BY BROCK SHERIDAN
Florida-bred Comedy Town continued his domination of South Florida sprinters this summer with an emphatic victory in the $96,000 Benny the Bull at Gulfstream Park Saturday. It was the second consecutive stakes victory and third straight overall for the Saffie Joseph Jr. trainee, who won the seven-furlong Benny the Bull by nearly two lengths ahead of fellow Florida-bred Loco Abarrio in second.
The $59,550 first-place money earned by Comedy Town includes a $10,000 Florida-bred bonus presented by the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association. Loco Abarrio earned $20,850 for second including his $6,000 share of the Florida-bred bonus money.
Loco Abarrio and Florida-bred Big Martini jumped out of gate first then were quickly overtaken by Vivir Con Alegria (Arg) on the rail as the six 3-year-olds and older came out of the backstretch chute.
Jockey Drayden Van Dyke kept Comedy Town on the outside in fourth and about two lengths off Vivir Con Alegria through a quarter-mile in :22.92 before inching closer to front in tandem with Big Martini to his inside heading into the turn.
Loco Abarrio took over from between horses past the three-eighths pole but had Comedy Town in pursuit on the outside and Vivir Con Alegria on the rail. Those three all had a chance at the top of the lane before Comedy Town pulled away in the stretch. He was a length-and-three-quarters clear under the wire to finish in 1:22.73 on the track rated muddy and sealed.
Loco Abarrio finished a length in front of third-place finisher Vivir Con Alegria with Big Martini fourth. Positive Review and Florida-bred Classic Car Wash completed the order of finish. Big Data and Saint Tapit were scratched.
Comedy Town paid $3.40 to win.
“He showed good speed. I was in a good spot. I was four-wide the whole way, but on the dirt it’s all about momentum for me,” Van Dyke said. “If I had the chance to tuck in, I would have, but he was taking me so nice, I didn’t want to bother him. I felt like a had a lot of horse. Edwin’s horse, Loco Abarrio, he challenged me pretty good at the top of the lane. Edwin was trying to stick with me and I was trying to get away from him. When I got after him left-handed he kicked on. He’s three-for-three on the dirt—that’s impressive.”
The 6-year-old Comedy Town had run exclusively on turf and synthetic in his first 21 starts before Joseph and co-owner Ten Twenty Racing claimed him for $25,000 in March. Joseph started him one more time on the all-weather course at Gulfstream and finished fourth against $35,000 claimers on April 19.
Joseph switched him to the main track to face first level, $25,000 optional claimers on June 8 and Comedy Town responded with a two-length victory on a sloppy track. He then won the $110,000 Smile Sprint by a length-and-a-half after six furlongs on July 6 prior to the Benny the Bull.
Comedy Town won for the fifth time in 26 career starts with five seconds and four thirds while earning $336,675.
He is by Speightstown out of the Florida-bred mare Unbridled Humor, by Distorted Humor and was bred in Florida by Live Oak Stud.
A winner of the Grade 3 Noble Damsel and $60,000 Memories of Silver for owner and breeder Live Oak Stud during her racing career, Unbridled Humor has produced four winners from six starters including stakes-placed Wild and Funny with Kitten’s Joy and Wild Medagliad’oro by Medaglia d’Oro. She has an unraced 3-year-old gelding, Winning Ballyhoo, by Into Mischief; an unraced 2-year-old filly, Souper Zesty Zest, by Laoban; a yearling colt, Souper Cha Ching, by Medaglia d’Oro; and a weanling filly, Amazing Alice, by Bolt d’Oro. All are bred in Florida by Live Oak Stud, who also bred second dam Devotion Unbridled. Live Oak Stud purchased Comedy Town’s third dam, the multiple graded stakes-placed Icy Warning, for $620,000 at the 1997 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
