Crowning Glory: Silver Story makes racing history, rules Triple Crown

Silver Story crowned himself the new Triple Crown champion as he won the race that mattered most in his quest for racing greatness – the Horseman’s Cup.

The big Sunday crowd at San Lazaro cheered and applauded as Silver Story crossed the wire unopposed, like he did in the first two legs, galloping into history books as only the eighth horse to complete the sweep of the Triple Crown series.

But the road to glory proved tougher for Silver Story. He had to deal with a muddy track that brought to mind his shocking loss exactly a week ago, the big field becoming one big obstacle to his bid and the longest distance ever staged in big-time racing testing his staying power to the hilt.

But all these he hurdled with a golden run, thanks to the expert handling of ace jockey Jonathan Hernandez, who jumped his mount to ninth place off the gates, before settling him in fifth-sixth places while trying to sneak by the rail or pulling back to run four- or five-wide.

As they passed the judges stand for the first time, Silver Story remained in the middle of the pack with Hernandez gingerly maneuvering his mount out of the deep spot on the muddied track while letting Kitty Hawk and El Duque set the pace of the gruelling 2,045-meter race.

Sky Hawk, the runner-up to Silver Story in the first two legs, tried to mount a surprise run as she sneaked by the rail at the backstretch to seize third place. But Hernandez quickly responded and urged his mount, still racing four-wide, to give chase.

As they swung for home, Sky Hawk and Silver Story surged ahead and raced neck and neck, the crowd bracing for a down-to-the-wire finish. But Silver Story frustrated them as the gray galloper zoomed to two, three lengths before finishing unopposed for the victory worth P1 million for owner Patrick Uy.

District Three came from nowhere to snatch second place and P375,000 while Ilocandia Slew and Sky Hawk settled for third and fourth, respectively, in the event held in honor of Don Antonio Floirendo.

The win thus erased the stigma of Silver Story’s loss to Sonata at Sta. Ana last week it raised his earnings to over P7 million in victories that included a sweep of the juvenile championships last year. He clocked 2:10 with fraction times of 25-25-26'-25'-28.

He thus joined Fair & Square (1981), Skywalker (1983), Time Master (1987), Magic Showtime (1988), Sun Dancer (1989), Strong Material (1996) and Real Top (1999) in the elite circle of Triple Crown since inception in 1978 although Silver Story is the first gray colt to have achieve the feat.

The win likewise lined up Silver Story for a rematch with Wind Blown, his two-time tormentor.

But that is another story.