Tribute to the Great Thoroughbred Racehorse - Sham

Sham and his trainer Pancho Martin

Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated

This is a very small tribute to Sham, the amazing thoroughbred race horse.  Sham was foaled in April of 1970 and is probably best known as the horse that raced against Secretariat in the 1973 Triple Crown.  In the first two races of the Triple Crown (the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes) Sham broke previous track records.  He was the only horse that was close to Secretariat in those two races.  In both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, Sham finished eight lengths ahead of third place finisher, Our Native.  Sham lived until April of 1993 and was the sire of many future stakes winners.  I believe that many of us feel that Secretariat and Man O' War were the greatest of all race horses.  Some may argue that Man O' War was better but certainly Secretariat captured our hearts at a time when the Country needed a Triple Crown Champion.  Sham and Secretariat’s dams shared the same sire. 

This tribute is to remember the Great Sham – a magnificent horse.  I believe he had all the right ingredients to be a Hall of Fame horse.  This tribute is in no way intended to detract from Secretariat’s greatness.  As an athlete, I do believe other competitors can inspire us to dig deeper and push harder.  I have to believe that Sham may have inspired Secretariat to run just a little faster…but that is my opinion.  It is well known that when these two horses competed on the same race track, records were set – records that still stand to this day.

Anyway, these are my memories of Sham.

Some of Sham's fastest times:

1973 Santa Anita Derby:  1:47 flat (shares record for fastest winning time)
1973 Kentucky Derby:  1:59 4/5*
1973 Preakness Stakes:  153 2/5* (After June 2012 Maryland Racing Commission Ruling adjusting Secretariat's time to 1:53 flat)

*Unofficial.  In 1973,  they didn't record the times of non-winning horses, so nobody knows the exact time that Sham ran that day.  But time can be closely estimated by 2 1/2 lengths.

According to Steve Haskins (bloodhorse.com, June 20, 2012).  "Sham, now has set two track records in the Triple Crown and didn't win either time."

Sportswriter Mike Sullivan’s comments from 1973:  “The thing you have to understand is that Sham was fast, a beautiful horse. He would have had the Triple Crown in another year. And it just didn't seem like there could be anything faster than that. Everybody was watching him.” ¹

Sham thunders along in the Preakness Stakes

breaking the former Stakes record

The Great Sham

By Bradley Meister

Back in the 1970’s when I was just a young kid

A racing legend had been born in the land of thoroughbreds

His sire was Pretense and he was out of the Princequillo mare Sequoia

I hear the colt had nice conformation and was full of desire

He began in a famous horse place that we know as Kentucky’s Claiborne Farm

Then grew strong as he trained and Woody brought him along

He was destined for greatness, I bet they proclaimed

This is my tribute to Sham  - Oh, how I love that horse and his name

He was a dark seal brown beauty who stood 16.2

A handsome, eloquent athlete whose build was sleek and true

His style was a stalker who could come from behind

He was fast and courageous but with a kind gentle heart

And it was these things put together that set Sham apart

He ran like thunder and then took the world by storm

With green and yellow blinkers his jockey Pincay guided him along

He was one of the fastest horses the 20^th century had seen

Do you remember his lightning fast thoroughbred speed

With his long powerful legs he could challenge any steed

His times can still cause awe as I remember with pride

He was known as the Great… the Magnificent…Sham

He had started to come on as a two year old colt

Then training under Pancho Martin, he started to win

In Aqueduct he demolished the field and clearly led the results

He was fast in allowance races where his margin of victory was wide

He won the west’s best races with a powerful stride

There was Santa Catalina on a thick muddy track

And then the prestigious Santa Anita

Equaling the stakes record at a 1:47 flat

He was second in the Wood Memorial beating the great Secretariat that day

And now ready for the Classics

And ready to bring the thunder in the storm

The Triple Crown was waiting we thought it wouldn’t be long

In a springtime filled with hope when equine athletes can unleash their spectacular form

In a historical magical time when Sham was on a quest

But when true greatness wasn’t quite good enough

It was only second best

I watched as Sham pushed a world record race horse to outperform all the rest
In a three event race that has stood the test of time

In the Spring of 1973 as Sham beat two previous record times

It was Churchill Downs, then Pimlico which put him in the books

Just give him his head and he’ll do all the rest

At the start of the Derby after the commotion had settled down

He stood in the gate and waited all alone

Then after banging his head and ripping out two teeth

He still pushed himself to a time that nearly couldn’t be beat

The two minute time had finally been broken

And it was an injured Sham on the heels of the record setting motion

He had inspired Big Red to dig down deeper inside

And put it all on the line in that now famous race

As they ran for the roses in a winning performance that would stand to this day

It was Sham on the rail and it was Secretariat that he inspired

In the Preakness he started third but was banged pretty hard on the rail
in the clubhouse turn

And then pushed himself to new levels as he pursued Secretariat’s trail

Down the back stretch and into the final turn

Again on his heels, as he tried to prevail
It was Sham who lit the fire that drove up the stakes

And saw the big Chestnut again take the record setting first place

Who was this horse, so close to the win

It was… the Great… the Magnificent…Sham

But Sham was in the shadow of his larger than life “half cousin”

Whose super horse winning times were unreal and clearly even unthought-of

What were the chances of being foaled in the very same year

Of a super winning horse that we all hold so dear

But a God’s near perfect creation who may never be bested

In a world filled with Champions that can’t come close to their times

It was Sham on the rail and it was Secretariat that he inspired

Before the Belmont, Sham's jockey warned he wasn't 100 percent
The jockey knew the horse and something was wrong
He was nervous and sweaty but still got in the gate
Sham did as they asked and then started off strong

He gave chase to Secretariat and they both moved along

A match race ensued as they left the others ten lengths behind

They traded lead positions as they thundered along

And Sham did the first three quarter mile in an unbelievable 1:09 4/5

But Sham rode on the outside at a fast pace for almost too long

His legs began to splay and he started to swim

His jockey Pincay backed him off and they gave up any hope of a win

The great Sham had made a gallant effort to outrun the tremendous machine
But still finished the race and saw it through to the end

Sham, when you ran, the world was inspired and we stood still in time

You pushed the greatest of horses to new record lines

Even forty years later, classic race champions can’t come close to your times

You’ve earned your place in history and set yourself apart

A magnificent champion firmly etched in our minds

You will never be forgotten  -  forever with us in time

Thanks for the inspiration Sham!

Sham at the start of the Belmont

Sham in retirement at 19 years old
Spendthrift Farm, Kentucky
1989
Photo Credit:  Susan Nunes

1.  Sullivan, John Jeremiah. Blood Horses: Notes of a Sportswriter's Son. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004, pp. 19-20.