The Toast of New York -- Part Two: Adversary

On January 4, 1989, the winter book favorite for the Kentucky Derby was officially crowned the previous year's Eclipse two-year-old male champion. Easy Goer had been vacationing in Florida since November, enjoying much deserved down time, his activity limited to a walking routine. By mid-January the honeymoon was just about over and the colt would now begin work toward a campaign geared to maximize his chances to secure for the Phipps family and McGaughey, the most coveted victory in Thoroughbred racing. Easy Goer's Derby prep races would be the seven furlong Swale Stakes on March 4, at Gulfstream Park, followed a month later with Aqueduct's one mile Gotham, and the 1 1/8 mile Wood Memorial on April 22.

On Notice

Easy Goer had become quite imposing between the end of his two-year-old campaign and his three-year-old debut. With a bigger, stronger frame, he had been working impressively. A field of six lined up for the Swale with Easy Goer in post one. Breaking last, he was ahead of just one horse going into the backstretch as front running Trion went up by several lengths, carving out a quarter in :21 4/5, and a half in :44 3/5. Easy Goer now began to move, coming to Trion's outside before passing him in the stretch, and bounding away by more than eight lengths in the swift time of 1:22 1/5, fastest of the meeting. His strong start had put everyone on notice, and his next race would leave them gasping.

Dominance

Easy Goer returned to New York for his final two starts before heading to Kentucky. On April 8, in a small field of five, Easy Goer was parked outside for the one mile Gotham Stakes. When they left the gate, Diamond Donnie and Cantrell Road set a fast early pace. Exiting the chute, Easy Goer aggressively made a move to track the leaders, and after a wicked quarter in :22 2/5, retreated briefly. The front runners continued to blister the oval, covering the half in :44 1/5. Around the far turn Easy Goer advanced again on the outside, as they ran six furlongs in 1:08 3/5. Cantrell Road had dropped back, but Diamond Donnie went on, and coming into the stretch, Easy Goer ranged up beside him, before drawing away. By the sixteenth pole he was up by at least eight lengths and hit the wire by thirteen in an astonishing 1:32 2/5! He had crushed Secretariat's track mark by a full second and was only a tick behind Dr. Fager's world record, set in the Washington Park Handicap at Arlington Park in 1968. Easy Goer had carried 123 pounds, while the great Fager, at age four, was under 134. But Easy Goer's time was the fastest ever recorded by a three-year-old.

Two weeks later, Easy Goer carried his momentum into the two-turn Wood Memorial. He left post three in a field of six, as Diamond Donnie took the early lead, with Triple Buck in second and Easy Goer tracking in third on the outside. Around the first turn Easy Goer crept up to second. Down the backstretch Diamond Donnie stayed a length in front of Easy Goer, covering the half in :48 3/5. On the far turn Easy Goer moved up alongside the leader, before scampering away, his winning margin three lengths, with Rock Point and Triple Buck finishing second and third respectively. The time was a modest 1:50 3/5, but Easy Goer did only what was necessary, especially with the biggest race of his career in two weeks. The colt had also reached a milestone, going over the one million dollar mark in earnings. He seemed poised to enter a sphere of supremacy beyond that of any peer who sought to challenge him.

Meanwhile, a dark, powerful storm was approaching from the west.

The Black Horse

There was another colt raising a stir, in California, but so far had not received much national notoriety. His body wasn't a striking copper that glistened in the light, nor did he have the bloodlines or looks to raise eyebrows. He was more the color of coal, and like a black hole, threatened to swallow up any opponent that got in his way. He was a tough, gritty survivor who had already cheated death. He wasn't handsome or in possession of a lovely conformation. When his owner tried to sell him at auction, there was no interest, so horse and master went on home. That dark bay colt, so different from the glamour horse in the east, did have one thing in common however with Easy Goer, and it was the only quality that really mattered: he could run. His name was Sunday Silence.

Bred by Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds in Kentucky, sired by Halo out of the Understanding mare Wishing Well, Sunday Silence was Easy Goer's only legitimate contemporary, foaled the same year, and owned by Arthur Hancock III, who later shared that ownership with Dr. Ernest Gaillard, and the legendary trainer Charlie Whittingham, who conditioned him. The colt won once in three starts as a juvenile, finishing second twice, and never in stakes company. One of the horses to defeat him was a Seattle Slew son named Houston, who would return the following year. Sunday Silence grew into his shoes as a three-year-old in 1989, and like Easy Goer, would prep three times prior to the first Saturday in May, all at Santa Anita. On March 2, with regular rider Patrick Valenzuela in the irons, Sunday Silence started in a 6 ½ furlong allowance on a sloppy track, took charge early, and maintained his lead to the wire by more than four lengths. He was back on March 19 and captured the 1 1/16 mile San Felipe Handicap, by just under two lengths. On April 8, the same day Easy Goer put in his spectacular Gotham run, Sunday Silence made some fireworks of his own. In the West Coast's biggest three-year-old race, Sunday Silence destroyed ten other horses by eleven lengths in the 1 1/8 mile Santa Anita Derby in the scintillating time of 1:47 3/5.

The two best horses in the land were on a collision course.

Back to Mud

Easy Goer arrived in Kentucky with fanfare. On May 6, fifteen horses entered the Churchill Downs starting gate for the 115^th edition of America's most famous race. Others in the field included Easy Goer's stablemate Awe Inspiring, who had won the Everglades and Flamingo Stakes, the Garden Stakes winner Faultless Ensign, Dansil, who had taken the Arkansas Derby, Blue Grass Stakes winner Western Playboy, and Houston, who had earlier romped in the seven furlong Bay Shore Stakes in New York, but was spanked by Sunday Silence in the Santa Anita Derby. Although he had spiked a fever prior to the race, Houston also had a distance question he needed to answer. Trained by D. Wayne Lukas, Houston was given another opportunity to make the Derby lineup and proceeded to win the one mile Derby Trial on April 29.

As the favorite, Easy Goer, attempted to become the first Wood/Derby winner since Pleasant Colony in 1981, and the first two-year-old champion to win the race since Spectacular Bid in 1979, Mother Nature again interfered. The area had received rain over the past week, temperatures were cold, and the track was muddy as it had been six months earlier when the colt had lost. In front of more than 122,000 spectators, and after a nine minute delay to reshod Triple Buck, Easy Goer was led into post thirteen. A few doors down, in post ten, was Sunday Silence. When the group was sent off, Sunday Silence came in and bumped Triple Buck as Houston and Dansil got the jump. As they went into the clubhouse turn, Easy Goer was in fifth, just behind Sunday Silence, with the quarter run in :23. Down the backstretch, Houston maintained his lead, covering the half in :46 3/5, Sunday Silence remained unchanged, with Easy Goer farther back. As they rounded the far turn, Houston was still in front but tiring as Sunday Silence came along his outside and took the lead into the stretch, where he began to run erratically, in response to his rider's whip. Houston finally dropped back, and Easy Goer, struggling over the mud, rallied but it was too late to catch Sunday Silence who had separated himself, as he approached the wire. Easy Goer was next, two and a half lengths behind the winner, and managed to hold off Awe Inspiring by a neck, while three-quarters of a length behind him was Dansil, who was only a nose behind the fifth horse Hawkster. Houston finished eighth. It wasn't the prettiest run race and neither of the leading horses looked particularly formful. Easy Goer hadn't fired, and Sunday Silence's zig zag pattern nearing the finish, had concluded in a time of 2:05, the slowest since 1958, when Tim Tam, under Pat's uncle Ismael “Milo” Valenzuela, had recorded the idential clocking on the same surface conditions. There was no question that a line could be drawn through Easy Goer's performance, after being victimized again by a muddy track he couldn't grab. While the Sunday Silence people were now beaming with confidence over a possible Triple Crown winner, Easy Goer's backers were certain their horse would return to his outstanding form, given different circumstances. In round two of what would become an epic battle, Easy Goer would try to validate his reputation as a potential superhorse, and Sunday Silence would once more have to prove he truly belonged in his arch rival's class. In their next confrontation, they would put on quite a show.

Gun Fire

In the two weeks leading up to the 114^th Preakness Stakes in Baltimore, Maryland, Easy Goer was back in New York and training well. There was a question however about Sunday Silence after he had bruised his right front foot. With treatment to the area, he worked in a temporary bar shoe, and was fit and ready on race day. In the days leading up to the contest, rain had made the Pimlico track sloppy, but by Saturday, May 20, it was dry and fast. In addition to Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, others returning for the 1 3/16 mile race were Dansil, Houston, Hawkster and Northern Wolf. New shooters were Rock Point and Pulverizing. Easy Goer was again backed as favorite, and broke from post position two. Sunday Silence would get away in stall seven. When the gates opened, Easy Goer hopped in the air, losing a step and getting off last, while Sunday Silence and the outside horse, Northern Wolf, made slight contact with each other. Pulverizing started the proceedings with Houston alongside. Going around the first turn, it was Northern Wolf in charge with Houston next. Sunday Silence was just behind them, with Easy Goer farther back but gradually gaining position on the outside. The quarter was run in :23 2/5. Down the backstretch, Houston built a three length lead, but Sunday Silence rapidly advanced to his flank, with Easy Goer looming up just as quickly on the outside. With a half in :46 2/5, Easy Goer caught Sunday Silence, and moved ahead, causing the Derby winner to be momentarily sandwiched between him and Houston, and forcing Valenzuela to check. Easy Goer was moving well, having engaged Houston, but Sunday Silence quickly regained his stride after six furlongs in 1:09 3/5. Houston bowed out and the gauntlet was thrown down, as Easy Goer and Sunday Silence sped away from the others. Racing down the stretch, they were practically glued to each other in a furious dog fight, with the conditions going against Easy Goer, who was pinned to the rail. If he was going to win this race, there was no margin for error. The two horses slugged it out, neither cracking, but Easy Goer was too tightly hemmed in. What made his situation even worse was the position of his head which was turned sideways toward his rival instead of focused on the finish line. When they crossed the wire in a photo finish, the outcome was uncertain, until the nose that had crossed over first was identified. It belonged to Sunday Silence, and he had recorded a time of 1:53 4/5, the third fastest in Preakness history after Tank's Prospect's 1:52 2/5 and Gate Dancer's 1:53 3/5.

With Sunday Silence now on the verge of Triple Crown glory, the distant hoofbeats of Affirmed and Alydar seemed to be crossing the expanse of time.

Cannon Fire

It had taken Sunday Silence not one, but two wins over Easy Goer before he finally gained the respect he had already been entitled to. He had beaten the champion fair and square on an off track and again on a fast dry one, and even the staunchest Easy Goer followers had to concede that perhaps there was a horse the equal of their own. This didn't mean they were jumping off the bandwagon, and hopefully back in his familiar New York surroundings, the final leg might be different. But this time, with the anticipation of possibly the first Triple Crown winner in eleven years, Sunday Silence would be favored.

Winning horse racing's Triple Crown may be the most difficult feat in sports, and remains the greatest achievement in Thoroughbred racing. There are only eleven members of this exclusive club. The demands placed on a young three-year-old horse require not only ability, but courage, perserverance, mental and physical toughness, maturity and stamina over a period of five short weeks at various distances of ground. The last leg is the 1 ½ mile Belmont Stakes, run in cavernous Belmont Park, and for most horses, is the only time they would ever be asked to go that far. Called the “Test of the Champion,” the Belmont Stakes is run after an already long and arduous campaign. This race was also the one remaining hurdle between Sunday Silence and inclusion into that special club. Sir Barton was the first to sweep the series in 1919 and Affirmed the last in 1978. In the ensuing years, three horses, Spectacular Bid, Pleasant Colony and Alysheba, won the first two races, then faltered in the third. Swale, in 1984, won the Derby and Belmont Stakes, but finished seventh to Gate Dancer in the Preakness. Risen Star, in 1988, finished third in the Derby behind the filly Winning Colors, then won the last two races. Now destiny was beckoning Sunday Silence.

On June 10, ten horses showed up for the 121st running of the Belmont Stakes: Hawkster, fifth in the Derby and Preakness; Awe Inspiring, third in the Derby; Rock Point, third in the Preakness; Irish Actor, seventh in the Derby and later second in the Peter Pan Stakes; Triple Buck, ninth in the Derby; and the two protagonists, Sunday Silence and Easy Goer. Also making their first classic appearances were Imbibe and Fire Maker, Peter Pan winner and fourth finisher respectively.

Sunday Silence was in post six and next to him in seven was Easy Goer. After being sent on their way, Sunday Silence jumped out in front but was immediately confronted and passed by the American-bred but European raced Le Voyageur, making his first start in the States and first try on dirt. Easy Goer was also in good position between these two. Rounding the first turn, Le Voyageur maintained his lead, with Sunday Silence stalking. Easy Goer had dropped back but was still in a good spot. The quarter was :23 1/5. As they made the half in :47, Le Voyageur stayed in front into the backstretch, with Sunday Silence sitting just off him, followed by Triple Buck, and Easy Goer to his outside. Le Voyageur had opened up a few lengths, covering six furlongs in 1:11 1/5, but Sunday Silence was closing the gap, as was Easy Goer, just off his flank. Le Voyageur was stubborn and would not bow out quietly. Rounding the far turn, Sunday Silence caught the leader, after a mile in 1:35 4/5. Right at this point, Sunday Silence caught a glimpse of immortality, that was gone as quickly as it had appeared. Easy Goer was moving up fast on his outside. Now with three horses across the track, Le Voyageur grudgingly gave way. Easy Goer on his home track, with its wide sweeping turns, was not going to be denied again. As they left the far turn, and entered the stretch, Easy Goer exploded past Sunday Silence, his lead increasing with every stride. He kept pouring it on, as the connections of Sunday Silence watched their hopes evaporate. When the dust had cleared Easy Goer's winning margin was eight lengths, and he had finished his run in a blazing 2:26. Only Secretariat, the horse many felt Easy Goer might come to emulate, had ever run the race faster. Sunday Silence, crossing the wire in second, was a length ahead of the gallant Le Voyageur, who was twelve lengths ahead of Awe Inspiring. Hawkster, who finished fifth yet again, would later distinguish himself with a twelve furlong world record time on the Santa Anita turf course.

The wait for another Triple Crown winner would continue. But for Easy Goer, he was back on top of the mountain, if not standing alone, at least sharing it with a great adversary.

To Be Continued

Copyright 2011, 2012 by John Califano