Silver Music's swan song: G2 winner dies back at home in Virginia while covering mare

I told Sid Fernando this afternoon that maybe this is the best possible way to go for an athlete who is past his prime.

Silver Music, a Grade 2 stakes winner for whom I've been honored and privileged to be the caretaker since autumn 2008, died this morning -- May 1, 2010 ... Kentucky Derby Day -- in the state of his foaling, while covering a mare at Hilltop Farm in Gordonsville, Va. He was 19 years of age.

The striking gray was foaled on Valentine's Day, 1991, on the expansive Spring Hill Farm near Casanova, Va., a homebred of Edward P. Evans, one of the nation's more noteworthy breeders of racing thoroughbreds. The colt was a son of Silver Ghost (Mr. Prospector-Misty Gallore, by Halo) and was out of the Stop the Music mare, Music Bell, who is still alive and well in retirement at Spring Hill Farm at age 24.

I last saw him on April 3, when the accompanying photo was taken. He was an impressive horse, and it has been an honor and a privilege to be his caretaker for the last 20 months of his life.

Though only a modest winner at the track, his dam, Music Bell, came from exceptional family and proved to be an outstanding producer. Her dam was Grade 3 stakes winner Belladora (Stage Door Johnny-Prayer Bell, by Better Self), a three-quarters sister to 1969's American 2-year-old champion Silent Screen (by Stage Door Johnny's sire, Prince John). Both Prayer Bell and Silver Music's fourth dam, Spinaway Stakes-winner Sunday Evening (Eight Thirty-Drowsy, by Royal Minstrel) have been designated reines de course.

Music Bell also produced G2 turf winner Musical Ghost (Red Smith H. at 11f) and $784K-earning Japanese runner Ghost Soldier (both full brothers to Silver Music), plus a five-times stakes-winning filly in the sprinter Prospector's Song (Prospector's Music). Silver Music's full sister, the unraced Ghost Bell, produced Philadelphia Park stakes winner Monsoor (Mt. Livermore).

But Silver Music was his dam's first foal, and he is who first made her mark as a producer.

After a lackluster debut at Churchill Downs at 2, Silver Music was transferred by owner Lauren Cohen to the barn of David A. Vivian in Florida.

The colt broke his maiden for Vivian in his sixth career race, going 6 furlongs on dirt for a $50,000 tag at Calder Race Course. Silver Music collected his second career win in his ninth and final start at age 2 -- this time going a mile and a sixteenth on grass in allowance company -- then finished a well-beaten 11th in the Tropical Park Derby-G3 on Jan. 2, 1994. After a turf allowance-placing at a mile and an eighth for Vivian, Silver Music was sent west to train under Wallace Dollase in California.

There, the colt blossomed.

Dollase sent him out on March 30, 1994, in the Baldwin Stakes, an "about 6 1/2-furlong" affair on the downhill turf course at Santa Anita. Silver Music closed from seventh, 12 lengths in arrears, to win by by a half under jockey Chris Antley, upsetting Danehill's full brother Eagle Eyed in the process.

Silver Music would finish no worse than second in his next five races for Dollase.

The colt undertook quite a stretchout -- to a mile and an eighth -- in his next start, the California Derby-G3 on dirt at Golden Gate Fields. Sent off at 7/1, he lost the race by a half-length to the longest-shot in that race's history, Screaming Don, who repaid his backers $103.60 on each $2 wager. Next-out for Silver was another "tough beat," this time by a head in the 8.5-furlong Will Rogers H.-G3 on grass at Hollywood Park, to Wes Ward-trained Unfinished Symph, who would go on to be third that year in the Breeders' Cup Mile-G1.

Another second-place finish followed in the Sausalito Handicap back at Golden Gate, in which Eagle Eyed exacted revenge by 4 1/2 lengths. Then, Silver Music won as the odds-on favorite in the Bold Reason Handicap at a mile and a sixteenth on the Hollywood lawn, setting the stage for his biggest victory.

On July 23, 1994, Silver Music rallied from last of six, nine and a half off the pace, to win the Swaps S.-G2 on the main track at Hollywood Park. He came home in 2:00 3/5 for the 10 furlongs, defeating Grade 1-caliber horses in Dramatic Gold (who went on to run third that year in the Breeders' Cup Classic) and reigning Hollywood Futurity champion Valiant Nature, in second and third. Silver Music earned a career-best 106 Beyer speed figure for the race, and next set his sights on older horses in the Pacific Classic-G1.

That start was not as successful, as Silver Music finished fifth behind Tinners Way (who won the race in track record-equalling time of 1:59 2/5), Best Pal, Dramatic Gold and Slew of Damascus. Finishing in arrears of Silver Music were Del Mar Dennis, Stuka, Bertrando (whose track record Tinners Way had equalled) and Risen Roman.

Still, it was a season that featured three stakes wins, two on turf and one on dirt, at distances ranging from about 6.5 furlongs to a mile and a quarter; a campaign that resulted in The Blood-Horse declaring Silver Music the "most versatile" 3-year-old of his crop, a point that would be hard to argue.

Silver Music started only once at age 4, a modest fourth in a stakes race at Golden Gate, then was retired to stud duty at Pinebourne Farm in New York. He retired with five wins -- three in stakes races -- from 19 starts, for $351,905.

At stud, Silver Music sired several winners and three stakes-placers (to date) from modest opportunity, both in numbers and in quality of mares. His leading earners are Time to Rap ($169,894) and Stevie Stressor ($163,273), the latter of whom for a time was the track record-holder for 7 1/2 furlongs at Belmont Park. Perhaps reflecting their sire's versatility in their own, modest way, Silver Music's three stakes-placers include Classlylilprincess and Silver and Green -- both as 3-year-olds, around two turns on grass at Suffolk Downs -- and Stage Music, as an unraced 2-year-old, sprinting on dirt among NY-breds in the New York Stallion Great White Way Stakes at Aqueduct.

From a dwindling group of progeny at the track, Silver Music's latest winner was Talking Blues, a full brother of Time to Rap, who scored in the NY-bred maiden-claiming ranks for owners Castle Village Farm, at Aqueduct on New Year's Day.

No mares were yet confirmed in foal to Silver Music this season, his second in Virginia. Amid the Old Dominion's declining breeding business, only one mare was covered last year by Silver Music. That foal -- being carried by Bushes Victory, a modest-winner but a full sister to Colonial Downs turf-sprint stakes winner Broad Victory, by Spartan Victory and out of Alabama Oaks-winning Below Broad Street -- is due June 1.

Watching Red 'race' for the first time

You'd think an unemployed journalist would be blogging with all his newfound down-time. I'm not fully certain why I'm not accomplishing more here, but I guess job-hunting does take some time, and I've also distracted myself with other endeavors.

While my teenage daughter was visiting North Carolina during the holiday season, we road-tripped with a friend of hers to Atlanta for a concert (Lady Gaga, I did not attend) and then Daddy and Daughter jetted to Boston on New Year's Eve to see Amanda Palmer and the Boston Pops in historic Symphony Hall.

And on Saturday, I drove to Gordonsville, Va., to visit my own horses at Sarah Warmack's Hilltop Farm VA.

After the loss of our co-owned filly, Oracle at Delphi, in November, all has gone much better for my small stable.

Stallion Silver Music is feeling right chipper for 19 years of age, and some interest has been stirred among Virginia breeders this year, unlike last season.

Open broodmare Lady's Wager is putting on weight (she struggles to maintain when pregnant and nursing) and should be ready for a relatively early cover by Silver this year. Hopefully she'll be in foal before the end of March.

Broodmare Bushes Victory, dam of the ill-fated "Delphy," is happily in foal to Silver Music for a late-2010 foal of undetermined gender.

And new yearling All In On Red (pictured at left above), a June colt, is catching up in size to the other 2009 foals. More important, according to those who frequent the farm, he hates to be at the back when the babies run in a pack.

I caught a brief but encouraging glimpse of this late in the day, as the winter-blanketed babies realized it was feeding time and hurriedly brought themselves up from the pasture. Red and a pretty nice filly were neck-and-neck while well in front, and as they came up the hill (whether in actuality or just wishful thinking on my part) Red seemed to find another gear to reach the still-empty feed buckets first, by several lengths. ... And to be terribly pleased with himself for "winning."

Thoroughbreds are, after all, born to run. But not all of them are born with that desire to compete; the will to win.

Whether Red will be fast enough (and sound enough) to make a living at this game won't be determined for another couple of years. Yet I have to like that he hates to settle for less than first, even among in his present youthful company in a big, open pasture in Virginia horse country.

Danger at every turn, long before they race

No e-mail subject line could be worse, especially coming from your boarding farm owner and partner on a horse.

"CALL ME 911!"

Sarah Warmack, owner of Hilltop Farm VA, had the displeasure Sunday evening of informing me that the 2009 filly we co-bred, Oracle at Delphi (Mighty Forum-Bushes Victory, by Spartan Victory), has likely broken her leg. "Delphy," as she's known around the barn, spooked when a tree fell on the rain-soaked property and she crashed into the fence. We'll know in the morning whether she'll have a chance at a full recovery or if euthanasia is required.

Sarah will spend the night in the barn. I routinely thank Heaven for her.

I will be talking a lot to Heaven in the coming hours.

And if anyone needs evidence for why buying at the 2-year-old sales is so increasingly popular vs. breeding your own to race -- especially since right now horses are practically being stolen at auction, considering the costs that went into them -- just save this post.

Update 9:30 a.m. Nov. 16: As she suffered a broken humerus, with heavy hearts no choice remains but to put the beautiful filly down. Rest in peace, baby girl. You leave us too soon, and forever wondering what might have been.

One of the last new foal photos you'll see this year

Pictures are in, and stepping into the light for his close-up is the birthday boy ... as yet unnamed. But it's early. He's only 18 hours old.

Sarah Warmack of Hilltop Farm VA said he was a bit slow to nurse, so she milked the dam and syringed colostrum for him. And his IgG test came in over 800 this afternoon, so he's well-stocked with immunities from mama. Good job, Sarah!

Mom did stand a bit soon and pulled on the umbilical cord, so they're watching him for development of a hernia, but he's begun nursing well, so all seems to be good for now.

"He's a handful," Sarah writes, "loves to whinny and likes to play in the water bucket. He's very intrigued about the water buckets. Very odd for a newborn."

Sarah also says he's a "pensive" foal, maybe a bit of a thinker.

That's interesting, because while I was expecting a filly, the name that I had settled on was "Innermost Thoughts." ... Remember, the sire is Inner Harbour (Capote-Blue Sky Princess, by Conquistador Cielo) the dam Lady's Wager, by Valid Wager, out of Lear's Lady, who was out of the mare Idiomatic (by Verbatim).

"Idiomatic" means "peculiar to," particularly in the case of language (i.e., "idiomatic English"), that is, an expression often hard or impossible to define except in its common contextual usage within that language. Example of an idiom: "Beat him to the draw," a North American English phrase derived from gunfighting in the Old West.

It also can describe someone able to speak a language fluently when it is not his native tongue: "Though raised in Los Angeles, he spoke idiomatic French."

A third applicable definition involves displaying a distinctive style, for instance, "an idiomatic composer."

Anyway, perhaps it was a stretch, but "Innermost Thoughts" seemed, to a degree, to play off both sides of the pedigree. But, at risk of sounding -- I dunno, chauvinistic? -- it sort of seems too touchy-feely for a colt or gelding.

A couple of names popped to mind, considering he's a chestnut and his dam's name is Lady's Wager.

First, and sticking with me all day, "Bet It All On Red." ... Per Brisnet, seems to have never been issued by the Jockey Club. But doesn't really pay any homage to his sire.

Then, just now it hit me, "All In On Red." ... We get some "In" for Inner Harbour, and the spirit of the "Wager," as well. ... Likewise appears never-issued by the JC.

Those who have never been the breeder of a foal, nor the purchaser of an unnamed foal at the sales who still needs to be registered, probably had no idea how much thought goes into the naming process. At least, how much can go into it, depending on the person doing the naming.

On a lighter note ... a foal photo

There was a veritable explosion of traffic at the Fugue Wednesday, thanks to the unfortunate dismissal from the Saratogian of my friend and former co-worker, Brendan O'Meara. He blogged about it; I blogged about it, and linked back to him; then he blogged about my blog and returned the traffic. The next thing you know, a whole 50 visits were made to this page Wednesday.

That's right, my sliver of the online publishing world is slowly building in popularity to where the readership periodically exceeds the number of pennies in the armrest of my '97 Dodge Ram. ... Lay off me, it's a milestone.

In an effort to brighten the mood, I'll share a foal photo. Surely nobody in the racing world can be too depressed when there's a healthy young foal to admire.

This one is Oracle At Delphi (or will be when the paperwork is finished); daughter of Mighty Forum(GB) out of the winning mare Bushes Victory (Spartan Victory-Below Broad Street, by Kokand). A Virginia-bred, she was foaled March 30 at Sarah Warmack's Hilltop Farm, near Gordonsville. With a bay sire and dark bay dam, neither with considerable white, the chromed-out chestnut was a bit of a surprise. But she kindles memories of her great-great-grandsire, Secretariat, whose color and three tall stockings she shares, and we're going to take that as a good omen until proven otherwise.