Silky Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Silky Sullivan was an American
thoroughbred
race horse best known for his come-from-behind racing style. His name is now a term used in sports and politics for someone who seems so far behind the competition that they cannot win, yet they do.
, Stymie
, Needles
, Gallant Man
, Forego
, John Henry
and Zenyatta
—but none could hang so far back, let the field get so far ahead, and still win. Called the "California Comet" and often ridden by the Hall of Fame
jockey Willie Shoemaker
, Silky once allowed the field to get 41 lengths in front of him and still won by three lengths. To accomplish this, he ran the last quarter in 22 seconds. His trainer, West Coast veteran Reggie Cornell
, said "I've never seen a horse in my life, or heard of one either, go faster." Cornell trained horses for movie star Betty Grable
and her husband, bandleader Harry James
. He was the uncle and mentor of Hall-of-Famer
Ron McAnally
, who trained John Henry. Willie Shoemaker once said of Silky Sullivan, "You can't do a thing with him, you just have to allow him to run his own race, at his own speed, in his own style in the first quarter or maybe the first three eighths. And you just sit there and wait, hoping you won't have to wait too long, because when he really gets going you have to be alert or he might just leave you behind—and then you hold on for dear life". Of his 27 career starts, he was in the money 18 times with 12 wins, 1 place, and 5 shows. His career earnings were $157,700 (purses were smaller in the mid-1950s).
dentist Riley H. Roberts and his wife, Nell Frances Roberts, Silky Sullivan was foaled on February 28, 1955. The colt was chestnut, with a white star on his forehead and a front left white pastern
. Silky's English-bred sire Sullivan won his first start as a two-year-old and placed in his other three (including the Leopardstown Produce Stakes) before he was brought to the United States, where he won five of eight starts and finished third in the other three (including the Will Rogers Stakes). Sullivan was a respected California sire during the 1950s. Besides Silky Sullivan, Sullivan also produced Mr. Sullivan (winner of the Haggin Stakes, California Breeders’ Trial Stakes and San Jose Handicap), Lucky G.L. (Berkley Handicap) and Sully’s Trial (winner of her first six starts, including the Junior Miss and Santa Ynez Stakes). Silky Sullivan's dam, Lady N Silk, a non-winner of four starts (who was rescued from Santa Anita Park in 1951 by Dr. Roberts before she could be destroyed due to a T-shaped crack in her left forefoot) had Fair Play blood three generations back in her pedigree. Fair Play was the sire of Man o' War
(ranked #1 in Blood-Horse magazine's top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century). Her chart also shows the European sire Phalaris
as the great-great-grandsire of Silky Sullivan. Lady N Silk had two foals before Silky Sullivan: the stakes-placed Doc Upton (named for the track veterinarian who notified Roberts of Lady N Silk's injury) and Lady Selene, a winner.
to be conditioned for the yearling sales. Jack Lynaugh, in charge of the younger horses, called him "John L." after John L. Sullivan
. Lynaugh said that Silky "...was all the personality he had, more than any horse I've ever handled, and I've handled thousands since starting in this business in 1932. I've always been crazy about him. When the other yearlings were let out of the paddock, Silky would wait until they were half way across the 28 acres (11.3 ha) pasture, then take out after them. He always wound up on top, just like his races."
Sold at the 1956 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association
's Del Mar
yearling sales to Phil Klipstein (a retired cattleman from Bakersfield) and Tom Ross (a lumberman from Oakland
) for $10,700, the colt was sent to Devonshire Downs in San Fernando
to train under Reggie Cornell. Silky Sullivan's first race was a 5-furlong dash for maidens
at Hollywood Park Racetrack on May 17, 1957. Cornell said, "He came out of the gate in a trance and a truss and I said, here's one for the glue factory. Then all of a sudden, it was like he was stung by a bee. Until he made that big move, I thought I'd be looking for a job". His jockey, George Taniguchi, said, "He broke with the field and then it was as if he was sucked back, and I thought oh my God, what's he doing? He was immediately 15 or 20 lengths behind the other horses. I let him go like that until the three-eighths pole and finally gave him a tap on the shoulder, and then he changed gears. I never thought we'd catch up, we were so far back, but I never rode anything like that before. We were flying."
On December 7, 1957, he won the one-mile (1.6 km) $25,000 Golden Gate Futurity after making up 27 lengths. His jockey, Hall of Famer
Manuel Ycaza
, said later, "When I asked him to run, he answered and ran like a machine, like a rocket. You felt there was something special because nobody had seen anything like that. It takes a helluva lot of running when you're 20 lengths behind. You have to be greased lightning."
Silky Sullivan began his three-year-old season in a mile race on January 30, 1958. In that race, two horses had been dueling for the lead: Circle Lea, ridden by Ray York, and The Shoe (out of Khaled), ridden by Willie Shoemaker. When the tote board flashed a photo finish, York was sure he'd nosed out Shoemaker. "I beat you this time, Willie," said York. "Yeah," agreed Shoemaker, "but you didn't beat that sucker on the outside". Silky Sullivan had beaten them both by a neck. Later, he came from 40 lengths behind to lose by a neck to Old Pueblo in the $67,360 California Breeders' Champion Stakes. Eddie Arcaro
(who rode Old Pueblo) said, "He's just a running fool. He runs that last eighth in 10 seconds flat—or less. You feel like you're standing still. Sometimes when he comes up alongside, you are." In Silky's next start, on February 25, 1958, he came from 41 lengths behind to win a 6-furlong allowance race
.
, California's major Kentucky Derby prep race. Carrying 54 kg (118 pounds), Silky Sullivan faced nine three-year-olds (including Old Pueblo, who had defeated him in the Breeder's Champion Stakes. The 10-horse field for the 21st running of the Santa Anita Derby (by post position) was:
During the first five furlongs Silky Sullivan fell 28 lengths off the pace, but when Shoemaker asked him he responded. Shoemaker remarked, "He knows when to move inside and then out. He knows when to make his winning move". "He's so smart," added Cornell, "that he could win at five-eighths. He's got speed whenever he wants it. He just knows when to turn it on".
was run on May 3, 1958. Silky Sullivan was joint favorite with the Jimmy Jones-trained Tim Tam
, a dark-bay son of Tom Fool
(ranked #11 by Blood-Horse magazine of the 100 best U.S. Thoroughbred racehorses of the 20th century) out of the winning mare Two Lea (ranked #77)—herself a daughter of Bull Lea
, Calumet Farm
's well-known sire. Bull Lea had already produced three Kentucky Derby winners: Citation
in 1948, Hill Gail
in 1952 and Iron Liege
in 1957.
Refusing a purchase offer of $350,000, Silky Sullivan's owners sent him east to Kentucky. William Robertson wrote in his comprehensive A History of Thoroughbred Racing in America, "In a field of typical thoroughbreds mincing to the post, Silky resembled a battleship under escort". Before the Kentucky Derby, he was entered in a 7-furlong prep race (the Stepping Stone Purse at Churchill Downs). On a sloppy track, he made up 30 lengths and finished fourth.
CBS
used a split screen for its telecast of the 1958 Kentucky Derby, since Silky Sullivan would be running far off the pace. Most of the screen was allotted to the main group of runners, but the lower right corner was given over to the come-from-behind colt. Writing in 2002, sportswriter Billy Reed said: "Besides the split-screen, Fred Capossela, calling the race for CBS, mentioned Silky's name five times and Tim Tam's only once during the first mile and an eighth. At the end, the score was Silky 6, Tim Tam 4".
The Kentucky Derby website describes Silky Sullivan's race: "Silky Sullivan broke well but was allowed to stride while saving ground until final turn where he made only a brief and ineffectual bid of less than a sixteenth mile and refused to extend himself thereafter". Tim Tam won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness; in the Belmont Stakes, he broke a sesamoid bone
in his right foreleg in the homestretch, but still finished second. (At the race that day was a man who had created a new chocolate biscuit, and thought Tim Tam was the perfect name for his creation
.)
for Saint Patrick's Day and at Santa Anita for the Santa Anita Derby. He had his own secretary to answer his mail.
When the founder of San Francisco's British Motor Car Distributors, Ltd.
, Kjell Qvale
, heard that Silky Sullivan was for sale, he made an immediate offer. In 1963, Silky Sullivan became the property of Kjell, who cared for him for 14 years. Kjell would lead him to the winner's circle, his mane braided with green and white pom-poms; every time, ears pricked and head held high, Silky would turn his rump on his audience and kick out both hind legs. Speaking of that Kentucky Derby, Qvale said, "I understand he had some temperature a few days before the Derby. I don't know if that's true. He may have gone too fast too early."
At stud at Qvale's 60 acres (24.3 ha) Green Oaks Stud Farm, nestled amongst the vineyards in Napa Valley, 40 miles (64.4 km) northeast of Golden Gate Fields, Silky Sullivan sired several winners. Mr. Payne and Son of Silky (see external links for pedigrees) were both dual-stakes winners. On August 2, 1965, Mr. Payne emulated his father's come-from-behind style with victories in the Oceanside and La Jolla Handicap
s. Son of Silky won the Omaha Gold Cup and the Centennial Derby. In 1968 another of his sons, Silky's Image (owned and bred by Qvale) won the Silky Sullivan Purse. At Pickmere
Stud in Cheshire
, England, a stallion named Pickmere Mistral is also part of Silky Sullivan's bloodline. Silky's daughter, Silky Starlet, foaled Tromeros by Camden Town (who sired Pickmere Pure Gold, dam of Pickmere Mistral). There is considerable Silky Sullivan blood in the American Quarter Horse
. Owners of good Quarter Horses brought him some of their best mares to breed for speed.
Silky Sullivan was found dead in his stall at his last home in Pleasanton, California
on November 18, 1977, dying in his sleep at the age of 22. Kjell Qvale was undergoing heart surgery when Silky died. Alice Campbell, wife of his last keeper (trainer Emmett Campbell), phoned the Qvale family with the news; Mrs. Qvale felt it fortunate that Kjell was still groggy when told of Silky's death, since he loved him. "There was no horse like him," said Kjell, "He was a gentleman. He'd let children walk under his belly, let them sit on his back and kick him giddy-up...but let an adult try that, and he'd—very gently—remove them. Silky was a person
, a unique person, and I miss him."
(Grade III) for 3-year-olds on the grass at California's Golden Gate Fields.
Silky is buried at Golden Gate Fields, in the infield to the left of the tote board
. He is considered by many to be the greatest closer of all time and was (until the death of Lost in the Fog
) the only horse buried at Golden Gate Fields. In the winner's circle a bronze plaque bears a tribute by a fan, one stanza of which reads:
Out of the gate like a bullet of red,
Dropping behind as the rest sped ahead,
Loping along as the clubhouse fans cheer,
Leisurely stalking the field in first gear.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horse best known for his come-from-behind racing style. His name is now a term used in sports and politics for someone who seems so far behind the competition that they cannot win, yet they do.
Racing style
There were other great closers—WhirlawayWhirlaway
Whirlaway was an American champion thoroughbred racehorse.The chestnut horse was sired by English Derby winner Blenheim II, out of the broodmare Dustwhirl. Whirlaway was bred at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky....
, Stymie
Stymie (horse)
Stymie was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Stymie was bred by Max Hirsch, and was born on King Ranch, in Texas.As a young horse, Stymie possessed so terrible a disposition that his ability to race was hampered; his trainer did not see much in him...
, Needles
Needles (horse)
Needles was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced in Florida, the descendant of Blenheim II and a son and grandson of Kentucky Derby winners Ponder and Pensive, Needles was a sickly foal who was given his name because of the numerous veterinary injections he was...
, Gallant Man
Gallant Man
Gallant Man was a thoroughbred racehorse, named for a horse in a Don Ameche movie.- Career at Kentucky Derby:Gallant Man is remembered primarily for his upset loss in the 1957 Kentucky Derby...
, Forego
Forego
Forego was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter....
, John Henry
John Henry (horse)
John Henry was an American Thoroughbred race horse who had 39 wins, with $6,591,860 in earnings. He was twice voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984, with his 1981 selection is the only one whereby the victor received all votes cast for that award. John Henry was also...
and Zenyatta
Zenyatta
Zenyatta is a retired American champion Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 19 consecutive races in a 20-race career and American record-holder for consecutive victories without defeat in unrestricted races....
—but none could hang so far back, let the field get so far ahead, and still win. Called the "California Comet" and often ridden by the Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
jockey Willie Shoemaker
Willie Shoemaker
William Lee Shoemaker was an American jockey.Referred to as "Bill", "Willie," and "The Shoe", William Lee Shoemaker was born in the town of Fabens, Texas. At 2.5 pounds , Shoemaker was so small at birth that he was not expected to survive the night...
, Silky once allowed the field to get 41 lengths in front of him and still won by three lengths. To accomplish this, he ran the last quarter in 22 seconds. His trainer, West Coast veteran Reggie Cornell
Reggie Cornell
Reginald "Reggie" Cornell was a Thoroughbred horse racing trainer who competed in his native Canada before working for many years in the United States....
, said "I've never seen a horse in my life, or heard of one either, go faster." Cornell trained horses for movie star Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
and her husband, bandleader Harry James
Harry James
Henry Haag “Harry” James was a trumpeter who led a jazz swing band during the Big Band Era of the 1930s and 1940s. He was especially known among musicians for his astonishing technical proficiency as well as his superior tone.-Biography:He was born in Albany, Georgia, the son of a bandleader of a...
. He was the uncle and mentor of Hall-of-Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Ron McAnally
Ron McAnally
Ronald L. McAnally is an American Hall of Fame trainer in Thoroughbred horse racing. Called "one of the most honored and respected of North American trainers" by Thoroughbred Times Co., Inc, as a child, he and his four siblings were placed in an orphanage following the death of their mother...
, who trained John Henry. Willie Shoemaker once said of Silky Sullivan, "You can't do a thing with him, you just have to allow him to run his own race, at his own speed, in his own style in the first quarter or maybe the first three eighths. And you just sit there and wait, hoping you won't have to wait too long, because when he really gets going you have to be alert or he might just leave you behind—and then you hold on for dear life". Of his 27 career starts, he was in the money 18 times with 12 wins, 1 place, and 5 shows. His career earnings were $157,700 (purses were smaller in the mid-1950s).
Bloodlines and early life
Bred by Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
dentist Riley H. Roberts and his wife, Nell Frances Roberts, Silky Sullivan was foaled on February 28, 1955. The colt was chestnut, with a white star on his forehead and a front left white pastern
Pastern
The pastern is a part of the leg of a horse between the fetlock and the top of the hoof. It incorporates the long pastern bone and the short pastern bone , which are held together by two sets of paired ligaments to form the pastern joint...
. Silky's English-bred sire Sullivan won his first start as a two-year-old and placed in his other three (including the Leopardstown Produce Stakes) before he was brought to the United States, where he won five of eight starts and finished third in the other three (including the Will Rogers Stakes). Sullivan was a respected California sire during the 1950s. Besides Silky Sullivan, Sullivan also produced Mr. Sullivan (winner of the Haggin Stakes, California Breeders’ Trial Stakes and San Jose Handicap), Lucky G.L. (Berkley Handicap) and Sully’s Trial (winner of her first six starts, including the Junior Miss and Santa Ynez Stakes). Silky Sullivan's dam, Lady N Silk, a non-winner of four starts (who was rescued from Santa Anita Park in 1951 by Dr. Roberts before she could be destroyed due to a T-shaped crack in her left forefoot) had Fair Play blood three generations back in her pedigree. Fair Play was the sire of Man o' War
Man O' War (horse)
Man o' War, is considered one of the greatest Thoroughbred racehorses of all time. During his career just after World War I, he won 20 of 21 races and $249,465 in purses....
(ranked #1 in Blood-Horse magazine's top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century). Her chart also shows the European sire Phalaris
Phalaris (horse)
Phalaris was a British bred Thoroughbred racehorse, later a Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland and a Leading broodmare sire in Great Britain & Ireland...
as the great-great-grandsire of Silky Sullivan. Lady N Silk had two foals before Silky Sullivan: the stakes-placed Doc Upton (named for the track veterinarian who notified Roberts of Lady N Silk's injury) and Lady Selene, a winner.
Racing career
Silky Sullivan was sent to Three Rings Ranch in Beaumont, CaliforniaBeaumont, California
Beaumont is a city in Riverside County, California, United States in the Greater Los Angeles area.Now a growing, community planned city, the population was 36,877 at the 2010 census, and expected to be up to 125,000 projected by 2040, making Beaumont as California's next, newest fastest-growing...
to be conditioned for the yearling sales. Jack Lynaugh, in charge of the younger horses, called him "John L." after John L. Sullivan
John L. Sullivan
John Lawrence Sullivan , also known as the Boston Strong Boy, was recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing from February 7, 1881 to 1892, and is generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring rules...
. Lynaugh said that Silky "...was all the personality he had, more than any horse I've ever handled, and I've handled thousands since starting in this business in 1932. I've always been crazy about him. When the other yearlings were let out of the paddock, Silky would wait until they were half way across the 28 acres (11.3 ha) pasture, then take out after them. He always wound up on top, just like his races."
Sold at the 1956 California Thoroughbred Breeders Association
California Thoroughbred Breeders Association
The California Thoroughbred Breeders Association , founded in 1937, is a non-profit organization committed to the advancement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing in California. It is governed by a board of 16 directors elected by the association's general membership...
's Del Mar
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
yearling sales to Phil Klipstein (a retired cattleman from Bakersfield) and Tom Ross (a lumberman from Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
) for $10,700, the colt was sent to Devonshire Downs in San Fernando
San Fernando, California
San Fernando is a city located in the San Fernando Valley, in northwestern region of Los Angeles, California, United States. The population was 23,645 at the 2010 census, up from 23,564 at the 2000 census.-History:...
to train under Reggie Cornell. Silky Sullivan's first race was a 5-furlong dash for maidens
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
at Hollywood Park Racetrack on May 17, 1957. Cornell said, "He came out of the gate in a trance and a truss and I said, here's one for the glue factory. Then all of a sudden, it was like he was stung by a bee. Until he made that big move, I thought I'd be looking for a job". His jockey, George Taniguchi, said, "He broke with the field and then it was as if he was sucked back, and I thought oh my God, what's he doing? He was immediately 15 or 20 lengths behind the other horses. I let him go like that until the three-eighths pole and finally gave him a tap on the shoulder, and then he changed gears. I never thought we'd catch up, we were so far back, but I never rode anything like that before. We were flying."
On December 7, 1957, he won the one-mile (1.6 km) $25,000 Golden Gate Futurity after making up 27 lengths. His jockey, Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Manuel Ycaza
Manuel Ycaza
Manuel Ycaza is a retired United States Racing Hall of Fame jockey who led the way for Latin American jockeys in the United States....
, said later, "When I asked him to run, he answered and ran like a machine, like a rocket. You felt there was something special because nobody had seen anything like that. It takes a helluva lot of running when you're 20 lengths behind. You have to be greased lightning."
Silky Sullivan began his three-year-old season in a mile race on January 30, 1958. In that race, two horses had been dueling for the lead: Circle Lea, ridden by Ray York, and The Shoe (out of Khaled), ridden by Willie Shoemaker. When the tote board flashed a photo finish, York was sure he'd nosed out Shoemaker. "I beat you this time, Willie," said York. "Yeah," agreed Shoemaker, "but you didn't beat that sucker on the outside". Silky Sullivan had beaten them both by a neck. Later, he came from 40 lengths behind to lose by a neck to Old Pueblo in the $67,360 California Breeders' Champion Stakes. Eddie Arcaro
Eddie Arcaro
George Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple Crown twice...
(who rode Old Pueblo) said, "He's just a running fool. He runs that last eighth in 10 seconds flat—or less. You feel like you're standing still. Sometimes when he comes up alongside, you are." In Silky's next start, on February 25, 1958, he came from 41 lengths behind to win a 6-furlong allowance race
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
.
Santa Anita Derby
A record crowd of 61,123 attended March 8, 1958's Santa Anita DerbySanta Anita Derby
The Santa Anita Derby is an American Grade 1 thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds run each April at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California and carries a purse of $1 million. Inaugurated in 1935, it is considered the most important West Coast stepping-stone to the Kentucky Derby...
, California's major Kentucky Derby prep race. Carrying 54 kg (118 pounds), Silky Sullivan faced nine three-year-olds (including Old Pueblo, who had defeated him in the Breeder's Champion Stakes. The 10-horse field for the 21st running of the Santa Anita Derby (by post position) was:
- 1. Carrier X (by Count FleetCount FleetCount Fleet was born and died at Stoner Creek Stud farm in Paris, Kentucky, United States. He was a Thoroughbred racehorse and Triple Crown champion in 1943....
), George Taniguchi up - 1A. Old Pueblo (by Windy City 2), Eddie ArcaroEddie ArcaroGeorge Edward Arcaro , known professionally as Eddie Arcaro, was an American Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who won more American classic races than any other jockey in history and is the only rider to have won the U.S. Triple Crown twice...
up - 2. McTavish (by Khaled), Henry MorenoHenry MorenoHenry Moreno was a Thoroughbred horse racing jockey.Moreno's most important win for Harry F. Guggenheim's stable came in the 1953 Kentucky Derby when he rode Dark Star to victory over future the Hall of Fame colt, Native Dancer....
up - 2B. The Shoe (by Khaled), John Burton up
- 3. Silky Sullivan (by Sullivan), Bill Shoemaker up
- 3C. Harcall (by Call Bell), William BolandWilliam BolandWilliam N. "Bill" Boland is a retired American Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing....
up - 4. Sabredale (by Blue Swords), Ismael ValenzuelaIsmael ValenzuelaIsmael "Milo" Valenzuela was a Thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey. He was one of 22 children born to parents who had immigrated to the United states. Shortly after Ismael Valenzuela's birth, the family returned to their native Mexico...
up - 4D. Martins Rullah (by Nasrullah), Johnny LongdenJohnny LongdenJohn Eric Longden was an American Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England but his father wanted to build a better life for his family so in 1909 emigrated to Canada, settling in Taber, Alberta. By 1912 Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son...
up - 5. Furyvan (by Good Ending), Alex Maese up
- 6. Aliwar (by AlibhaiAlibhai (horse)Alibhai was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who was purchased by Hollywood movie mogul Louis B. Mayer for 3,200 guineas and brought to the United States. He was sired by Epsom Derby winner Hyperion who was a six-time leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland. Grandsire Gainsborough was the 1918...
), Ralph NevesRalph NevesRalph P. Neves was an American Hall of Fame jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Born in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Neves won 3,772 races, including 173 stakes, and was elected to the Racing Hall of Fame in 1960...
up
During the first five furlongs Silky Sullivan fell 28 lengths off the pace, but when Shoemaker asked him he responded. Shoemaker remarked, "He knows when to move inside and then out. He knows when to make his winning move". "He's so smart," added Cornell, "that he could win at five-eighths. He's got speed whenever he wants it. He just knows when to turn it on".
Kentucky Derby
The 84th Kentucky DerbyKentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
was run on May 3, 1958. Silky Sullivan was joint favorite with the Jimmy Jones-trained Tim Tam
Tim Tam (horse)
Tim Tam was an American thoroughbred racehorse. Sired by Tom Fool and out of the great racing mare Two Lea , the dark bay colt was owned and bred by Calumet Farm...
, a dark-bay son of Tom Fool
Tom Fool
Tom Fool was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, a winner of the American Horse of the Year award and a Hall of Fame inductee. He sired the outstanding racehorses Buckpasser and Tim Tam....
(ranked #11 by Blood-Horse magazine of the 100 best U.S. Thoroughbred racehorses of the 20th century) out of the winning mare Two Lea (ranked #77)—herself a daughter of Bull Lea
Bull Lea
Bull Lea was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who is best known as the foundation sire responsible for making Calumet Farm one of the most successful racing stables in American history...
, Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm
Calumet Farm is a Thoroughbred breeding and training farm established in 1924 in Lexington, Kentucky, United States by William Monroe Wright, founding owner of the Calumet Baking Powder Company. Calumet is located in the heart of Lexington's blue grass country, the finest horse breeding region in...
's well-known sire. Bull Lea had already produced three Kentucky Derby winners: Citation
Citation (horse)
Citation was the eighth American Triple Crown winner, and one of three major North American Thoroughbreds to win at least 16 consecutive races in major stakes race competition...
in 1948, Hill Gail
Hill Gail
Hill Gail was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by the renowned Calumet Farm of Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Champion sire, Bull Lea, Hill Gail is best known as the winner of the 1952 Kentucky Derby....
in 1952 and Iron Liege
Iron Liege
Iron Liege was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby. A son of Calumet Farm's leading sire Bull Lea, and out of the mare Iron Maiden, his damsire was the 1937 U.S...
in 1957.
Refusing a purchase offer of $350,000, Silky Sullivan's owners sent him east to Kentucky. William Robertson wrote in his comprehensive A History of Thoroughbred Racing in America, "In a field of typical thoroughbreds mincing to the post, Silky resembled a battleship under escort". Before the Kentucky Derby, he was entered in a 7-furlong prep race (the Stepping Stone Purse at Churchill Downs). On a sloppy track, he made up 30 lengths and finished fourth.
CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
used a split screen for its telecast of the 1958 Kentucky Derby, since Silky Sullivan would be running far off the pace. Most of the screen was allotted to the main group of runners, but the lower right corner was given over to the come-from-behind colt. Writing in 2002, sportswriter Billy Reed said: "Besides the split-screen, Fred Capossela, calling the race for CBS, mentioned Silky's name five times and Tim Tam's only once during the first mile and an eighth. At the end, the score was Silky 6, Tim Tam 4".
The Kentucky Derby website describes Silky Sullivan's race: "Silky Sullivan broke well but was allowed to stride while saving ground until final turn where he made only a brief and ineffectual bid of less than a sixteenth mile and refused to extend himself thereafter". Tim Tam won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness; in the Belmont Stakes, he broke a sesamoid bone
Sesamoid bone
In anatomy, a sesamoid bone is a bone embedded within a tendon.Sesamoids are found in locations where a tendon passes over a joint, such as the hand, knee, and foot. Functionally, they act to protect the tendon and to increase its mechanical effect. The presence of the sesamoid bone holds the...
in his right foreleg in the homestretch, but still finished second. (At the race that day was a man who had created a new chocolate biscuit, and thought Tim Tam was the perfect name for his creation
Arnott's Biscuits Holdings
Arnott's Biscuits Holdings , is a subsidiary of the Campbell Soup Company of the United States.In Australia Arnott's is the largest producer of biscuits and the second-largest supplier of snack food.-History:...
.)
Popularity
With Silky Sullivan back from Kentucky, racing fans came out in the thousands to see him run—or, after his retirement following his four-year-old season, just to see the horse they called "Mr. Heart Attack". For the rest of his life, he received birthday and Christmas cards. They cheered when he was paraded each year (beginning in 1965) at Golden Gate FieldsGolden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...
for Saint Patrick's Day and at Santa Anita for the Santa Anita Derby. He had his own secretary to answer his mail.
When the founder of San Francisco's British Motor Car Distributors, Ltd.
Qvale
Qvale was an independent Italian car manufacturer founded in 2000 by the American Kjell Qvale's son, Bruce Qvale. Qvale's sole product was the Mangusta, originally the De Tomaso Biguà. Kjell Qvale founded British Motors in 1947 in San Francisco, California and is very well known in the automotive...
, Kjell Qvale
Kjell Qvale
Kjell Qvale is a Norwegian-American business executive. Qvale is one of the key figures in the creation of the Jensen-Healey. Qvale became the first distributor for Jaguar on the Pacific West Coast. Qvale is one of the founders of the San Francisco Auto Show.-Early life:Kjell Qvale was born in...
, heard that Silky Sullivan was for sale, he made an immediate offer. In 1963, Silky Sullivan became the property of Kjell, who cared for him for 14 years. Kjell would lead him to the winner's circle, his mane braided with green and white pom-poms; every time, ears pricked and head held high, Silky would turn his rump on his audience and kick out both hind legs. Speaking of that Kentucky Derby, Qvale said, "I understand he had some temperature a few days before the Derby. I don't know if that's true. He may have gone too fast too early."
At stud at Qvale's 60 acres (24.3 ha) Green Oaks Stud Farm, nestled amongst the vineyards in Napa Valley, 40 miles (64.4 km) northeast of Golden Gate Fields, Silky Sullivan sired several winners. Mr. Payne and Son of Silky (see external links for pedigrees) were both dual-stakes winners. On August 2, 1965, Mr. Payne emulated his father's come-from-behind style with victories in the Oceanside and La Jolla Handicap
La Jolla Handicap
The La Jolla Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The La Jolla is open to horses, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the turf....
s. Son of Silky won the Omaha Gold Cup and the Centennial Derby. In 1968 another of his sons, Silky's Image (owned and bred by Qvale) won the Silky Sullivan Purse. At Pickmere
Pickmere
Pickmere is a village and civil parish near Northwich in the Borough of Cheshire East. It has a population of 541. Landmarks in and around the village include a lake, Pick Mere, at ....
Stud in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England, a stallion named Pickmere Mistral is also part of Silky Sullivan's bloodline. Silky's daughter, Silky Starlet, foaled Tromeros by Camden Town (who sired Pickmere Pure Gold, dam of Pickmere Mistral). There is considerable Silky Sullivan blood in the American Quarter Horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
. Owners of good Quarter Horses brought him some of their best mares to breed for speed.
Silky Sullivan was found dead in his stall at his last home in Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton, California
Pleasanton is a city in Alameda County, California, incorporated in 1894. It is a suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area located about east of Oakland, and west of Livermore. The population was 70,285 at the 2010 census. In 2005 and 2007, Pleasanton was ranked the wealthiest middle-sized city in...
on November 18, 1977, dying in his sleep at the age of 22. Kjell Qvale was undergoing heart surgery when Silky died. Alice Campbell, wife of his last keeper (trainer Emmett Campbell), phoned the Qvale family with the news; Mrs. Qvale felt it fortunate that Kjell was still groggy when told of Silky's death, since he loved him. "There was no horse like him," said Kjell, "He was a gentleman. He'd let children walk under his belly, let them sit on his back and kick him giddy-up...but let an adult try that, and he'd—very gently—remove them. Silky was a person
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
, a unique person, and I miss him."
Legacy
Silky Sullivan is synonymous with victory despite long odds. His name evokes holding back until the last possible moment before making a huge bid for the win (not always successfully). Once run in March, the stakes race in his name now takes place in November: the $100,000, nine-furlong Silky Sullivan HandicapSilky Sullivan Handicap
The Silky Sullivan Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year at Golden Gate Fields in the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for the "Heart Attack Horse," the great closer Silky Sullivan, the race was a mile and an eighth, or 9 furlong Grade III turf race——run on grass——with a...
(Grade III) for 3-year-olds on the grass at California's Golden Gate Fields.
Silky is buried at Golden Gate Fields, in the infield to the left of the tote board
Tote board
A tote board is a large numeric or alphanumeric display used to convey information, typically at a race track or at a telethon .The term "tote board" comes from the colloquialism for totalizator , the name for the automated...
. He is considered by many to be the greatest closer of all time and was (until the death of Lost in the Fog
Lost in the Fog
Lost in the Fog was an American thoroughbred race horse. He won his first 10 starts , 11 of his 14 lifetime starts across the country, and career earnings of $978,099 until his life was cut short by lymphoma during his four-year-old season.-Bloodlines:Bred by Susan Seper and foaled in Florida, his...
) the only horse buried at Golden Gate Fields. In the winner's circle a bronze plaque bears a tribute by a fan, one stanza of which reads:
Out of the gate like a bullet of red,
Dropping behind as the rest sped ahead,
Loping along as the clubhouse fans cheer,
Leisurely stalking the field in first gear.
Notes
- The Shoe rode the legendary horses of the century. Besides SwapsSwaps (horse)Swaps was a California bred American thoroughbred racehorse. He was the son of Khaled, a stallion imported from the Aga Khan's stud in Europe. Swaps goes back to the immortal Man o' War, via his dam, Iron Reward, through the Triple Crown winner, War Admiral. In the list of the top 100 U.S...
, he rode Gallant ManGallant ManGallant Man was a thoroughbred racehorse, named for a horse in a Don Ameche movie.- Career at Kentucky Derby:Gallant Man is remembered primarily for his upset loss in the 1957 Kentucky Derby...
, Round TableRound Table (horse)Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history. He was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, on the night of April 6, 1954...
and Silky Sullivan. He rode BuckpasserBuckpasserBuckpasser was an American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won he won nine of his eleven race starts for international record winnings for a two-year-old of $586,090. Buckpasser was leading broodmare sire in 1983, 1984 and 1989....
and DamascusDamascus (horse)Damascus was a thoroughbred race horse sired by Sword Dancer out of Kerala foaled at the Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Kentucky...
and Ack AckAck Ack (horse)Ack Ack was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He raced with success at age two to four, scoring wins in the important 1969 Withers Stakes and Arlington Classic. In 1971 at age five, Ack Ack blossomed into the year's most dominant horse...
. He rode John Henry and Northern DancerNorthern DancerNorthern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
and ForegoForegoForego was an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won eight Eclipse Awards including Horse of the Year, Champion Handicap Horse and Champion Sprinter....
. The Shoe rode against those most racetrack aficionados consider the greatest jockeys who ever lived—Johnny LongdenJohnny LongdenJohn Eric Longden was an American Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England but his father wanted to build a better life for his family so in 1909 emigrated to Canada, settling in Taber, Alberta. By 1912 Longden Sr. had saved enough money to send for his wife and young son...
, Eddie Arcaro and Angel Cordero. Bill Shoemaker died in 2003. - "The Thoroughbred of California" told its readers: "We vow faithfully to write of Silky Sullivan as if he were a horse. Which, of course, is ridiculous."
- Some say it was Tom Ross who had the heart problem, but it's a certainty that one of his two owners could not watch Silky run for fear of his life. (It seems, according to the March 17, 1958 issue of Sports Illustrated, both men had a heart condition. That must account for the confusion.)
- "Missed him entirely," said the announcer.
- A layer of sheepskin over a horse's nose to protect his/her eyes from dirt kicked up on the track.
- Some say it was $500,000 and came from an Eastern syndicate who proposed that Silky join a Circus and tour the Nation. Klipstein expressed interest but Ross thought the idea was a crime. Cornell was all for it. He thought Silky should have hit every country fair in the U.S.
- Still hopeful, Cornell entered Silky.
- An ardent supporter of horse racing, Kjell Qvale was born in Norway and raised in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, WashingtonSeattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. He served as president of the Pacific Racing Association (Golden Gate Fields) for 25 years, then as Chairman of the Board of the California Jockey Club (Bay Meadows). He also donated major medical equipment to his favorite tracks to assist not only with jockey injuries, but with the injuries to the horses he loved. In his late eighties, he still goes every working day to British Motors, the San Francisco company he founded in 1947, and he still runs horses at Golden Gate Fields. - To see Silky's great-great-great grandson, see External links (Silky's blood flows on).
- Tim Tam outlasted Silky by five years, dying in 1982.
Further reading
External links
- History of Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby
- Audios of Silky's races
- Joe Hernandez calling Circle Lea/The Shoe
- Silky's contribution to the English language.
- Silky's poem in brass at Golden Gate Fields
- NTRA bio of Ron McAnally, which includes Silky and Cornell
- Tim Tam's pedigree
- Jim Murray, one of only four sportswriters to win a Pulitzer Prize, wrote for The Los Angeles Times for 37 years. In 1998, this is what he wrote about Silky.
- Golden Gate Fields honors Silky
- Every horse that has ever participated in a classic: Kentucky Derby, Preakness, or Belmont
- Classic runners, career history.
- Mr. Payne's pedigree. Note the Colin strain.
- Son of Silky's pedigree. Bull Lea and Blue Larkspur mingle here.
- Silky's blood flows on.