Value Plus, It's No Joke headed to Canada

Two stallions will move to western Canada for the 2017 breeding season following the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale.

It’s No Joke, a Grade 2-winning son of Distorted Humor, was bought by Alberta-based Dr. Don Gibb for $6,000.

The 15-year-old stallion last stood publicly at HallMarc Stallions at Stonewall Farm Ocala in Florida, and has not covered a mare on record since 2014.

It’s No Joke is the sire of eight crops of racing age, with 51 winners and combined earnings surpassing $4.4 million. Grade 2 winner Bear No Joke is his most successful offspring, along with multiple stakes winners Mr. Prankster and Jokes N Jazz.

The horse won seven of 16 starts for earnings of $685,612, with a resume that included wins in the Grade 2 Hawthorne Gold Cup and Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap.

Bred in Kentucky by WinStar Farm, It’s No Joke is out of the Grade 3-winning Personal Flag mare It’s Personal, whose eight winners from 11 runners also includes stakes winners Mildly Offensive and Keep Laughing.

Value Plus was purchased for $13,000 by Fleetwood Bloodstock on behalf of an unnamed client based in western Canada.

The 16-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song also resided at HallMarc at Stonewall Farm, advertised last year for a fee of $4,500.

He is the sire of nine crops of racing age, with 220 winners and combined progeny earnings of more than $12.6 million. The top runners by Value Plus are Grade 2 winner Long On Value and Grade 1-placed stakes-winner All Due Respect.

Value Plus won three of 15 starts and earned $414,595. He won the listed Artax Handicap, and turned in runner-up efforts in the Grade 1 Florida Derby and Futurity Stakes.

Value Plus was bred in Kentucky by Just the Beginning Farm, and is out of the multiple stakes-winning Rollin On Over mare Roll Over Baby. He is one of nine winners from 11 runners out of the mare, also including Grade 3 winners Sing Baby Sing and Roll Hennessy Roll, Grade 3-placed stakes winner Majorbigtimesheet, and Grade 2-placed Werblin.

Both horses were consigned by Four Star Sales, as agent.