Sunday Silence was foaled on March 25, 1986 at Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky. He was sired by Halo out of Wishing Well by Understanding. Though he was registered as a dark bay/brown, he was in fact a true black. He was bred by Oak Cliff Thoroughbreds, Ltd. and escaped death twice: first as a weanling when he nearly died from a freak virus; and later at age two, traveling in a van when the driver experienced a heart attack and the van flipped over. He was passed over twice at the sales ring as a yearling before he was sold in California for $50,000 as a two-year-old in training. Arthur B. Hancock III bought him as a "buy-back" (he had bred him), hoping to ship him to Kentucky. However, the van accident kept Sunday Silence in California. Hall of Fame trainer Charlie Whittingham bought a half share of the colt and then sold half of that to Dr. Ernest Gaillard. (Ownership designate: H-G-W Partners.)
