Horse Racing Fantasy Community

This being 2009, I was looking around the internet today to relive the great battles in 1989 between two great thoroughbreds, and one of the things that's interesting to me is the intense nature of the debate about Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, even 20 years later! They were both great, nobody seems to dispute that, but fans of Easy Goer always seem to point out that his jockey Pat Day didn't ride him properly in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, and then they really blast trainer Shug McGaughey for running him in the then-mile and a half Jockey Club Gold Cup in his final prep race before the big final match against Sunday Silence, the mile and a quarter Breeders' Cup Classic. Even worse, Easy Goer's fans say, the Jockey Club Gold Cup was run less than 4 weeks before the Classic, and they say that's what accounts for Easy Goer being dull in the Classic, which Sunday Silence won by a neck over a charging Easy Goer.
There is plenty of time later to get more in-depth on the nature of the debate concerning these two great thoroughbreds, but right now it's worth at least considering that Sunday Silence's trainer Charlie Whittingham prepared his horse much more sensibly when leading toward the Classic. General practice suggests that when leading up to a 10 furlong race, a trainer will enter his horse in a 9 furlong event 2-3 weeks prior to the 10 furlong event. Whittingham chose not to do that. Instead, he decided to run Sunday Silence in a 10 furlong race, but then give his horse a longer period of recovery. The Super Derby, run at Louisiana Downs, took place on September 24, 1989, while the Classic was scheduled for November 4. In addition to that, Whittingham hoped that Sunday Silence could win the Grade I race without straining himself too much. His plan was to give Sunday Silence what amounted to a paid workout at the Classic's distance, then provide his horse with a nearly six-week recovery, hopefully leaving him razor sharp for the Classic. Well, history proved that, at least in this case, Whittingham had learned how to best handle his beautiful black horse. Just look at him in the Super Derby, a Grade I race, and not only does he win going away, but he does it in a nice leisurely time of 2:03&1/5th! So Whittingham got to have his cake and eat it too. There are plenty of contentious issues when it comes to Sunday Silence and Easy Goer, but one thing is for certain: In 1989, Sunday Silence took a backseat to no horse, Easy Goer included, and his Horse of the Year Award was certainly justified!