Kentucky Derby pedigrees: Explore Citizen Bull’s roots
Love him, hate him or somewhere in between, Bob Baffert is back on the Kentucky Derby trail with a vengeance.
His charges Citizen Bull, Gaming and Getaway Car led the 2024 Breeders' Cup Juvenile procession through slow fractions, nothing changing until the stretch, when Citizen Bull pulled away from his stablemates to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Gaming was second, and Getaway Car was collared by a neck for third by Hill Road. Citizen Bull completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.07 over Del Mar's main oval.
Citizen Bull (Into Mischief - No Joke, by Distorted Humor) was bred by Robert E. and Lawana Low. He sold for $675,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale and is campaigned in partnership by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan.
Baffert conditioned Authentic to win the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic for a partnership that included SF Racing.
Citizen Bull has started four times, with three wins and a third-place finish and earnings of $1,301,000. Previously, he captured the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) by two lengths over Getaway Car and tired to third place behind Gaming in the Del Mar Futurity (G1). Citizen Bull graduated at first asking, sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar.
Citizen Bull leads the 2025 Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 40 points, with stablemates Gaming, with 15 points and Getaway Car, 11 points in second and third, respectively.
Sire
Five-time leading general sire Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday - Leslie's Lady, by Tricky Creek) is represented by eight Breeders' Cup winners and six champions. But, the prolific stallion's resume was missing a Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner and a 2-year-old champion colt.
The mainstay of Spendthrift Farm's breeding program, Into Mischief is also the first sire to produce back-to-back Kentucky Derby champions, Authentic in 2020 and Mandaloun in 2021. But Mandaloun benefitted from the disqualification of Medina Spirit, who crossed the finish line first.
The number of black-type winners sired by Into Mischief out of Distorted Humor daughters surpasses those produced by the dams of any other broodmare sires. Each of his 11 stakes winners is out of a different dam and include Grade 1 winners Life Is Good, a multiple winner at 1 1/8 miles, and Practical Joke, who was successful up to 1 1/16 miles.
Female family
Although only two dams within five generations of Citizen Bull's lineage are stakes winners, they are noteworthy producers of multiple stakes winners. Plus, he has no inbreeding within his first five generations.
Citizen Bull is the third foal and first winner out of his unraced dam, No Joke (Distorted Humor - Unenchantedevening, by Unbridled's Song).
The mare is a half-sister to a pair of precocious stakes winners: multiple Grade 1 heroine Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon), whose tally includes a pair of Grade 1s, the Del Mar Debutante and Chandelier Stakes, and Indian Evening (Indian Charlie) winner of the Swinford Stakes.
No Joke's half-sister Town's Tour (Speightstown) bore Souper Hoity Toity (Uncle Mo), a three-time Grade 3 winner in Canada.
Digging deeper into Citizen Bull's distaff line, Citizen Bull's third dam, Evil Elaine (Medieval Man), was a listed winner and bore five stakes earners, including 1997 Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Favorite Trick (Phone Trick), a rare 2-year-old who earned Horse of the Year honors. She's also the granddam of multiple Grade 1 winner and sire Tiz the Law (Constitution) and Grade 3 winner and sire Fury Kapcori (Tiznow).
In three years, Distorted Humor (Forty Niner - Danzig's Beauty, by Danzig) compiled a 27: 8-5-3 record and $769,964 in earnings as a multiple-graded winning sprinter-miler.
An anchor stallion at WinStar Farm, Distorted Humor sired 173 stakes winners, a nine percent rate. Despite his distance limitations on the track, Distorted Humor's offspring were capable from sprints to classic distances over all surfaces. He produced two classic winners, 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness hero Funny Cide and 2011 Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer, plus Travers winner Flower Alley.
Distorted Humor's daughters are pure gold. According to Equibase, they have yielded 157 stakes winners, ranging from sprinters to classic winners, including champion 3-year-old colt Arrogate (Unbridled's Song), and multiple Grade 1 winners Art Collector, Elate, Guarana, and Constitution. Citizen Bull's dam No Joke is bred on a reverse cross, Distorted Humor/Unbridled's Song.
Kentucky Derby contender or pretender?
Although it's a long, rocky road from the first Friday in November to the first Saturday in May, six Breeders' Cup Juvenile victors have prevailed in the Kentucky Derby. The last to complete the feat was Nyquist in 2016.
Although Citizen Bull's sire and damsire have a history of producing Kentucky Derby winners, the cross between Into Mischief and Distorted Humor has yet to produce a graded winner beyond 1 1/8 miles.
But Citizen Bull's conformation indicates that he may handle 1 1/4 miles. The well-balanced bay colt is not excessively muscular and displays a sloping shoulder, short back, and long stifle. While racing in blinkers, he has a professional demeanor, with an even gait and maintains a straight path without paddling or excessive movement.
In his three victories, Citizen Bull demonstrated his skill as a pacesetter. Despite being taken off the pace in the Del Mar Futurity, he gained ground while racing four-wide around the turn. Although he appeared poised in the stretch to overtake rivals, he ultimately faltered and finished third. This can be attributed to his lack of experience, as the Del Mar Futurity was his second start. With maturity and longer races, Citizen Bull may learn to settle off the pace.
Bob Baffert has conditioned six Kentucky Derby winners, so Citizen Bull is in good hands. Only time will tell whether this promising colt will endure the rigors of training and wear the roses in May.