03/05/2024
An amazing story of a special sire, Sunday Silence. He is Fusaichi Zenon’s sire. ❤️
On March 25, 1986, in one of the back pastures at Paris, Kentucky’s Stone Farm, a miscarriage-prone mare named Wishing Well foaled a nearly jet-black son of Halo. The foal was weak, sickly and had crooked back legs. He nearly died of a viral infection before his first birthday and was considered to be only valuable as potential bloodstock.
Sent to the Keeneland yearling sale in September of 1987, the c**t failed to meet reserve price and was bought back by Stone Farm’s Arthur Hancock for $17,000. The next year he was sent to a 2-year-olds in training sale in California. Again, he failed to meet the reserve, and again, Hancock picked up the tab and arranged to bring him back to the Bluegrass.
On the way back across the country, the driver of the van carrying this “unremarkable” c**t they called Sunday Silence suffered a fatal heart attack, and the van careened into a ditch and flipped. Miraculously, the c**t and his shipping mate survived with only minor scratches and bruises.
Sunday Silence was only two and had already escaped death twice. He seemed destined for a life of obscurity but soon caught the attention of Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham, who saw something special in the fiery juvenile and bought a half-interest in the c**t (and later sold half of that to Dr Ernest Galliard). While watching Sunday exercise one morning, Whittingham famously made the remark, “This black son of a bitch can run a little bit.” Coming from the reserved Whittingham, this was high praise and convinced Hancock that Sunday Silence might just prove to be a decent racehorse.
The c**t showed promise during his brief juvenile campaign, but it wasn’t until 1989 that he truly came into his own. After demolishing the field in the Santa Anita Derby (including the highly thought of Seattle Slew c**t, Houston), he went to the Kentucky Derby with an outside chance. It was there he met the horse with whom his name would be forever linked: Easy Goer. When Sunday Silence splashed home 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Easy Goer in the mud at Churchill Downs under rider Pat Valenzuela, a rivalry was born.
The two would hook up again in the Preakness Stakes in one of the most thrilling stretch runs in racing history, with the black son of Halo edging his rival by a nose. Though defeated by Easy Goer in the Belmont, he proved the better horse in the Breeder’s Cup Classic later that year, clinching both Champion 3-Year-Old C**t and Horse of the Year honors.
Following a ligament injury in 1990, Sunday Silence was retired from racing with a 14-9-5-0 record. The c**t that no one had wanted never finished worse than second in his career.
Even with his on-track accomplishments, Sunday Silence did not generate much interest among American breeders. He was soon purchased by the Shadhai Stallion Station and shipped to Japan.
At stud, Sunday Silence became a sensation in Japan, quickly topping the sire list and staying there. He dominated the racing scene, siring numerous Japanese champions, including Deep Impact, Zenno Rob Roy, Special Week, Stay Gold, Dance In The Mood, and Hat Trick. He went on to become the most successful sire in the world in terms of progeny earnings. (Conservative estimates on his offspring’s total winnings place it around $800,000,000.) Every single foal crop of Sunday Silence produced at least one, but more often three or four, Grade I stakes winners
Fighting laminitis in 2002, his owners discussed euthanizing the 16-year-old stallion, but were loathe to anger Sunday Silence’s rabid fans. Just a couple of months later however, Sunday Silence passed away after suffering a heart attack in his stall. As the foundation sire for Japan’s modern racing era, his legacy will endure for many years to come
Happy birthday Sunday
