Sunday Silence pursued recognition throughout his career, both as a racehorse and as a sire. Ultimately, he achieved it.
“He was exceptionally talented,” commented Shug McGaughey, an esteemed Hall of Fame trainer who managed his fierce competitor, Easy Goer. “We competed against him on four occasions, and he prevailed over us three times. And the horse I fielded against him was quite capable.”
Initially, however, Sunday Silence was an unwanted young male horse. As a weanling, he barely recovered from a viral infection. Gary Jones, a trainer, famously remarked that his rear limbs “were so bent they resembled wire garment hangers.” Bill Christine, a sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, characterized those identical legs as “curved like parentheses.”
Arthur B. Hancock III attempted to sell the unappealing young horse at the Keeneland yearling sale in 1987, only to repurchase him for a modest $17,000. Subsequently, he transported the horse to Hollywood Park for an auction featuring unraced two-year-olds. The minimum acceptable price before the sale was established at $50,000; offers failed to approach this figure. Hancock ended up keeping him for $32,000.
He brought in collaborators, and a choice was made to send Sunday Silence back to Kentucky. He did not reach his destination. The vehicle’s operator experienced a fatal cardiac event in Texas, causing the transport van to flip over. Miraculously, the horse emerged unharmed and was brought back to California to commence his racing journey under the guidance of Charlie Whittingham, who was also an acclaimed Hall of Fame trainer.
Sunday Silence concluded an unremarkable season as a two-year-old, securing just one win from three races.
“He was lanky initially,” Hancock informed the Los Angeles Times. “He brought to mind a very slender adolescent.”
That slender adolescent underwent significant development between the ages of two and three. His rear limbs still appeared rather unimpressive, but their capacity for speed was undeniable. He won an allowance event to commence his three-year-old campaign and promptly positioned himself as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby – and an eagerly awaited clash with Easy Goer – by clinching victories in both the San Felipe Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby.
Almost all of the anticipation leading up to the Derby focused on Sunday Silence’s highly regarded East Coast adversary. “Given that Easy Goer was the two-year-old champion, he arrived as the current sensation, the successor to Secretariat,” Christine stated.
When Sunday Silence triumphed over Easy Goer by two and a half lengths in the Kentucky Derby, the result was ascribed to the soggy racing surface at Churchill Downs. When Sunday Silence narrowly beat Easy Goer by a nose following an electrifying Preakness final stretch battle, the majority of onlookers credited Pat Valenzuela with superior horsemanship over Pat Day, who subsequently conceded he would have ridden a different race. When Easy Goer prevented his West Coast competitor from achieving the Triple Crown with a dominant eight-length win on his familiar Belmont Stakes track, those critical of Sunday Silence celebrated.
Christine held an alternative perspective. “Easy Goer thrived at Belmont. It was his preferred course and his opportune moment,” he remarked. “He truly defeated Sunday Silence decisively, but the condition of that track played a significant role.”
Sunday Silence ultimately had the final say – with a victory by a neck in the Breeders’ Cup Classic held at Gulfstream Park. His seventh win from nine appearances during a memorable season secured him accolades as the premier three-year-old and the prestigious Horse of the Year title.
“He was a remarkably nimble horse,” McGaughey stated. “He navigated the bends more effectively than our horses.”
A damaged ligament compelled the colt, sired by Halo, to be withdrawn from racing during his four-year-old campaign. His unremarkable lineage and imperfect physical structure generated minimal enthusiasm from American breeders, resulting in his sale to Japanese investors despite a highly dependable career yielding nine wins and five second-place finishes across 14 races, accumulating total earnings of $4,968,554.
The equine athlete, frequently disregarded, proved to be an indispensable asset to Japan’s horse racing sector as a pivotal breeding stallion until his passing in August 2002. Yet again, Sunday Silence delivered the concluding statement.
Fun Facts
- Received a $1 million incentive from Visa for his outstanding showing in the Triple Crown events.
- Pat Valenzuela was his jockey for 12 out of his 14 races.
- Secured the 31st position in BloodHorse magazine’s compilation of the top 100 American Thoroughbreds of the 20th Century.
- Held the title of Japan’s premier breeding stallion on 13 occasions.
- Bred with over 2,000 female horses in Japan.
