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The Waiting Is Over For Sidney, Judgment Day Is Upon Us
Original article written by Jack Meyer posted 9 years 0 weeks agoI don’t want to be in Susie Rydell’s shoes or Sidney’s when the gate flies open for the Steward’s Cup Turf Week 16. As if there wasn’t enough pressure on him to break the all-time number of wins in a row on grass or dirt currently co-owned by Solstice, he also has to deal with trying to become the only horse to ever win the Arc/Steward’s Cup Turf back to back.
I’m going to take everyone on a trip down memory lane with a pair of horses that had perfection in their grasp, one succeeded while one failed. I’m also going to get into the past Arc winners who have failed to capture the Steward’s Cup in back to back fashion, though only briefly, just to give everyone an idea of just how hard it is to do.
Let’s start with Sidney himself. We know all about his perfection, 21 for 21, all tied up with Solstice as the only non AW Thoroughbred with as many wins in a row. His wins include victories on 4 different continents, sixteen Grade 1 wins, and nearly 5.5 million dollars. He has beaten the likes of Anorak, Kingdom of Rust, Worst Kept Secret, Stark, Tetris, Homeland Security, Tiger Heart, Two Toned, Iorek Byrnison, Wizarding War, Aleksander, and Ben Browder. He has won at distances ranging from 6 ½ furlongs to 2 miles meaning he has beaten the best sprinters, milers, and routers on grass. He has raced on one week’s rest, two weeks rest, three weeks rest, and four weeks rest, he has literally done everything he has been asked to do. Can he do it one more time?
Let’s compare two notable runners who had the exact same riding on them as they made their way to the gate in their final start. Let’s start with the one who failed to complete his feat. King Of Kindness may be in the top 5 to 10 all time as far as dirt mile stallions, he has sired over 260 winners and 52 Stakes winners, he was nearly perfect on the track as well. Winner of his first 15 races that included a win in the Steward’s Cup Mile, wins over the likes of Pyrotechnic Guy, Firestrike The Sky, The Mostest Horse, and Man In The Mask. As he looked destiny in the eye he saw a short 6 horse field, many dirt milers didn’t want to challenge the champion. There was one of those challengers he hadn’t seen yet, a 3YO by the name of Lasher. Lasher had gotten off to a slow start with 3 straight 2nd place finishes to begin his career, once he found the right gear he reeled off 5 straight wins headed into his clash with The King in the Steward’s Cup Mile. Having only faced older horses once in a small Stakes race the race prior, The King didn’t think him to be much of a threat. There was plenty of speed in the race, Lasher just blasted by King Of Kindness in the final strides to win by 2 ¼ lengths. It was a happy and sad day, sad for Steph Lonhro and The King, happy for Lisa Strummer and Lasher. The King was dethroned in a harsh way that day in the SIM.
On the flip side of the coin, Silver Screen Star was 9 for 9 headed into the final race of his career. If you look back, Slots didn’t know how good he was at first placing him in NW2 and NW3 following his maiden victory. It wasn’t until his 4th career start when he got to see Stakes company, he ended up beating the like of Performing Tales and Send In The Giants in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas with an astounding 100SF. He took out If You Defy in the Benjamin Franklin in his final prep for his career defining moment. He was going to be challenged Steward’s Cup day, the likes of Send In The Giants, King Of The People, Performing Tales, and Eohippus were all making the trip, Silver Screen Star would have to earn it. Silver Screen Star put on a show in the Turf Mile exploding to an 11 length victory. Silver Screen Star got his 10th win retiring with that perfect record and going down in SIM lore.
As we put our focus back on the task at hand, remember Silver Screen Star ran just 10 career races, hardly 22 which is what Sidney is trying to do. While both The King and Silver Screen Star were fabulous animals they were in the Mile divisions, we all know how many scaries are running around in the router division which is where Sidney is competing. It also occurred to me that King Of Kindness and Silver Screen Star stayed at the mile distance while Sidney has ran in all three divisions, there is just no comparison racing wise between the three in my opinion, again just my opinion.
As I stated earlier, not only is Sidney going for the longest undefeated streak in SIM history for TB’s, he is also trying to do it going the Arc/Steward’s Cup double route which has never been done. I tallied all the ones who have tried before and failed and came up with 14 horses that have given it a whirl. I’m talking about greats like Magician, Trafalgar, July, Andre, Richard Parker, Stalingrad, and Anorak, all tried to do the Arc/SC double and all failed. None of them had as much on the line as Sidney does, they had all suffered a defeat at one time or another in their careers so they had that added stress off their backs. It is a feat that will never be surpassed if it actually happens; it is one we tell our SIM buddies about when they ask us what the greatest race we witnessed in the SIM.
In closing, I want to pin down what the aftermath will be no matter the outcome. Sidney will be no less a champion if he fails in the Steward’s Cup. He has done wonders for the division, and will surely be highly sought after once Susie retires him to stud no matter what his fee is. It all comes down to which way SIM luck will fall as they cross the finish line, will the Arc/Steward’s Cup jinx remain in place or will we break the curse. I remember the same feeling I had years ago when Zenyatta got nabbed at the wire in the Breeder’s Cup Classic; that type of heart break was very tough to swallow. When I look at Sidney, he reminds me of Zenyatta, maybe he is the Zenyatta of the SIM. I just hope that fate and luck have a different plan for our Zenyatta than they did for the real Zenyatta.