5% (Short Stop)

First Foreign Owners Active At Jeju Sale

Some of the newly licensed foreign owners were active at the Jeju Two-Year-Old sale last week, the first such sale since foreign ownership of racehorses in Korea was approved.

The sale-topping Vicar colt in the ring (Pic: Headline Jeju)

The sale-topping Vicar colt in the ring (Pic: Headline Jeju)

Katsumi Yoshida and Shunsuke Yoshida of Japan’s Northern Farm bought a number of horses. A Sharp Humor colt out of Hongsangeo (Jet Spur) was the most expensive purchase for Katsumi, who will run his horses at Seoul, while a Pico Central colt out of Like A Woman (Rahy) was the standout purchase of Shunsuke, who will race his at Busan.

Macau Jockey Club Chief Executive Thomas Li also snapped up a Sharp Humor colt out of Sharp Eyed (Danzero).

Dr. Joe Dallao was busy too taking home a half-sister to 2008 Ttukseom Cup winner Namchonuijijon. The Whywhywhy filly is out of Intriga (Lord At Law). Other foreign buyers active at the sale were Eric Koh and Shigeo Kadono.

In total, 63 horses were sold in the ring with an average purchase price of KRW 46 Million. The highest priced fetched was KRW 164 Million for a Vicar colt out of Prize Top (Concept Win). That was paid by Nasca, a Korean company who already own 11 horses at Seoul.

Korean racing media last weekend reported that a small number of foreign owners have completed registration for ownership in Korea. They include Barry Irwin of Team Valor and Dr. Kendall Hansen, whose most famous horse, the eponymous Hansen, already stands at stud on Jeju Island. Arthur Inglis of Australia is also among those newly licensed.

Foreign owners will be required to own four Korean bred horses for each foreign bred horse they import to Korea. There is also a restriction on the total number of new foreign bred horses that can join each racecourse in a single year; 160 at Seoul and 120 at Busan.

Stallion Sharp Humor Has Passed Away

Desperately sad news from Jeju Island as Let’s Run Stud Farm has reported that one of the jewels of its breeding program, Sharp Humor, died as the result of an accident on March 18.

Sharp Humor, 2003-2015.

Sharp Humor, 2003-2015.

Aged just 12, Sharp Humor was in his 3rd breeding season in Korea, having been purchased by the Korea Racing Authority in November 2011, arriving the following February.

He covered 97 mares in 2013 and 85 in 2014, with another full book in progress this year.

Sharp Humor [Distorted Humor – Bellona (Hansel)] was a good racehorse whose full promise was thwarted by injury. As a two-year-old, he won two Stakes races at Belmont Park and there were high hopes of him as he began his three-year-old campaign in 2006. He won the G2 Swale Stakes at Gulfstream Park before narrowly running second to the tragic Barbaro in a stretch duel in the Florida Derby at the same track.

However, upon finishing 19th of 20 in the Kentucky Derby, again behind Barbaro, he was found to have fractured a knee. He underwent surgery and managed to return to race one more time at Belmont Park, before being retired with career figures of 4 wins from 10 starts.  

Just as his potential was never truly reached on the track, regretfully neither will it be in the breeding shed. He sired plenty of winners in the USA and was sold to Korea in 2011 where he joined the rapidly improving breeding program. His two full crops have yet to make the track here with the first two-year-olds set to debut later this year.

There was very heavy rain on the island on the day of the accident. Jeju, with its rolling fields, agreeable climate and plenty of time out of the barn, is generally a pleasant posting for a stallion but a full inquiry into Sharp Humor’s death will review procedures with regard to the other valuable and high profile stallions, such as Menifee, Officer, Rock Hard Ten, Hansen and newcomer Tiz Wonderful, who stand there.

Pico Central, another expensive import, died in a paddock accident at the farm, which was previously known as the KRA Jeju Stud Farm, in February 2014.

Here’s that Florida Derby where Sharp Humor, the early front-runner, made Barbaro work all the way to the line: