Once in a long while, a horse comes along who is truly great. A horse who
possesses the fire of greatness touches all associated with him and rekindles
the sport with such passion that even outsiders can feel it. Sunday Silence is
such a horse, a horse worthy of being called great.
It was at Arthur B. Hancock III's Stone Farm near Paris, Ky., that Sunday
Silence was born, a product of Stone Farm's top stallion Halo and the
Understanding mare Wishing Well. Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds bred the nearly-black
colt and Oak Cliff's managing partner, Tom Tatham, also had selected Halo as a
foundation stallion for his operation and moved the sire from Windfields Farm in
Maryland to Stone Farm.
Foaled on March 25, 1986, Sunday Silence became known as the horse who beat
the odds to become great. He first flirted with the odds as a weanling when he
nearly died around Thanksgiving time from a freak virus, and then again narrowly
escaped death in a van accident as a 2-year-old. Twice he passed through the
sales ring, as a yearling and as a 2-year-old, and each time he returned home to
Stone Farm unsold.
When he made it to the racetrack as a juvenile on October 30, 1988, Sunday
Silence was a gangly colt who finished second by a neck in a Santa Anita maiden
special weight event. It was in his second start, on November 13 of that year
at Hollywood Park, that Sunday Silence began to shine. He trounced a maiden
field by a remarkable 10 lengths, getting the six furlongs in a flashy 1:09 2/5.
Stepping up to allowance company, the son of Halo was second by a head in his
final start as a juvenile in December, then ran away from an allowance field by
4 ½ in his sophomore debut in March. It would be the last time Sunday Silence
would start in anything other than a graded stakes race.
On March 19, 1989, Sunday Silence made both his stakes and two-turn debut in
the San Felipe H.-G2 at Santa Anita. The now 3-year-old colt passed both tests
with flying colors, capturing the 1 1/16 mile event in 1:42 3/5 and establishing
himself as a legitimate contender for the Triple Crown trail.
Prepping for the Kentucky Derby-G1, the revered and sacred grail, Sunday
Silence faced his most difficult challenge yet in the G1 Santa Anita Derby. No
one need to have worried. Sunday Silence simply dominated the field, leaving his
nearest competitor 11 lengths behind and getting the nine furlongs in a very
respectable 1:47 3/5. Hancock's colt had stamped his ticket to the Derby.
Derby day dawned on May 6, 1989, with a muddy Churchill Downs track and an
East-Coast powerhouse named Easy Goer whom nearly everyone had already
christened the next coming of Secretariat. Sunday Silence was almost an
afterthought with the public, who made the entry of Easy Goer and his stablemate
the overwhelming favorite. And, there was no doubt Easy Goer deserved his
reputation as he was a three-time G1 winner and the Eclipse Champion 2-year-old.
His Derby prep races included a 13-length victory in the Gotham with a mile in
1:32 2/5, only a fifth off the world record and the second-fastest mile run in
history. To make matters even more interesting, Easy Goer had been raised on
Claiborne, the legendary family farm that Hancock had left to establish his own
farm.
Great horses are often defined by their rivals. Affirmed can hardly be
mentioned without including Alydar in the same breath. Swaps and Nashua go
hand-in-hand, as do Damascus and Dr. Fager, War Admiral and Seabiscuit, and a
host of other pairs. Although no one knew it going to post, Sunday Silence and
Easy Goer were starting a spectacular rivalry that will not soon be forgotten.
When it was all over, Sunday Silence wore the Derby roses with Easy Goer
placing second. Hancock had his second Derby in seven years, having won in 1982
with Gato Del Sol. Horse racing is the sport of dreams, and there is no higher
dream, no more colossal wish, no more powerful hope, than to be standing in the
Kentucky Derby winner's circle on the first Saturday in May. It has reduced
grown men to tears. Hancock had his second Derby and Sunday Silence was the
star, but still neither Hancock nor the world could possibly anticipate the
greatness that was Sunday Silence.
