Sunday Silence - again
By Tony Arrold The Australian Thoroughbreds - 20 February 2006
What has been a simple matter of procedure for more than a decade for Japanese turf legend Sunday Silence is about to change in 2006.
He will, more than likely, continue dominating the Japan General Sires standings, as he has done for 11 consecutive years.
He will be completely out of the running for honors as leading sire of 2YO’s. a title he has won for 11 straight seasons.
Sunday Silence, who died in August 2002 after a series of operations, does not have a 2006 crop of 2YO’s.
His youngest runners are now in their classic year as 3YO’s.
The question now for Sunday Silence is which of his growing band of sire-sons will take up the baton and run to the top of the juvenile sire’s ladder this year?
Agnes Tachyon, Fuji Kiseki and Dance in the Dark were the Sunday Silence stallions that made it with their sire into he top 12 sires of 2YOs in Japan in 2005.
Former Japanese 2000 Guinea’s winner Agnes Tachyon, third overall, took the honors as leading first-season sire.
On the general ladder Sunday Silence led the way from the perennial top three year old performer Brian’s Time, followed by Fuji Kiseki and Dance in the Dark.
Special Week and Bubble Gum Fellow, two other former Group 1 winners for Sunday Silence, made it into the top 12.
For the third year in succession, Sunday Silence’s progeny earned record prize money.
With 526 runners, he had by far the most individual starters in Japan in 2005.
But 247, or 47 per cent, managed to win at least once, and collectively they earned almost Y9.36 billion (about $108 million) in prize money.
The extraordinary feature of this achievement is that Sunday Silences total prize money is more than the collective totals of the next three finishers, Brian’s Time, Fuji Kiseki and Dance in the Dark. The standout runner among Sunday Silences 247 winners as Deep Impact, voted recently as japans Horse of the Year and Champion 3YO of 2005.
Deep Impact joined an elite group of winners of the Japan Triple Crown, coming through the series unbeaten.
He first tasted defeat in the year-end highlight, the Group 1 Arima Kinen (2600m) in December, finishing second to the Japan Cup runner-up Hearts Cry, also by Sunday Silence.
- SUNDAY SILENCE (US) 86 (Halo)
526 runners, 247 winners, 385 wins, $9, 356,217 yen prizemoney - BRIANS TIME (US) 85 (Roberto)
312 runners, 151 winners, 385 wins, $2,888,830 Yen prizemoney - FUJI KISEKI (Jpn) 92 (Sunday Silence)
310 runners, 146 winners, 247 wins, $2,327,801 Yen prizemoney - DANCE IN THE DARK 93 (Jpn) (Sunday Silence)
342 runners, 123 wins, 196 wins, $2,139,189 Yen prizemoney