Gallant Sir was an American Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse bred by renowned horseman Arthur B. Hancock

Arthur B. Hancock

Arthur Boyd Hancock was an American breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses who established the renowned Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky....

 at his Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...

 in Paris, Kentucky

Paris, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...

. He was sired by the outstanding American Champion sire

Leading sire in North America

The list below shows the leading sire of Thoroughbred racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prizemoney won by the sire's progeny during the year...

, Sir Gallahad III

Sir Gallahad III

Sir Gallahad III was a French Thoroughbred racehorse and a very important Sire in the United States.Racing at age two in France for his British breeder/owner, Jefferson Davis Cohn, Sir Gallahad earned victory in three of his five starts but was overshadowed by the 1922 Champion colt, Epinard...

. His dam, Sun Spot, was a daughter of Omar Khayyam

Omar Khayyam (horse)

Omar Khayyam was a British-born Thoroughbred racehorse who was sold as a yearling to an American racing partnership and who became the first foreign-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby...

, the 1917 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky 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...

 winner and Co-Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt.

Norman W. Church purchased Gallant Sir and raced him under his Northway Stable. Trainer E. L. "Lying Fitz" Fitzgerald, in the 1932 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky 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...

 Gallant Sir was ridden by Hall of Fame jockey George Woolf

George Woolf

George Monroe Woolf , nicknamed "The Ice Man", was a Canadian-born thoroughbred race horse jockey and the namesake of the annual jockey's award given by the United States Jockeys' Guild....

 but was never in the race. He broke from the 19th spot and could only manage an eight-place finish, more than a dozen lengths behind winner Burgoo King

Burgoo King

Burgoo King was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the U.S. Triple Crown series but who did not run in final race, the Belmont Stakes....

. After that, though, the colt began to win consistently and by 1933 had won eleven straight races in the American midwest

Midwestern United States

The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....

 until finishing second to Equipoise

Equipoise

Equipoise may refer to:* Equipoise , a 1993 album by Happy Rhodes* Equipoise , a thoroughbred race horse* Clinical equipoise, or the Principle of Equipoise, a medical research term...

 in the Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap

Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap

The Hawthorne Gold Cup Handicap is a Grade II race for thoroughbred horses run at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney, Illinois each year. The Hawthorne Gold Cup trophy has always been made of solid gold....

.

Gallant Sir won two consecutive runnings of the Agua Caliente Handicap

Agua Caliente Handicap

The Agua Caliente Handicap is a defunct thoroughbred horse race that was once the premier event at Agua Caliente Racetrack in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and the richest race in North America...

; the first as a four-year-old in 1933 when he broke the Agua Caliente track record set by Phar Lap

Phar Lap

Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...

the previous year. He was retired to stud in 1935 but met with limited success as a sire.