Silver Goblin

Silver Goblin made a name for himself nationally by running second to the legendary Cigar in the Grade 1 Oaklawn Handicap in 1995. He had already etched his name in the Oklahoma horse racing history books well before that gallant effort.

An Oklahoma-bred son of Silver Ghost, out of the Zonic mare Molly O’Horton, Silver Goblin won three of his first four career starts, all at Remington Park, in the fall of 1993 as a 2-year-old. The biggest two of those being stakes wins in the Prevue Stakes and then in the Mathis Brothers Remington Futurity. Regular rider Dale Cordova said he got Silver Goblin into trouble in his debut, a runner-up finish to 17-1 Frosted Mug among maidens, or the horse’s career would have started with four wins in a row.

Trainer Kenny Smith and owner and breeder Al Horton of McAlester, Okla. knew they had something special after Silver Goblin won the Mathis. He ran his winning streak to six races in a row when he won the first three starts as a 3-year-old the following spring at Remington. He won an allowance race and then the two prep stakes for the Remington Park Derby (now known as the Oklahoma Derby). The silver streak of lightning won the Budweiser Stakes by 3-1/2 lengths at 1-5 odds, then took down the Great West Stakes by an amazing 10-1/2 lengths at 3-5 odds. In that race, he beat another legend, Concern, by 12-1/2 lengths. Concern would go on to win the Grade 2 Arkansas Derby and later in 1994, the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic.

That humongous win in the Great West Stakes led to Silver Goblin being the heavy favorite in the 1994 Remington Park Derby at 2-5. He was upset in that race by Smilin Singin Sam, a 22-1 longshot, and ran third with Blumin Affair ahead of him in second. That didn’t deter Horton and Smith from entering him back in the Arkansas Derby just 14 days later. That was the derby where Concern began to bloom, winning at 20-1 odds, flying down the stretch, coming from last to first in the blink of an eye while Silver Goblin finished third.

The connections still had great belief in Silver Goblin’s talent and potential, so he was on to the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown at Pimlico in Baltimore, Md. The glow was off the pumpkin when Silver Goblin ran eighth in a field of 10. Tabasco Cat won the Preakness with Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin second and Concern third.

After the Preakness, however, Silver Goblin turned it all around that summer and turned some heads back toward him in the process. He began another win streak, eight consecutive that included the Grade 3 Omaha Gold Cup at Ak-sar-ben in Omaha, Neb., the Grade 3 Fairmount Derby at Fairmount Park in Collinsville, Ill., and the Red Earth Derby at his home track of Remington Park.

When Silver Goblin turned 4 years old, he was arguably at his strongest. He won the Grade 3 Essex Handicap and the Grade 2 Razorback Handicap at Oaklawn, setting up a head-to-head matchup with all-time greats Concern, Best Pal and Cigar, who was in the midst of a 16-race win streak himself. Concern would soon solidify his place in racing lore with his Breeders’ Cup Classic victory. Best Pal earned more than $5 million in his career. Both of them would finish behind Silver Goblin in the Oaklawn Handicap as the gray flash would run second to Cigar, who was the all-time money leader when he retired in 1996 with a bankroll of $9,999,815, winning 19-of-33 lifetime. And yet, there was Silver Goblin among the era’s greatest horses, finishing 2-1/2 lengths back of Cigar.

Silver Goblin would finish his career with 16 wins from 26 starts, four seconds and three thirds for earnings of $1,083,895, a lot of money for a horse in the mid-1990s. His bankroll was brilliant, but it was the size of his heart and his winning style that would forever be stamped in the minds of every Okie that rooted for him with button-bursting pride.