The end of 2003 supplied a bit of drama when Sunday Silence picked up his 30th stakes winner of the year and the 101st of his career. Cheers Message won the stakes, named the 2003 Final Stakes, on Dec. 28.The $77,852,691 in progeny earnings for Sunday Silence raised his career total to $420 million.Sunday Silence (Halo--Wishing Well, by Understanding) stood at the Yoshida family's Shadai Stallion Station prior to his death in the summer of 2002. Sunday Silence was North America's 1989 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male.
Sunday Silence, who defied belief when he topped the $50 million mark in year-end progeny earnings in Japan in 1999, did it again in 2003. This time with an unheard figure of $77,852,691. His closest competitor, Brian's Time, was represented by the earners of $21,080,934. Even the U.S. Congress can't spend money as fast as Sunday Silence's runners earn it. Sunday Silence also led the 2003 Japanese 2-year-old list by progeny earnings, with $5,951,757. The amount distanced the sum representing the runner-up, Fuji Kiseki, whose runners earned $3,100,925.Sunday Silence's dominance on the Japanese lists started when his first runners were 3-year-olds in 1995. Since then, he has topped the list every year. He has headed the 2-year-old list every year except 1996, when he was third.
