Easy Goer and Sunday Silence would go their separate ways over the summer, with plans to meet up again in the autumn at Gulfstream Park for the Breeders' Cup Classic.
Supremacy
Beginning with the Belmont Stakes, Easy Goer remained in New York and gave one of the most dominating runs in history. He made four more starts over the next two months, three of these against older horses, beginning on August 5 at Saratoga in the 1 1/8 mile Whitney Handicap. After a compromised trip in close quarters, Easy Goer found a sliver of daylight, bolted to the lead about two furlongs from home and recorded a four and a half length win, finishing in 1:47 2/5, only two-fifths of a second off the stakes and track record.
Easy Goer returned two weeks later for a comfortable three length score in the 120th Travers Stakes, the three-year-old marquee event of the summer season. He covered the 1 ¼ mile distance in 2:00 4/5, the third fastest in the race's history. In his typical manner, Easy Goer stayed off the pace, but in striking position as Clever Trevor took the lead. He made his move turning into the stretch, and went in front with about a furlong remaining. Clevor Trevor's credible effort earned him the runner-up spot, nine lengths in front of Shy Tom.
At Belmont Park on September 16, Easy Goer again defeated his elders in the 1 ¼ mile Woodward Stakes. Carrying top weight of 122 on a muddy track, and stuck in tight quarters on the inside, Day was finally able to maneuver him out where he began to roll after a mile. He assumed the lead a furlong from the wire, then widened it to two lengths at the finish, giving runner-up Acedemic thirteen pounds.
Three weeks later, Easy Goer contested the 1 ½ mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, scoring his fifth consecutive win against six others, including Prized who in July, defeated Sunday Silence in the Swaps Stakes, at Hollywood Park. Getting a five pound break in weight, Easy Goer went ahead going into the far turn, shook loose of Cryptoclearance, and ran off by four lengths.
Meanwhile following his defeat to Prized, Sunday Silence romped to a six length win in the 1 ¼ mile Super Derby at Louisiana Downs, on September 24.
Easy Goer and Sunday Silence were about to meet again on the biggest stage in North American racing and Easy Goer would regain his favoritism. It seemed he had clearly validated himself as the best horse in America; but there was one hitch. Nobody bothered to tell Sunday Silence.
Game, Match, Point
The sixth Breeders' Cup event was held on November 4, 1989. Easy Goer arrived after a four week layoff and Sunday Silence after six weeks. McGaughey had enjoyed wins in the Sprint with Dancing Spree and the Juvenile with Rhythm, and now was hoping that his biggest star, Easy Goer, would give him and Mr. Phipps the Classic. A field of eight was entered, with three million dollars and the Horse of the Year title on the line. Easy Goer and Sunday Silence, the latter under Chris McCarron, were at opposite ends of the parking lot. The Belmont Stakes winner was in post one and the Derby/Preakness victor in eight. The start was clean but Easy Goer broke a little slow and was behind most of the pack while Sunday Silence gained good position. Slew City Slew took an early lead and set a brisk pace covering the quarter in :22 2/5, with Blushing John a few lengths back and Present Value next. Mi Selecto and Sunday Silence followed them, but Easy Goer hadn't hit his stride yet. Slew City Slew maintained his lead after a half in :46 1/5, but at three-quarters, run in 1:10 2/5, Blushing John was on top. As the horses rounded the far turn, Sunday Silence made his move and Easy Goer closed in on him from the outside. But as Easy Goer advanced, Sunday Silence surged, and opened up a cushion. Down the stretch, Sunday Silence finally went past a stubborn Blushing John, while Easy Goer, now at full throttle, was eating up a lot of ground. He roared down the middle of the track, but arrived just late as Sunday Silence crossed the finish a neck in front. Blushing John salvaged third.
Although nobody knew it yet, the great rivalry was over.
Who Was Greater?
Sunday Silence had defeated Easy Goer in three of their four meetings, on America's biggest race days. Regardless of any speculation as to why Easy Goer couldn't get his rival's measure more often, it doesn't change what transpired nor should academic discussion influence their place in history. In any ranking, it is only fair that Sunday Silence be put ahead of Easy Goer. This does not necessarily mean Sunday Silence was a more talented horse, but perhaps he possessed certain athletic attributes that served him better on smaller tracks and off tracks. Sunday Silence was also quicker out of the gate, with more ability to change gears around turns, and adaptability over various track conditions. Easy Goer generally stayed off the pace, but depending on how aggressively he was ridden, could be closer. Easy Goer was particularly tough on larger ovals like Belmont Park, regardless of its surface conditions. The wide sweeping turns of "big sandy" were better for a physically imposing horse who could strike with power. Both colts demonstrated superiority at the classic distance of ten furlongs, but beyond this range, it's likely Easy Goer would have continued to prevail. It could also be speculated that Easy Goer may not have been razor sharp entering the Classic, having last raced over twelve furlongs. Coming into the race, he had made four starts after the Triple Crown series to Sunday Silence's two. Sunday Silence's largest winning margin over Easy Goer was two and a half lengths on a day when neither horse showed his top form, and his other two wins, were by very slim margins. Easy Goer's victory, albeit on his home track, was a runaway.
Could there have also been intrinsic factors? Both were game horses with great character, Sunday Silence, perhaps acquiring his virtues from adverse experiences, starting with his close brush with death at an early age, then later from being so often snubbed and constantly asked to prove his worth. Easy Goer's qualities may have been inherited from his sire. On the one occasion when they actually went eyeball to eyeball, neither horse gave an inch, and both demonstrated tremendous courage. The ending to the Preakness probably didn't result because Sunday Silence was a better horse, but due to trip scenarios, and positioning down the stretch.
Each horse affected the other's final place among the equine greats. Without Sunday Silence, Easy Goer would have been the 'horse of the 1980s.' Without Easy Goer, Sunday Silence would have been racing's twelveth Triple Crown winner. Sunday Silence didn't barely miss winning the Triple Crown. He never really had a chance. Comparing the two horses from this perspective could suggest that although Sunday Silence had a numerical edge, in the final analysis, the rivalry was a draw. None-the-less, when it was time for presentation of the annual Eclipse Awards for 1989, Sunday Silence was rightfully named Horse of the Year and three-year-old male champion. It must have been quite regrettable however that Easy Goer, a horse who had crushed one of Secretariat's records, run the fastest mile ever by a three-year-old, recorded the second fastest Belmont Stakes in history, and later won four more consecutive grade 1 races, three in older company, and finally lost the Breeders' Cup Classic by only a neck, went home with nothing.
Exits
Easy Goer and Sunday Silence had every intention of renewing their rivalry in 1990. The Breeders' Cup, at Belmont Park, would have provided an opportunity for Easy Goer, on his home track, to take another swing at his formidable foe, perhaps landing his punch squarely on the jaw. After a long layoff, and training in Florida, Easy Goer made his four-year-old debut on May 16, 1990, in the seven furlong Gold Stage Stakes at Belmont Park and cruised to a seven and a half length victory in 1:22 1/5. Just twelve days later he showed up again to contest the one mile Metropolitan Handicap and for the first time in his career, the colt finished lower than second. After giving the winner, Criminal Type, seven pounds and runner-up Housebuster fourteen, Easy Goer finished a close third. It had taken a weight concession and two advancing stars to defeat him. Criminal Type would ultimately be named Horse of the Year, and Housebuster a two-time sprint champion. On July 4, Easy Goer bounced back in the 1 ¼ mile Suburban Handicap and put away six others, giving runner-up De Roche and third finisher Montubio thirteen pounds each.
Sunday Silence returned on June 3, in the 1 1/8 mile Californian at Hollywood Park and held off Stylish Winner, after giving him eleven pounds. He returned on June 24 in the 1 ¼ mile Hollywood Gold Cup, again conceded weight, and lost by a head to Criminal Type.
At almost the same moments in time, both horses would leave the racetrack for good. In a workout in late July, Easy Goer fractured a sesamoid bone and was retired. Only two weeks later, Sunday Silence sustained a ligamentous injury, and also called it quits. Thus racing saw strikingly parallel exits for two great horses, whose accomplishments and confrontations enriched it with such a beautiful array of performances.
Easy Goer bowed out with 20 starts, 14 firsts, 5 seconds, and 1 third. His wins included nine grade 1 victories, highlighted by his sweep of the Belmont Stakes, Whitney Handicap, Travers Stakes, Woodward, and Jockey Club Gold Cup. His trio of wins in the Belmont, Travers, and Gold Cup would not be duplicated for twenty years until Summer Bird did it in 2009. Except for his juvenile debut, when he lost by a nose, the only horses who could beat him were champions. Like his contemporary Sunday Silence, Easy Goer was never out of the money, and amassed earnings of $4,873,770, a bankroll almost identical to that of Sunday Silence who finished with $4,968,554, after recording 14 starts for 9 wins, and 5 seconds. Both colts would now begin the next phase of their lives.
Enshrined Forever
In retirement, American breeders embraced Easy Goer but rejected Sunday Silence, who yet again had to prove himself, this time as a stallion. And just like every other challenge, the black horse met and exceeded all expectations. Standing at stud in Japan, Sunday Silence became the country's perennial leader and one of the world's greatest sires. In 2002, Sunday Silence was struck by the terrible equine disease laminitis and on August 19, died of heart failure. He was only sixteen-years-old. Sunday Silence's life, although not full in years, had certainly been so in substance.
Easy Goer's lifespan was even shorter, but no less noteworthy. On May 12, 1994, at the young age of eight, Easy Goer died of an apparent heart attack. His brief tenure as a stallion had appeared quite promising. He sired Whitney and Travers Stakes winner Wills Way, and graded stakes winning filly Furlough. His best offspring was undoubtedly My Flag, winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Coaching Club American Oaks, Asland Stakes, and Gazelle, while graded stakes placed in several other races including the Belmont Stakes. My Flag went on to produce two-year-old filly champion Storm Flag Flying by Storm Cat.
Easy Goer was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1997 one year after Sunday Silence was so honored. Although Easy Goer's meetings with Sunday Silence were a large part of his remarkable career, these alone did not define him. Easy Goer was among the superstars of the last three decades, the toast of New York, and a true American equine hero. The great and beautiful chestnut, named Easy Goer, continues to be remembered with adulation and affection. His position among the equine legends is enshrined forever.
Recommended Reading
To the author's knowledge, there is no biographical work devoted to Easy Goer; however, below is a very partial list of resources to aid the individual in further study.
Online
“Google” 'News Archive'
“Newspaper Archive” (database available at some libraries, or with subscription).
"New York Times Article Archive"
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall-of-fame/horses-view.asp?varID=62
Print
The Blood-Horse, Thoroughbred Champions: Top 100 Racehorses of the 20th Century (Lexington, KY: The Blood-Horse, Inc., 1999).
Daily Racing Form, Champions: The Lives, Times, and Past Performances of America's Greatest Thoroughbreds; Revised Edition, Champions from 1893-2004 (New York, NY: Daily Racing Form Press, 2005).
Ray Paulick, Sunday Silence Thoroughbred Legends, No. 12 (Lexington, KY: Eclipse Press, 2001).
Richard Stone Reeves; Edward L. Bowen, Belmont Park: A Century of Champions (Lexington, KY: Eclipse Press, 2005).
Copyright 2011, 2012 by John Califano
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