Joking gets serious in $100,000 Diablo S.

Joking left his connections all smiles after the son of Distorted Humor rallied from last to first in the stretch to take the $100,000 Diablo S. at Belmont Park. 

Along with Ironicus in Saturday’s $150,000 Fort Marcy S. (G3), Distorted Humor had a stakes double over the weekend at Belmont.

With the field moving along at a brisk pace of :22.12 for the quarter-mile and :45.11 for the half, Joking was last of seven through the turn. With no room in front of him, Joking went four wide into the stretch, relentlessly gained ground on the leaders, ultimately taking over inside the final sixteenth to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:09.44 for six furlongs on a muddy main track.

“It’s the perfect distance for him,” said jockey Manny Franco. “Charlie (owner/trainer Baker) told me to make a move when I thought I was the right point to do it and that’s what I did. When (runner-up) Ready for Rye moved in the three-eighths pole, I had the chance to go outside of him. He likes running on the outside.”

“His style is to come off the pace and we didn’t want to change anything coming in,” added Baker. “I knew there was enough speed in the race where we figured it was going to set up for him.”

Joking has a remarkably consistent record of 8-8-8 in 36 starts and has banked $498,638. His dam, the stakes-winning Spun Silk, is a sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Fed Biz.