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6 6 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 4.14 Te reactions of the two trainers to the fast works were diametrically opposite. McGaughey was incensed. He deemed the work "too fast" and publicly berated exercise rider David Carroll, calling him "stupid" for getting hooked up with another horse who was working. Was Easy Goer listening? Whittingham (center in photo be- low) was well satisfed, even ecstatic. He deemed the work "perfect" and told the assembled scribes, "He's ready. . . . Go to the windows." Sunday Silence, if he heard, had to be pleased. D erby Day 115 on May 6 dawned unseasonably cold, adding goose- bumps to the ladies' outfts. In fact, it snowed in eastern Jeferson County, the snowfakes vying with the dogwoods for the backdrop to the pastoral scene. It sleeted at Churchill. Te temperature was 41 at day- break, and the sun never came out, hidden behind a cloud-covered sky. It reached 43 at Derby post time. Churchill president Tom Meeker called it "the Winter Derby." Te track was rated "muddy" but frm as a feld of 15 went to the post. Sunday Silence broke alertly in fourth, moved up to third on the fnal turn, took the lead soon thereafter, then widened his advantage while weaving dramatically in the stretch. Jockey Pat Valenzuela said he would shy to the left from the roaring crowd, then shy to his right from the exuberant lash of the whip. Te snake-like motion was repeated several times, so that an on-track observer worried momentarily that Sunday Silence was stag- gering. "Man, it looked like he was playing hopscotch," said his groom, Charles Clay. But he never slowed down and won by 2½ lengths. Easy Goer, who was sixth after a quarter- mile, made a late run to fnish a non- threatening second, a head in front of Awe Inspiring. Pat Day had won the previous fve races on the card but was denied a personal Pick-Six and his frst Derby win. Sunday Silence celebrated with carrots and peppermints, "his favorites," said Clay, who had been with Whittingham of and on since 1955. Whittingham celebrated with a vic- tory dinner washed down with three vodka shooters. "Tey taste better when you win," said the Bald Eagle, who broke his own record as the oldest Derby-winning trainer. "But the third tastes better anyway." T his writer had a personal interest in Sunday Silence. Te previous fall, when the Breeders' Cup was at Churchill Downs, I asked Whittingham one morning whether he had any two-year- olds who might be back for the following spring's Derby. He replied, "I have this big, black son-of-a-bitch who can run a little." I asked his name. "Sunday Silence," Charlie answered. Although Sunday Silence had made just one lifetime start at that time, having fnished a close second in a maiden race, I wagered $20 in the Las Vegas Winter Book (along with similar bets by friends J.D. Lewis and Doolittle) at 50-1 odds. Doo and I celebrated with a victory dinner at Jack Fry's Derby night, washed down by several libations. All of them tasted good. When I related that story and Whit- tingam's "S.O.B. ... he can run a lit- tle" comment to Hancock recently, he chuckled. "T at's the same thing that Char- "Tat's the same thing that Char- lie said to me when Sunday Silence was in training in the fall of his two-year-old season," he said. "I called out to Califor- nia one day and asked Charlie how things were going. We had two or three other horses with him then. He said, 'Tat big, black son-of-a-bitch can run a little.' I said, 'What horse are you talking about?' He said, 'Tat Wishing Well (dam of Sunday Silence) colt.' Tat's the frst time I knew that Sunday Silence had talent." T he rivals met three more times, four times in all, with Sunday Silence having a 3-1 advantage. Te Preak- ness, two weeks after the Derby, was one of the greatest races of the 20th century — a stretch-long, side-by-side duel, with never more than a foot separating the two. Sun- day Silence prevailed by a nose. "Tey'll talk about this race as long as they talk about horse racing," said Hancock. Tree weeks later, Easy Goer spoiled Sunday Silence's Triple Crown bid with an eight-length victory in the Belmont, his time of 2:26 sec- ond only to Secretariat's 2:24 in 1973. Tey met for the fnal time in that year's Breed- ers' Cup Classic on Nov. 4 at Gulfstream Park. Easy Goer, having won four consecu- tive Grade I races since the Belmont, three of those against older horses, was the 1-2 favorite. Sunday Silence, 1-1-0 in two starts since the Belmont, was sent of at 2-1. With a new jockey, Chris McCarron, because Valenzuela had been suspended for drug use, Sunday Silence held of a late charge by Easy Goer to triumph by a neck. Te two were to meet in a match race at Arlington Park the following summer, a la Swaps and Nashua at Chicago's Washington Park in August 1955 (won by the latter), but both horses were retired due to injuries before the race could be held. Troublesome ankles sidelined Easy Goer. A strained ten- don did in Sunday Silence. "It's not serious, but he's too valuable to take a chance," said Whittingham. Sunday Silence fnished 9-5-0 in 14 starts for earnings of $4,968,554. Easy Goer was 14-5-1 in 20 starts for earnings of $4,873,770. (Even in purse money they ran neck-and-neck.) Easy Goer had the bad luck of being in the same crop as Sunday Silence, having gone 8-3-0 in 11 starts at age three. All three seconds were to Sunday Silence. Remove Sunday Silence from Easy Goer's past performances and he is 11 for 11 at age three, a Triple Crown champion and one of the greatest horses of all time. Sunday Silence died of laminitis in 2002 at age 16 in Japan, where he had stood stud for a decade, having attracted little support from U.S. breeders. He was the leading sire in Japan for 13 years. Easy Goer died unex- pectedly in 1994 at age eight at Claiborne Farm, where he stood at stud for three years and sired three Grade I winners. Te cause of death was deemed to be an anaphylactic reaction from an undetermined allergen. Both horses are in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame, as are Swaps and Nashua. Afer Sunday Silence's fast Thursday workout Whitingham (center) was well satisfed, even ecstatic. He deemed the work "perfect" and told the assembled scribes, "He's ready. . . . Go to the windows." 64-81.indd 66 3/19/14 5:26 PM