Sun and the Stars Sparkles in Steward's Cup Marathon Win

Original article written by Marzy Dotes posted 12 years 3 weeks ago

Sun Raider spent the final day of the Steward’s Cup racing schedule grazing contently in his pasture in between breeding appointments. The handsome chestnut stallion is in the twilight years of his memorable career at stud but this season, he saw his progeny win two major races in the championship races.
Maelstrom capped off his amazing year as a sophomore star by sweeping in the stretch to win the Classic in resounding fashion. But another one of his sons had hit the finish line first before that final race, in an earlier competition with much fanfare.

Sun and the Stars, an exercise in persistence hung out mid-pack during the early running of the $1 million Grade I Steward’s Cup Marathon and charged in the stretch to finally win it by 1 ½ lengths over Fight Prize. But not before security forces at Hot Springs Park were put on alert for the exuberant response of his proud owner, Scott Eiland who is one of the sport’s top bloggers. In the past, Eiland had sprinted up the turf courses cheering his horses on home and had vaulted several the rails of several racetracks. This time, he was overcome by emotion in the Winner’s Circle as they draped the winning blanket of flowers on the back of his veteran runner.

This time, his response on his blog was short and sweet.

“I’m partying,” he wrote simply.

Sun and the Stars, a handsome chestnut five year old racer had discovered on this sunny afternoon that the third time had been the charm in terms of that victory had eluded him the first two times he contested the Marathon. He made this race his own racing the two mile distance in 3:25 flat stamping it with his own flair under a capable ride by his regular jockey Scott Williams.

Eiland had purchased him as a two year old in training for just a tick over $3 million. Broodmare Landing on Stars had also produced Landing On Dust (by North American Champion Older Male Savvy) who had also won the Marathon in his final race four years earlier. Like many future marathoners, Sun and the Stars didn’t seem in any hurry to begin his best racing earlier on, but he parlayed respectable speed works in the morning to a maiden win first time out in the afternoon.

He placed second in a couple of stakes before capping off his juvenile campaign with a victory in the Trial by Summer Sales Graduate Futurity. The following year he forayed onto the Triple Crown Trail and captured the Chicago Derby before falling off the board in the Louisville with a seventh place finish. But he finished a credible third in the Long Island Classic hinting at a deeply buried yen for the longer stretches of real estate.

Sure enough he ran in the Steward’s Cup Marathon later that year but this brutal test of endurance isn’t usually kind to the youngsters so he wound up being chewed up and spit out in 10th place. But as great horses often do, he parlayed that exercise in frustration into an undefeated streak the following season winning four straight stakes which set him up perfectly for another go at the Marathon. This time, he ran into Long Island Classic winner Highly Regarded while he was wide awake but after chasing the very loose on the lead Battlehorse, he held on to finish a solid second place behind the hard charging winner.

Eiland had been close to victory that time enough to taste it and Sun and the Stars would return again the following season, this time adorned with some foxy front bandages. He won the hotly contested Gallant Socks Handicap then flew off to Desert Oasis Park to that annual party there but finished sixth in the Desert World Cup after contesting the early pace. He rebounded from the experience with a second place finish in the New York Marathon Stakes behind another Long Island Classic winner Saharan Ace. Still, Williams knew he was sitting on a live one as they prepped mightily for another shot at the holy grail in this case the Marathon. He easily captured the Keane Stakes three weeks before and then appeared at Hot Springs Park, looking lean and very mean.

Waiting for him there was another tough campaigner, a son of Kentucky Trophy named Fight Prize who owner Art Vandelay had picked up for a bargain $204,000 at auction. But then Vandelay’s got a great talent at spotting diamonds in the rough given that he parlayed one of the greatest bargain purchases of all time into a champion caliber racehorse. That was Highly Regarded who won the Steward’s Cup Marathon in grand style the previous year. That great marathoner is now seeing the mares in between power naps but Vandelay had been showing DVDs of his amazing performance to his two entries in this year’s rendition, including his other entry High Esteem to inspire them.

Fight Prize had won three straight races including the Priceless Forever Stakes before his second place finish in the Keane Stakes. He had stamped himself out as a heavy contender in the Marathon but his stablemate had received a lot of attention beforehand as well for good reason. High Esteem is a handsome bay colt purchased by Vandelay for $1.6 million as a yearling, and like Highly Regarded, he’s sired by Notorious. In addition, his dam Sky Brusher produced a mare named Sky Gambler who was the damn of Highly Regarded. That’s a pretty famous family as a daughter of Greenspan named Sky Flyer had also made her mark being voted North America’s champion three year old filly during her career.

High Esteem had big shoes to fill but he’s made his own mark winning numerous stakes and highlighting his career with a bold second place finish just a half length behind Maelstrom in the Long Island Classic earlier in the season. He’d rebounded by winning the Fighting With Wit Stakes after finishing fourth in the Midsummer Classic. But being a sophomore, the Marathon remained a tough testing ground for the upstart.

Also in the field was Highly Regarded’s half brother, Honest Gamble who was purchased by Mac Silver at auction for $1.413 million. His sire South American Champion Older Male Lokite Honesty and during his career, he’s struggled a bit to find himself in stakes competition. He prepped for the Marathon with a second place finish in the Coyote Lakes Handicap during a season where his wins came in non-stakes competition.

The chestnut runner The Pope who’s a homebred of Eric Nalbone saw his four race winning streak snapped in the Fighting With Wit Stakes by High Esteem but earlier in the ear, the son of Steward’s Cup Classic winner Bragging Rights had scored victories in the Cafajeste and Movie Marathon Stakes. New York Marathon winner Saharan Ace had hoped to improve off his 11th place finish in last year’s Classic by opting for the Marathon while Scale the Cliff (son of another Marathon winner, The Odyssey’s End) hoped to repeat his winning effort in his second straight score in the James Bond Memorial Stake in this year’s Marathon for owner Steph Lonhro.

The horses lined up patiently at the gate and when the race started, High Esteem bounded off quickly to a 2 ¼ length lead over Dark in Greatness and The End Upon Us. Sun in the Stars took shelter in fifth place while Fight Prize lingered not too far behind in seventh. In the backstretch, High Esteem still commanded the lead while Dark in Greatness and The End Upon Us tried to reel him in closer. Sun and the Stars still remained content in fifth place keeping an eye on the early action. On the far turn, High Esteem continued flying now 7 ½ lengths in front of Dark in Greatness but Sun and the Stars had began to launch his huge bid sliding into the third spot while Eiland kept a careful eye on his star with binoculars from his vantage point.

In the stretch, Sun and the Stars quickly took command after reeling in High Esteem with Fight Prize also launching a very strong bid. But at the wire, Sun and the Stars proved the race was his and for his connections, the celebration began. Fight Prize took second place by ¾ of a length over The Pope who finished third.

Sun and the Stars is now resting it up at Dare to Dream Stud in New York State his future up in the air. Will he return to action next year to defend his Steward’s Cup title and if so, given his owner’s penchant for equipment changes, will he be the same horse?

At this point, it’s too early to tell but it seemed very fitting for Sun and the Stars to show that once again, the motto about trying again if you don’t succeed the first or the second time is very apt and for this bold runner, it led to fame and riches in the winner’s circle.

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