[5] Sunday Silence was not an attractive youngster and his owner, Arthur B. Hancock III, attempted to sell him at the 1987 Keeneland yearling sale.
[6] Sunday Silence completed his two-year-old season with only one victory from three starts and was described as looking like a "skinny teenager" from Hancock.
Between two and three years old, the colt matured and began his three-year-old season as a front runner for the Kentucky Derby.
[7] Sunday Silence won both the San Felipe Stakes and the Santa Anita Derby and anticipation built for the confrontation between Sunday Silence and his competition for the Kentucky Derby, Easy Goer.
Sunday Silence's win at the Derby was largely attributed to the muddy track, which Easy Goer was claimed to have not liked.