Gallant Man
Encyclopedia
Gallant Man was a thoroughbred racehorse
, named for a horse in a Don Ameche
movie.
. He would almost certainly have won the race, but his jockey
, Hall of Famer
Bill Shoemaker, misjudged the finish line and stood up too early in his stirrup
s, which slowed Gallant Man's rush for the wire and allowed another Hall of Fame jockey, Bill Hartack
riding Iron Liege
, to take the win by only a nose.
It was an unfortunate but grave mistake not lost on Shoemaker (who never really lived it down) or on Gallant Man's trainer, an ex-jockey from Nebraska
and Hall of Famer John Nerud, and certainly not on the racing press. As noted in books on horseracing history, in articles, and on online sites, it stands even today as one of the biggest blunders in racing history.
, winning by 8 lengths, beating the favorite Bold Ruler
. The track and race records Gallant Man achieved that day stood until Secretariat
's 1973 Belmont Stakes
. Subsequently, he beat Bold Ruler in the Metropolitan Mile, and his Jockey Club Gold Cup
was achieved against older horses.
Gallant Man had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your point of view) to be racing as a three- and four-year-old at the same time as Bold Ruler
and Round Table
, who both became Horse of the Year
.
Gallant Man, who had at one time or another beaten each of them, was never awarded a racing honor or a championship of any kind. Yet he ranks #36 in Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
. (Round Table ranks #17 and Bold Ruler ranks #19.)
A small brown horse by Migoli
(the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
winner) out of Majida (winner of both the Irish Oaks
and the Irish 1,000 Guineas), Gallant Man was standing a little over fifteen hands and was afflicted with bad ankles.
If Ralph Lowe had listened to his vet, Gallant Man would not have been bought in the group of nine horses acquired from the Aga Khan ($
220,000 for the crop of Irish yearlings). But Lowe's bloodstock agent, Humphrey Finney, thought the little horse might be perhaps the worst of the lot, but was still a good buy.
's Spendthrift Farm
, where he sired 52 stakes winners. He did even better as a broodmare sire. Genuine Risk
(from one of his daughters) and Gallant Bloom
were two of his breeding
triumphs.
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
, named for a horse in a Don Ameche
Don Ameche
Don Ameche was an Academy Award winning American actor with a career spanning almost sixty years.-Personal life:...
movie.
Career at Kentucky Derby
Gallant Man is remembered primarily for his upset loss in the 1957 Kentucky DerbyKentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
. He would almost certainly have won the race, but his jockey
Jockey
A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...
, Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Bill Shoemaker, misjudged the finish line and stood up too early in his stirrup
Stirrup
A stirrup is a light frame or ring that holds the foot of a rider, attached to the saddle by a strap, often called a stirrup leather. Stirrups are usually paired and are used to aid in mounting and as a support while using a riding animal...
s, which slowed Gallant Man's rush for the wire and allowed another Hall of Fame jockey, Bill Hartack
Bill Hartack
William John Hartack Jr. was a Hall of Fame jockey. He was born in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania.Referred to by the media as both "Bill" and "Willie" during his racing career, Hartack grew up on his widowed father's farm in the Blacklick...
riding Iron Liege
Iron Liege
Iron Liege was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1957 Kentucky Derby. A son of Calumet Farm's leading sire Bull Lea, and out of the mare Iron Maiden, his damsire was the 1937 U.S...
, to take the win by only a nose.
It was an unfortunate but grave mistake not lost on Shoemaker (who never really lived it down) or on Gallant Man's trainer, an ex-jockey from Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
and Hall of Famer John Nerud, and certainly not on the racing press. As noted in books on horseracing history, in articles, and on online sites, it stands even today as one of the biggest blunders in racing history.
Career after the Derby
After the Derby, Nerud sent Gallant Man out to decimate the field in the Belmont StakesBelmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
, winning by 8 lengths, beating the favorite Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse.Bred by the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps, Bold Ruler was foaled on April 6, 1954 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky to Nasrullah and Miss Disco by Discovery...
. The track and race records Gallant Man achieved that day stood until Secretariat
Secretariat (horse)
Secretariat was an American Thoroughbred racehorse, that in 1973 became the first U.S. Triple Crown champion in 25 years, setting new race records in two of the three events in the Series—the Kentucky Derby , and the Belmont Stakes —records that still stand today.Secretariat was sired by Bold...
's 1973 Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
. Subsequently, he beat Bold Ruler in the Metropolitan Mile, and his Jockey Club Gold Cup
Jockey Club Gold Cup
The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...
was achieved against older horses.
Gallant Man had the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your point of view) to be racing as a three- and four-year-old at the same time as Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler
Bold Ruler was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse.Bred by the Wheatley Stable of Gladys Mills Phipps, Bold Ruler was foaled on April 6, 1954 at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky to Nasrullah and Miss Disco by Discovery...
and Round Table
Round Table (horse)
Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history. He was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, on the night of April 6, 1954...
, who both became Horse of the Year
Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. It has been awarded since 1887 to the horse, irrespective of age, whose performance during the racing year is deemed the most outstanding....
.
Gallant Man, who had at one time or another beaten each of them, was never awarded a racing honor or a championship of any kind. Yet he ranks #36 in Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
Blood-Horse magazine List of the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century
In 1999, a panel for The Blood-Horse magazine was made up of distinguished horse racing people: Howard Battle, Lenny Hale, Jay Hovdey, William Nack, Pete Pedersen, Jennie Rees and Tommy Trotter. These experts compiled a list of what they considered to be the top 100 United States thoroughbred...
. (Round Table ranks #17 and Bold Ruler ranks #19.)
A small brown horse by Migoli
Migoli
Migoli was a Thoroughbred racehorse bred and raced by the Aga Khan III. Trained in England by Frank Butters, Migoli's win in the 1948 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe was the first for an English-trained horse since 1923 and there would not be another until 1971.-Background:Sired by the 1938 Epsom Derby...
(the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp over a distance of 2,400 metres , and it is scheduled to take place each year, usually on the first Sunday in October.Popularly referred to as the...
winner) out of Majida (winner of both the Irish Oaks
Irish Oaks
The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs , and it is scheduled to take place each year in July....
and the Irish 1,000 Guineas), Gallant Man was standing a little over fifteen hands and was afflicted with bad ankles.
If Ralph Lowe had listened to his vet, Gallant Man would not have been bought in the group of nine horses acquired from the Aga Khan ($
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
220,000 for the crop of Irish yearlings). But Lowe's bloodstock agent, Humphrey Finney, thought the little horse might be perhaps the worst of the lot, but was still a good buy.
Retirement
Retired after his 1958 season with a splint problem in his left foreleg, Gallant Man stood at KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
's Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion, Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' ancestor, Daniel Swigert of Elmendorf Farm. Spendthrift was the great-grandfather of Man o' War.- Famous...
, where he sired 52 stakes winners. He did even better as a broodmare sire. Genuine Risk
Genuine Risk
Genuine Risk was a chestnut mare who won the 1980 Kentucky Derby and was the first filly to ever finish in the money in all three U.S. Triple Crown races. Ridden by Jacinto Vasquez, she finished second in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes...
(from one of his daughters) and Gallant Bloom
Gallant Bloom
Gallant Bloom was a plain brown filly sired by the great Gallant Man, also a plain brown horse. She was small and possessed a gentle temperament. And yet she regularly beat the best fillies and mares in America. Both Shuvee and Gamely saw her heels.She did not start well. In her two-year-old...
were two of his breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
triumphs.