Flashback: 30 years ago, Sunday Silence rolled in the Super Derby

The once-heralded Super Derby at Louisiana Downs will renew Saturday as a Grade 3, $300,000 race at 1 1/16 miles. But 30 years ago, the Super Derby was at the peak of its prestige as a Grade 1, $1 million event — a huge purse for the era — running at 1 1/4 miles.

Conditions were naturally enticing to the connections of some serious racehorses. Inaugurated in 1980, the Super Derby had already been won by classic winners Temperence Hill, Sunny’s Halo, Gate Dancer, Creme Fraiche, and Alysheba by the time its 10th edition arrived in 1989. But “Super Derby X” promised to be the most exciting yet thanks to the presence of Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Sunday Silence, a Horse of the Year candidate seeking to regain his winning ways.

Conditioned in California by Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham, Sunday Silence had been the star of the spring, defeating arch nemesis Easy Goer in the first two legs of the Triple Crown. But Easy Goer, the popular East Coast-sensation, turned the tables in the Belmont Stakes and was considered the front-runner for Horse of the Year honors by the time the Sept. 24 Super Derby rolled around.

The sentiment was understandable. Whereas Easy Goer had followed up his Triple Crown exploits with victories in the Whitney Handicap (G1), Travers Stakes (G1), and Woodward Handicap (G1), Sunday Silence’s lone subsequent run has produced a surprising second-place finish in the Swaps Stakes (G1).

So you could say that Sunday Silence had something to prove when he arrived at Louisiana Downs for the Super Derby. He faced seven rivals when making his first start in two months, and one of his challengers was Easy Goer’s accomplished stablemate, Awe Inspiring, third in the Kentucky Derby and winner of the American Derby (G1) in his previous start.

But Whittingham wasn’t concerned, and he didn’t mince words when speaking of his colt’s chances in the Super Derby. “I think he’ll win this race, without a doubt,” he boldly stated in the September 23, 1989, edition of the Louisville’s Courier-Journal. Perhaps he’d been inspired by Sunday Silence’s pre-race training; as Hank Wesch recently detailed, the colt worked a mile in track-record time, 1:33 2/5, just two weeks before the Super Derby.

In any case, bettors clearly agreed with Whittingham and established Sunday Silence as an overwhelming 2-5 favorite in the Super Derby wagering. For a few anxious moments, they had to hold their collective breath as jockey Patrick Valenzuela settled Sunday Silence off the pace and between horses heading down the backstretch. With increasingly slow fractions unfolding — :23 flat, :47 1/5, 1:12 1/5 — Sunday Silence appeared to be in danger of getting boxed in as the field bunched up.

But suddenly an opening appeared, and Sunday Silence seized his opportunity to advance. With a decisive bid, the powerful colt split the leaders and raced to the front, eliminating any possibility of a traffic-filled trip.

Valenzuela said Sunday Silence made the move on his own. “He just drug me to the lead. A space opened up and he went through,” the jockey explained in the September 25, 1989, edition of the Opelousas, Louisiana Daily World. “I didn’t want to make the lead that quickly.”

Valenzuela needn’t have worried. Although Awe Inspiring unleashed an eye-catching rally on the far turn, moving strongly into contention, Sunday Silence was still running within himself. When Velazquez asked the favorite to run at the top of the stretch, the response was breathtaking. Sunday Silence turned on the afterburners, bid farewell to his overmatched pursuers, and roared to a four-length advantage.

“At the head of the stretch when I let out a notch, he just accelerated,” said Valenzuela in the Daily World. “I had plenty of horse at the finish.”

Under a mere hand ride from Valenzuela, Sunday Silence easily extended his lead to six lengths at the finish line, which he reached in 2:03 1/5 over a slow-playing track. The pace-setting longshot Big Earl held for second by a head over Awe Inspiring, but neither could match strides with the overwhelming winner.

“We’ve been looking for this kind of an effort all year,” Valenzuela told the Daily World. “He ran a straight race and he came from behind on the inside which he never had to do before.”

“He’s as good a horse as I’ve had—maybe the best,” Whittingham added in praise of his star colt. “This will set up a Horse of the Year meeting with Easy Goer. If we win the Breeders’ Classic the choice will be hard.”

Whittingham’s words proved to be prophetic. The Breeders’ Cup Classic indeed decided the battle for Horse of the Year honors. But that’s a story for another day.

J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.