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Thoroughbred Legends #12
Sunday Silence: Thoroughbred Legends
Sunday Silence was like a scrappy kid from the other side of the tracks who wouldn't go down without a fight.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published March 25, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
March 26, 2017
As I began this book, I was expecting it would be like most of the others in this series - lots about the horse, lots about the people involved in the horse, some history, some racing... This one was a bit different. This is the first one that seemed like a modern story. The breeder and part owner had family farm issues, and skirted bankruptcy a few times during the times covered in the book. He also was not the typical owner/breeder covered in this series -- he was into drinking and country music. He was not your typical rich owner. This is the first horse book I've read that had poetry and song lyrics included. I believe this is a function of the times - most of this series of thoroughbred legends were from the more distant past. It seems the older the story, the more "traditional" the people in it were portrayed. Perhaps it is because more recently journalists have picked up on personality to drive a story, especially if it is a bit out of the normal. I enjoyed the way this one started. By the end, though, the author had decided to extensively cover Sunday Silence's key opponent Easy Goer in great detail. In this case, the focus was on Easy Goer's record more than all the personalities involved, and this felt a bit klunky in reading. Overall, though, I found this one of the best books in the series that I have read so far. (I'm 11 into the 24 of the series.)
July 21, 2024
I was wrong about Sunday Silence.
There, I admit it. Of course, I knew this by 2005, but back in 1989, I was a big supporter of Easy Goer. I was convinced that Sunday Silence just had stupid amounts of luck on his side.
I had no idea that Easy Goer was in such poor physical shape. The press and TV at the time made zero mention of it. Granted, I was in college at the time, so I could not afford publications like The Blood-Horse. But Easy Goer's ankles were so bad that it was a wonder he made it to the track, let alone nearly become a Triple Crown winner.
It's hard to describe the 1989 Preakness. Paulick tries, but barely manages to scrape the surface. It remains the most exciting race I ever saw. I didn't bet at the time. I watched because I loved the horses. Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were locked together down Pimlico's stretch, a chestnut shadow and the almost black Kentucky Derby winner.
The race was considered not only one of the most exciting of the 20th century by the racing industry, but by ABC's Wide World of Sports. The very next week after the Preakness, the final strides were added to the opening montage. They stayed there for at least ten years.
This is not the book that Sunday Silence deserves. This only looks at his racing years, with a very brief look at his jaw-dropping stud career. Sunday Silence was still alive when this book went to press. His most influential son, the accurately named Deep Impact, had yet to be foaled. Sunday Silence is Japanese racing. For a deeper look at that, watch the 2017 documentary Global Impact: The Rise of the Japanese Thoroughbred.
Just how dominant is Sunday Silence to the modern Thoroughbred? At the last Breeder's Cup I bet in 2021, Japanese horses dominated both cards. All were descendants of that almost black colt I rooted against in 1989. I won over a grand.
I deeply regret ever gambling. Most Thoroughbreds have horrible lives. Both Easy Goer and Sunday Silence died weird deaths that were never fully explained. I wonder how many of Easy Goer's and Sunday Silence's offspring wound up on dinner plates or in cans.
There, I admit it. Of course, I knew this by 2005, but back in 1989, I was a big supporter of Easy Goer. I was convinced that Sunday Silence just had stupid amounts of luck on his side.
I had no idea that Easy Goer was in such poor physical shape. The press and TV at the time made zero mention of it. Granted, I was in college at the time, so I could not afford publications like The Blood-Horse. But Easy Goer's ankles were so bad that it was a wonder he made it to the track, let alone nearly become a Triple Crown winner.
It's hard to describe the 1989 Preakness. Paulick tries, but barely manages to scrape the surface. It remains the most exciting race I ever saw. I didn't bet at the time. I watched because I loved the horses. Sunday Silence and Easy Goer were locked together down Pimlico's stretch, a chestnut shadow and the almost black Kentucky Derby winner.
The race was considered not only one of the most exciting of the 20th century by the racing industry, but by ABC's Wide World of Sports. The very next week after the Preakness, the final strides were added to the opening montage. They stayed there for at least ten years.
This is not the book that Sunday Silence deserves. This only looks at his racing years, with a very brief look at his jaw-dropping stud career. Sunday Silence was still alive when this book went to press. His most influential son, the accurately named Deep Impact, had yet to be foaled. Sunday Silence is Japanese racing. For a deeper look at that, watch the 2017 documentary Global Impact: The Rise of the Japanese Thoroughbred.
Just how dominant is Sunday Silence to the modern Thoroughbred? At the last Breeder's Cup I bet in 2021, Japanese horses dominated both cards. All were descendants of that almost black colt I rooted against in 1989. I won over a grand.
I deeply regret ever gambling. Most Thoroughbreds have horrible lives. Both Easy Goer and Sunday Silence died weird deaths that were never fully explained. I wonder how many of Easy Goer's and Sunday Silence's offspring wound up on dinner plates or in cans.
July 20, 2025
great very detailed account of the horses life. very entertaining read for any horse racing fan
January 9, 2023
This is my first book of 2023 and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Author Ray Paulick knows horse racing thoroughly. He gives one of my favorite thoroughbreds, Sunday Silence, the respect he deserves. Foolishly slighted by many as unattractive and underbred, Sunday was always a gorgeous. sleek black racer in my eyes. He demolished competition in spite of tough odds and always raced gallantly. Paulick gives us the low down of this horse from colthood through his life as a stallion in Japan, the most successful. We also learn so much about the personalities and careers of horses in his pedigree and his rivals on the track. The descriptions of Sunday's races, especially those with his rival Easy Goer, are spot on and exciting. Such an enjoyable book!
June 2, 2022
As a former employee of Stone Farm, I thought I knew everything about Sunday Silence. I was clearly wrong. This book is so thorough and detailed, and I loved every page of it.
July 25, 2014
I really enjoyed this book! Anyone interested in the equine athletes that are the greats of American thoroughbred racing probably has a love for this wonderful horse, and would like reading this story much as I did. I found it very well written, and kept thinking that this is how I would have liked the Secretariat book I recently read to have been done. An easy and quick read as well.
November 4, 2014
A nice, short book about a great race horse.
June 21, 2018
Loved this book! It gave me a whole new appreciation for him!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews