RACING VIEWS : Sunday Silence Likely to Get Better and Better

Sunday Silence was named 1989’s horse of the year without any controversy. He was obviously the outstanding performer of the season. But now that his name has been added to a list that includes the greatest thoroughbreds of all time, his place in history is a subject open to debate. Does the California colt deserve to be mentioned in the same breath with legendary champions such as Spectacular Bid and Seattle Slew?

Even though he earned more money in a single year than any horse has ever won--the staggering total of $4,578,454--Sunday Silence’s claims to greatness rest largely on a single performance: his victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Before that dramatic race, it will be remembered, there were enough legitimate doubts about Sunday Silence’s talents that Easy Goer was overwhelmingly favored to beat him at Gulfstream Park.

Yes, Sunday Silence won two-thirds of the Triple Crown. But he won the Kentucky Derby almost by default, in slow time over a muddy track. His photo-finish victory in the Preakness will be remembered as one of the most exciting races in many years, but the time did not suggest that it was a monumental performance. Sunday Silence and Easy Goer finished a mere five lengths ahead of a dismal group of challengers. Easy Goer’s eight-length runaway in the Belmont Stakes seemed to put his archrival’s talent in proper perspective.

But there was no question about the quality of Sunday Silence’s victory in the $3-million Breeders’ Cup Classic. With his powerful acceleration on the turn and his determination in the stretch, he beat two champions who were running the best races of their lives--not only Easy Goer, but also the third-place finisher, Blushing John, the Eclipse Award-winner as 1989’s outstanding older male racehorse.

The rest of the high-class field was nearly 10 lengths behind the top three. And the time of the classic was so good that it confirmed that this was an exceptional race.

Sunday Silence not only ran fast and beat high-class competition-- the usual measurements of horses’ quality--he demonstrated, in almost all of his races, exceptional versatility and professionalism. The champion racehorses of the last decade were all clearly defined as speed horses or stretch-runners. They could be hurt if a race didn’t work in favor of their particular style. Sunday Silence is the most adaptable champion since Affirmed.

He has raw speed that enables him to be a front-runner if his jockey chooses. He can sit behind the leaders and use that speed to accelerate sharply at a crucial stage of the race--as he did when he outkicked Easy Goer on the turn at the Breeders’ Cup.

No conditions seem to faze him. When he encountered an unfamiliar muddy track at the Kentucky Derby, he handled it successfully (while Easy Goer didn’t). When he was stopped cold at a critical stage of the Preakness--trouble that would have spelled certain defeat for almost any other horse--he recovered immediately and rushed back into contention.

If Sunday Silence had been retired at the end of 1989, we might have concluded that he hadn’t won enough big races to earn recognition as an all-time great but that he had shown as much talent as just about any American racehorse since Spectacular Bid. On the basis of his Breeders’ Cup performance, I believe he could have beaten Alysheba, Ferdinand, Lady’s Secret or Spend a Buck--the last four horses of the year.

Fortunately, it is not necessary to speculate about how good Sunday Silence could be, because the colt will race again this season as a 4-year-old. There is every reason to believe he will get better and better.

Sunday Silence accomplished many of his feats as a 3-year-old with a minimum of maturity and preparation. The surest handicapping guideline for the Kentucky Derby is that a horse must have a solid foundation of experience as a 2-year-old in order to have a chance at Churchill Downs.

Sunday Silence didn’t. He had never even raced beyond a mile since mid-March of his 3-year-old season. He was at a huge competitive disadvantage against more seasoned rivals like Easy Goer and yet he was able to win two-thirds of the Triple Crown series. When he did have ample experience, he showed what he could do in the Breeders’ Cup.

As a 4-year-old, he figures to improve naturally, because most thoroughbreds don’t reach their peak until they are 4. Seattle Slew was denigrated as the best of a bad lot when he won the Triple Crown. It was not until his 4-year-old season that he showed what a genuinely brilliant racehorse he was.

Spectacular Bid failed to sweep the Triple Crown and lost his meeting with Affirmed at the end of his 3-year-old season. It was as a 4-year-old, when he swept through an undefeated campaign, that he secured recognition as one of the all-time greats.

Sunday Silence, already a champion, could do the same in 1990.