NBC Sports presents the broadcast debut of Dark Horses, the story of the most unlikely rivalry in Triple Crown history, this Saturday, June 2 at 5 p.m. ET on NBC. Dark Horses brings viewers back to 1989 and the thrilling showdown between Easy Goer and Sunday Silence.
IMO one of the greatest Belmont’s and run for the Triple Crown that I have seen in my lifetime. In case people don’t remember or know. Easy Goer ran second to Sunday Silence in the first 2 legs. I can’t think of a greater rivalry since. And before them it was Alydar and Affirmed.
For me, the rivalry was Alydar and Affirmed. Maybe, in part, because I read the book Wild Ride about the rise and fall of the original Calumet farm and how that ultimately affected Alydar.
Just set my DVR, thanks gumtree, that’s one of my favorites.
The program follows live coverage follows two major sporting events in the EDT zone. Hopefully they don’t run over time, I set my DVR to record the program that follows it at 6 just in case it gets bumped back.
Really well done. They played up the drama between the Hancock family, but it was a great story and wonderful to relive those races between two awesome horses. I would have liked to see a little bit about their stud careers, particularly SS’s huge impact in Japan, but there was a lot to cover in an hour.
Great story/special. Gumtree, thanks for the heads up!
Every time I see a race like Easy Goer’s/Sunday Silence’s Preakness, I am reminded of why I love to watch horse racing. When two horses hook up, look each other in the eye and give everything they have is what I love to watch.
Also a bit ironic that he was sold to Japan for stud duties because he wasn’t going to be a popular horse in the US and he ended up being a very successful stallion in Japan.
I hope they will show more things like this. I have not seen it yet (going to watch with breakfast tomorrow.). Another good story would be the “rivalry” between Sham and Secretariat. If Secretariat had not been around Sham might have been the star that year, but sadly it was not to be.
Sham was soundly routed in the Belmont though, dead last, 45 lengths back, never raced again. Don’t recall what Alydar and Affirmed did after their TC campaign race wise and the Breeders Cup Classic was either in its infancy or not around yet at all. Easy Goer and Sunday Silence hooked up 4 times in about 6 month in the biggest races in the country going 1-2 by very short margins in 3 of them reducing everything else they faced to trivia question status. Too bad they both had their stud careers cut short.
I gotta give the match race crown to them. Didn’t realize Easy Goer repeated his sires TC record, he was by Alydar.
Thought the documentary was great, honest and well produced. Adding interesting people very important in the race industry for decades gave it more meaning and something for those knowing nothing about racing or even horses could enjoy. They didn’t mention Sham was under the control of Bull Hancock during that duel, interesting.
Both Affirmed and Alydar continued to race after the TC series.
Affirmed ran in the Jim Dandy @ Saratoga in August and won.
Affirmed and Alydar met one more time in the Travers Stakes @ Saratoga. Affirmed cut off Alydar entering the far turn and ended up finishing first but placing second due to DQ from the Alydar interference.
In the 1978 Marlboro Cup Invitation Hcp Affirmed raced Seattle Slew, Slew winning. Slew and Affirmed met one more time in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Affirmed’s saddle slipped and he finished unplaced. Exceller beat Slew by a nose.
Affirmed continued to race as a 4yo. 3rd in the Malibu, 2nd in the San Fernando. Won the Strub Stakes, Santa Anita Hcp (beatting Exceller), Hollywood Gold Cup, Woodward Stakes and finished his career at Belmont in the Jock Club Gold Cup beating Spectacular Bid.
Alydar also did continue to race after the Belmont… Travers, Whitney Hcp, Nassau County Hcp (as a 4yo).
Both were successful sires in the shed.
Alydar is probably most well known for a suspicious death bas a result of shattering his RH in his stall at Calumet. Surgery was attempted but he re-broke the leg after surgery and was euthanized. Nothing was ever proven with respect to how the leg was shattered but head of Calumet, J.T. Lundy was indicated and convicted of fraud charges although no direct link was ever proven that Alydar’s leg was broken intentionally (but many believed that it was ).
The history in these two would also make a good show…
I really liked it. Even though it was never mentioned, it reminded me that what Sunday Silence has accomplished as a sire is truly extraordinary. If Saxon Warrior had come through, his sireline would have been responsible for 3 International Derby winners this year. As it is, Deep Impact sired both the Japanese and French Derby winners and the winner of the 2000 guineas in a single year which is amazing.
What American breeding lost because Sunday Silence was “uncommercial” is incalculable.
Sham stood at Spendthrift and was owned by an owner during his career, Sigmund Sommer, who I can’t imagine was part of the Claiborne braintrust. Sommer was very much new money. Sham was purchased from Claiborne in 1972 at the time of Bull Hancock’s death -a full year before the Triple Crown.
“What American breeding lost because Sunday Silence was “uncommercial” is incalculable”
Sorry but this is bit of a myth. It wasn’t that American breeders felt he was “uncommercial”. It came down to the simple fact that the Japanese offered a lot more money for an outright purchase. Their economy and horse business was booming at the time. Ours was not. Esp the Bloodstock market. Reagan’s 86 tax reform was a game changer for a lot of people in the horse business. A LOT of people were involved in the business because of very lucrative tax advantages. Reagan changed that “overnight” instead of phasing in. The “outside” money including Wall Street money evaporated. The changes also had a devastating effect on real-estate values. Cause the “savings and loan” collapse. But tax payers were there to bail out the banks involved. No such luck for those in the horse business.
I know I was “there” only survived as a Bloodstock agent because the majority of my business was international. Buying/brokering stallions and breeding stock. My clients esp my Argentine clients were able to purchase outstanding stallion prospects for 30-50 cents on the dollar compared to a few years earlier.
As to whether SS would have accomplished the same if he had stood in KY would be totally speculative. Just because he “worked” with Japanese mare, their breeding program and racing doesn’t mean the same would have happened here. Halo wasn’t exact a “sire of sires” He was 20 when SS won the Derby, etc. His champion son Devil’s Bag was a bust. If memory serves he was syndicated for around $40 million. Students of the game would probably agree Halo’s best son at stud was either Sony’s Halo or St. Ballado. He had couple of other very good racehorses that went to stud and are just foot notes in the breeding shed.
By far Halo’s best son at stud was Southern Halo who stood the majority of his life in Argentina. Leading sire there 11 years in a row, sire of over 170 stakes winner. I was the principle agent who repatriated when he was around 14. He didn’t come close to producing the horses he did in Argentina. But he did give us the very good sire More Than Ready.
Progeny of Sadler’s Wells had mad little to no impact in this country. Several of his better sons have been tried here. The only one to have stood the test of time is El Prado who’s sons at stud have only been of marginal success so far. Medaglia d’Oro struggled for years before becoming a “name”. Kitten’s Joy being the other, though a tricky horse for a commercial breeder to use. Sadler’s Wells most prolific son Galileo has had little to no impact on racing and breeding here.
The fickled world of standing stallions is littered with conundrums. Danzig is a perfect example. A moderately bred son of Northern Dancer. Freakishly fast but had soundess issues. Retired with only 3 wins from 3 starts earning $32,000. Only Claiborne could have syndicated him for $80,000 a share and “made him”, He is a leading sire of sires by not in this country. His son Danehill is the sire of over 300 stakes winners. Little to none of those were in this country. Certainly none of any note. Son’s of Danehill have been prolific in the breeding shed also. But not in this country. Sorry to be so long winded but things in the world of breeding racehorses, horses in general aren’t what they appear to be on face value. If it was a simple as it looks at times. Everybody would have a piece of the action, lol.
I finally had a chance to watch this, I thought it was great! The Sunday Silence/ Easy Goer rivalry hooked me on horse racing. I absolutely loved Sunday Silence. It was fun watching them again:)
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