Falling Angel

APRIL 14, 2014 - The Antares Stakes (GIII) went to the line today with 16 entered horses, an incredible depth of field that hadn't been seen since the Triple Crown races of two years previous, and two champions who were set to retire at the end of the year. The headlines read The Demon and Warrior Return and the horses everyone had on their minds were Takenshi and Sunday Memory, a pair of horses that had been born and raised together, trained side by side, and raced against each other for their entire careers. While Takenshi was regal in everything he did he often had to be reminded of his vulnerabilities whenever Sunday Memory appeared on the same track.

But as they got the call to post things seemed different at the Antares Stakes, it was cloudy and dark, so dark that you could barely see Sunday Memory save for the pink silks and tack dancing in the light. Takenshi was fussy, Sunday Memory went in nice and easy for a change but on the walk over he'd gotten spooked and reared up to kick at the rail. The other horses were of little note, a few graded stakes winners, but none as famous as these two.

It was the breeder's dream, his two prized stallion prospcts had matured stunningly over the last few years, now at five both of them were in the twilight of their career but they were still astonishing animals. And after a season of keeping them away from each other, the owners wanted to bring them back out together for their season debut. Press picked it up, they took the glamour of Takenshi over the ferocity of Sunday Memory, doing separate photo shoots and spending just a little bit of time with both horses and more time with their shared trainer.

In the days before the race trainer Momori stood at the rail with his young son, watching both horses work out with judgement in his eyes. When asked what he was looking for out of them both he responded with only one word, "Heart." In their three year old season the winner of the battle of heart was definitley Sunday Memory, the colt had come out and won two legs of the TC, failing to win the third by a nose after running while dealing with a bleeding problem. It was discovered in the vet check after the race that he had an elevated white blood cell count and ultimately was suffering from a minor virus when he took to the turf. It endeared fans to the colt, letting them realize that had the colt been completely healthy the day of the last leg they probably would have had another TC winner on their hands. After taking time off Sunday Memory only came back out for one more race, the Tokyo Cup which he finished third behind Takenshi.

Then the two avoided each other as much as possible in their four year old career, racing three times together, twice at the beginning of the season in which they traded the spot in the winners circle, and once again at the Japan Cup. This time Sunday Memory faded after a gruelling speed battle with another horse to finish fifth, and took the rest of the year off to rest whereas Takenshi went on to France to win the Prix De l'Arc de Triumph in grand fashion. But today on the green it looked like both horses were in good form, and as the bell rang and they broke sharply from the gate it appeared that another one of their spectacular races was underway. 

Takenshi took the early lead, with Sunday Memory right on his tail but another competitor came and collided with the big black horse along the turn. The collision forced him to break stride and slam into the rail, his jockey pulled him up and waited for the pack to surge by before directing him on the far outside to swing around them on the straight. While Takenshi extended his lead, Sunday Memory tore down the side of the pack passing horse after horse and putting in maximum effort. Soon he found himself in the fifth position just as they entered the final turn. His jockey unleashed the whip, wailing on the horse's flank and he pushed himself hard, digging deep and moving to catch Takenshi. The horses were side by side when they hit the lane.

And that's when things started to change. Sunday Memory pulled a half body lenght ahead, running faster than he'd ever been clocked before and looking like a beautiful locomotive. And then, inches from the finish line the black horse misstepped, his left front leg rolled, a soft cracking sound that was eaten up by the gasps echoed as he suddenly was sailing downwards. Sunday hit the ground head first and rolled head over tail, underneath the pack of horses to lay flat on his right side as they passed the finish line. At first the track because dealthy quiet, no one so much as breathed, and then the horse started to scream.

Sunday Memory thrashed with his hindlegs, kicking and trying hard to get back onto his feet but the more he moved the more it became obvously that he couldn't stand if he tried. That left front leg was damaged, and then the real fear began. His jockey ran to his side, and when he tried to touch him to calm him the colt snapped at his fingers, kicking at him and doing his best to get away from him. In moments the equine ambulance was there to take him away, to what the audience thought was certain death.

In the days that followed it was released that Sunday Memory had suffered a condylar fracture in the last moments of the race, but the prognosis was good. After surgery to insert two screws the horse would need to spend a year off to recover completely, but the likelihood that he would return to racing at that point was incredibly high.

Takenshi went on to win the race, but was retired that year as well and sold.


Featuring:

Other Story Images:
Wobbly Knees
A Rivalry Begins
Stealing the Glory
Demon's Day
Clipping Wings
Blood Sweat and Tears
Falling Angel