Easy Goer | Horse Profile

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Easy Goer

Born in 1986, Easy Goer was an equine blue-blood – he was by Alydar out of the 1981 Champion Older Female, Relaxing. He produced spectacular feats of his own, though he would be best-known for his rivalry with Sunday Silence.

Bred and owned by Ogden Phipps, Easy Goer was the dominant 2-year-old of 1988. He won four of his six races, including the Champagne Stakes by four lengths with a performance that analyst Andrew Beyer rated the best for a 2-year-old in the 1980s. A sloppy track harmed his chances in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, where he finished second to Is It True, who he’d beaten three times previously. Despite the loss, Easy Goer was named Champion 2-year-old male.

Three early-season victories, including the 1989 Wood Memorial established Easy Goer as the Kentucky Derby favorite, where he would meet Sunday Silence for the first time.

On a muddy track that didn’t suit him, Easy Goer finished second to Sunday Silence in the Derby. Two weeks later, on a drier track, the two staged a magnificent battle, with Sunday Silence narrowly prevailing. But in the Belmont Stakes, it was all Easy Goer, who beat his rival by eight lengths in a time of 2:26 – the second fastest in history behind Secretariat.

The Belmont win would propel Easy Goer into a spectacular summer season that saw him become the first horse to win the Belmont Stakes, Whitney Handicap, Travers Stakes, Woodward Stakes, and Jockey Club Gold Cup – all grade I races.

However, when it came to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, it was Sunday Silence again. Easy Goer made a sharp move on the back stretch, but Sunday Silence pulled away on the final turn, giving himself enough advantage to narrowly hold out the fast-finishing Easy Goer in the stretch.

Easy Goer raced three times as a 4-year-old, winning twice, including the Suburban Handicap (G1) at his final start. His legacy lived on in the form of 74 winners out of 136 foals, including Will’s Way, My Flag, Furlough, Composer and Promiscuous. He was also a successful broodmare sire.

In 20 starts, Easy Goer earned a record of 14-5-1 and $4,873,770 in winnings. He was inducted in to the Hall of Fame in 1997.