Photo by NYRA/Coglianese Photos/Chelsea Durand
In 1989, when the Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I) was run at twelve furlongs instead of ten, the remarkably talented three-year-old Easy Goer was heavily favored to win. After finishing second to Sunday Silence in memorable renewals of the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I), Easy Goer proceeded to sweep the Belmont Stakes (gr. I), Whitney Handicap (gr. I), Travers Stakes (gr. I), and Woodward Handicap (gr. I), a spectacular quartet of victories that included two prestigious wins against older horses. Having won all of those races in easy fashion, Easy Goer was fully expected to romp in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, and he did so with ease, scoring by four lengths over Cryptoclearance while running his final quarter-mile in :24 1/5. What a horse!
