Silver Charm, the first of a trio of near misses for trainer Bob Baffert, was born February 22, 1994. The California based gray colt was perhaps one of the grittiest competitors in horse racing: it was said that if he drew eye to eye with another thoroughbred, he would manage to find another gear and pull away. He proved this to be true time and time again, winning narrow victories over the other top horses of his crop.
Silver Charm was outrun by his rival Free House in the Santa Anita Derby as his final prep race for the Triple Crown. The two grey colts would meet again just a few weeks later in the Kentucky Derby.
Silver Charm won the Kentucky Derby that year, with Captain Bodgit finishing second and Free House running gamely in third, but not quite strong enough to hold off the stretch run of the other two. The two greys would be even closer in the Preakness, with only a head separating winner Silver Charm from runner up Free House. Captain Bodgit was third, and after stumbling at the start and cutting his hoof, Touch Gold was fourth.
Touch Gold and Free House were considered to be the biggest threats to upset the Triple Crown hopeful, and as they cam down the stretch, it was Charm and House in yet another head to head duel for the lead. Jockey Gary Stevens abort Silver Charm thought he had it, once they had put away Free House. He said he "saw a shadow" out of the corner of his eye, and otherwise claims neither he nor the horse saw Touch Gold, who had a fiberglass patch on the hoof he cut during the Preakness, coming. He lost the Belmont by half a length, one of the closest near misses racing has seen. Free House held on to be third again.
Silver Charm went on to win the prestigious Dubai World Cup at four, and stood stud in both the US and Japan before retiring back home in Kentucky in 2014. Interestingly, a deal that sold him to Japan included a buy back clause and an up front fee called the Ferdinand Fee. It was named for the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner that was sent to a Japanese slaughter house after his breeding days were done.
Free House went on to both lose to and defeat Touch Gold in 1998, and he defeated Silver Charm once more as a four year old as well.
As for his Belmont loss, Silver Charm's jockey and trainer both commented that he never saw Touch Gold, believing that if he had, he would have found that special second gear he became known for and held on for the win. Silver Charm was one of the three top horses in a good group, and it seems he won the races that he did with his heart. Whether he lost at Belmont because he "never saw the other horse" or because he simply ran out of steam we will never know.
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