TRIPLE TROUBLE : Sunday Silence Hasn’t Gone Easy on Trainer, Grazing Him With Hoof

The third time is supposed to be the charm for Sunday Silence today in the Belmont Stakes as the 3-year-old colt tries to become the 12th horse to win the Triple Crown.

But the three times that Sunday Silence has attacked his trainer, 76-year-old Charlie Whittingham, have been anything but charming.

Whittingham has been bitten on the back of the leg and on a finger by Sunday Silence, and Friday morning, the hyperactive colt reared in the air and grazed the trainer with a hoof to the right temple.

“Another inch or two and it could have been much more serious than it was,” said Richard Craigo, Whittingham’s attorney, who was standing about 10 feet from the incident.

Whittingham was leading Sunday Silence from the paddock to the Belmont Park track for his customary morning gallop, with exercise rider Pam Mabes in the saddle.

The horse left the tunnel and was just about ready to step onto the track, but before Whittingham could remove the lead shank, Sunday Silence reared high in the air and wheeled in the trainer’s direction. Mabes was able to stay in the saddle.

“The horse reared up so high, he looked like Roy Rogers’ horse (Trigger),” Craigo said. “Charlie had to do some fancy footwork just to get out of the way as much as he did. He looked like a ballet dancer getting away.”

Whittingham suffered a minor bruise and was treated at the track.

Whittingham complained to friends about a sore jaw but said he had no headache. “I’ve never had a headache,” he said.

Sunday Silence was being trailed by an army of photographers, and Whittingham said that they may have spooked the colt. But other observers said that a nearby horse might have caused Sunday Silence to rear up.

Whittingham was more concerned about Sunday Silence than himself. “It’s a good thing he’s such a sound horse,” he said. “I’m just glad he didn’t hurt his foot. I thought I moved quick enough to get away from him, but he got me, anyway. These things happen.”