Sunday Silence spent a lifetime in search of respect, on the track and in the breeding shed. In the end, he earned it.
“He was very good,” said Shug McGaughey, a Hall of Fame trainer who handled arch-rival Easy Goer. “I ran against him four times and he beat us three times. And I ran a pretty good horse at him.”
For the connections who know her best, when Always a Runner moved into position for the stretch run of the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks May 1 at Churchill Downs, there could only be one possible outcome for a filly who always finds a way.
Few athletes, human or equine, ever burst onto the national scene as quickly as Steve Cauthen.
In 1977, one year after he began riding, he paced all jockeys with 487 victories and emerged as the first to earn as much as $6 million in purses in a single season. In 1978, “The Kid” gained the distinction of being the youngest jockey to win the Triple Crown as his precocious talent helped Affirmed repel Alydar in one of the fiercest rivalries any sport has known.
Each week, members of the national media vote on the nation's top contenders on the Triple Crown trail in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Thoroughbred Poll.
