Victory Gallop
Encyclopedia
Victory Gallop was an American-based
Thoroughbred
racehorse
. As a three-year-old he won the Belmont Stakes
denying Real Quiet
the Triple Crown
. At four he won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse
.
winner Cryptoclearance
who won 12 of 44 starts and earned $3,376,327 lifetime, he was out of the mare Victorious Lil. He was purchased by Prestonwood Farm
of Versailles, Kentucky
, owned by Houston, Texas
oilmen
Jack, Art, and J. R. Preston, who also owned and raced two-time Breeders' Cup Mile
winner Da Hoss
.
and was second in the important Laurel Futurity
. The following year in the lead-up to the American Classic Races for three-year-olds, Victory Gallop won the Rebel Stakes
then beat Favorite Trick
to capture the Arkansas Derby
. In the Kentucky Derby
he was running dead last behind fourteen other horses at the half mile pole then made a powerful drive near the end of the homestretch to pass betting
favorite Indian Charlie
but ran out of track and finished second to winner, Real Quiet
. In the Preakness Stakes
he finished second again to Real Quiet then won the longer distance Belmont Stakes
by a matter of a few inches. From there, Victory Gallop went on to a second place finish behind Coronado's Quest
in the Haskell Invitational Handicap
and in the Travers Stakes
.
Racing in 1999 at age four, Victory Gallop recorded his best year. In the spring, he traveled to Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
in Dubai
where he finished third to Shadwell Racing 's
Almutawakel
in the 1999 Dubai World Cup
. Back in the United States, he won the Stephen Foster
and Whitney Handicap
s.
at his owner's Prestonwood Farm
, Victory Gallop ranked second among 2003's freshman sires
. Through November 2006, he had sired sixteen individual stakes race winners.
In 2008; Victory Gallop was sold to The Jockey Club of Turkey.
and in a poll published by the New York Times' About, Inc.
, he was the top vote getter for Most Impressive Performance of the Year for his win in the Stephen Foster Handicap.
Victory Gallop was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
in 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. As a three-year-old he won the 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...
denying Real Quiet
Real Quiet
Real Quiet was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer, due to his narrow frame....
the Triple Crown
Triple Crown
The term Triple Crown is often used to describe the act of winning or completing the three most difficult or prestigious events in a given field:*Triple Crown of Alpine Skiing*Major League Baseball Triple Crown*Triple Crown...
. At four he won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse
The title of American Champion Older Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up. Prior to 1971, this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse", and was open to any horse, three years old and up...
.
Background
Bred by Ivan Dalos' Tall Oaks Farm, Victory Gallop was foaled later in the year than is common for most Northern Hemisphere Thoroughbreds. Sired by 1987 Florida DerbyFlorida Derby
The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida on the Saturday closest to the end of March or the first of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade 1 race is run at 1⅛ miles on the dirt...
winner Cryptoclearance
Cryptoclearance
Cryptoclearance was an American Thoroughbred racehorse.Trained by future U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Scotty Schulhofer, leading up to the 1987 U.S. Triple Crown series, Cryptoclearance won the Florida Derby...
who won 12 of 44 starts and earned $3,376,327 lifetime, he was out of the mare Victorious Lil. He was purchased by Prestonwood Farm
WinStar Farm
WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Formerly known as Prestonwood Farm, it was owned by Houston, Texas oilmen Jack, Art, and J. R...
of Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
, owned by Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
oilmen
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
Jack, Art, and J. R. Preston, who also owned and raced two-time Breeders' Cup Mile
Breeders' Cup Mile
The Breeders' Cup Mile is a Grade 1 Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred racehorses three years old and up, run on a grass course. It has been conducted annually as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships since the event's inception in 1984...
winner Da Hoss
Da Hoss
Da Hoss by Gone West out of Jolly Saint is a bay Thoroughbred gelding best known for twice winning the Breeders' Cup Mile. He was bred in Kentucky by Fares Farms and originally owned by Prestonwood Farm as well as Wallstreet Racing Stables.Bought for only $6,000 as a yearling at the Keeneland...
.
Racing career
Racing at age two, Victory Gallop won two ungraded stakes racesGraded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
and was second in the important Laurel Futurity
Laurel Futurity
The Laurel Futurity is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late November at Laurel Park Racecourse in Laurel, Maryland. Run over a distance of 1 1/16 miles on turf, at one time it was a Grade I stakes race on dirt, and one of the richest and most important races for two-year-old...
. The following year in the lead-up to the American Classic Races for three-year-olds, Victory Gallop won the Rebel Stakes
Rebel Stakes
The Rebel Stakes is an American Grade II Thoroughbred horse race held annually in March at Oaklawn Park racetrack in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Open to three-year-old horses, it is raced on dirt over a distance of 11/16 miles...
then beat Favorite Trick
Favorite Trick
Favorite Trick was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who in 1997 became the first 2-year-old in twenty-five years to be voted United States Horse of the Year....
to capture the Arkansas Derby
Arkansas Derby
The Arkansas Derby is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It is currently a Grade I race run over a distance of 9 furlongs on dirt....
. In the 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...
he was running dead last behind fourteen other horses at the half mile pole then made a powerful drive near the end of the homestretch to pass betting
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
favorite Indian Charlie
Indian Charlie
Indian Charlie is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1998 Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, equaling the stakes record time, but is best known as an important sire of Champions....
but ran out of track and finished second to winner, Real Quiet
Real Quiet
Real Quiet was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer, due to his narrow frame....
. In the Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
he finished second again to Real Quiet then won the longer distance 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...
by a matter of a few inches. From there, Victory Gallop went on to a second place finish behind Coronado's Quest
Coronado's Quest
February 15, 1995–March 8, 2006) was an American-based Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by 1987 Champion Two Year Old Colt Forty Niner, out of the unraced Damascus daughter Laughing Look...
in the Haskell Invitational Handicap
Haskell Invitational Handicap
The Resorts Casino & Hotel Haskell Invitational is an American Grade I race for thoroughbred horses. In 1968, the Board of Directors of Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, New Jersey honored its former President and Chairman Amory L. Haskell with the Amory L. Haskell Handicap, a race for older...
and in the Travers Stakes
Travers Stakes
The Travers Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York.First held in 1864, it was named for William R. Travers, the president of the old Saratoga Racing Association. His horse, Kentucky, won the first running of the Travers...
.
Racing in 1999 at age four, Victory Gallop recorded his best year. In the spring, he traveled to Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
Nad Al Sheba Racecourse
Nad Al Sheba Racecourse is a former Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates opened in 1986. It has a 2,200 metre left-handed dirt race track and a left-handed turf course of the same distance...
in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
where he finished third to Shadwell Racing 's
Shadwell Racing
Shadwell Racing is the Thoroughbred horse racing operations of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.Introduced to Thoroughbred flat racing while a student in the United Kingdom, Sheikh Hamdan established his first racing stable there in 1981...
Almutawakel
Almutawakel
Almutawakel was a British Thoroughbred racehorse sired by Machiavellian and the Irish stakes-winning Green Desert mare, Elfaslah.Almutawakel's most prominent victory came in the 1999 Dubai World Cup...
in the 1999 Dubai World Cup
Dubai World Cup
The Dubai World Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and from 2010 at the Meydan Racecourse in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
. Back in the United States, he won the Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster Handicap
The Stephen Foster Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run in mid-June near the end of the Churchill Downs Spring Meet in Louisville, Kentucky...
and Whitney Handicap
Whitney Handicap
The Whitney Handicap is an American Grade 1 handicap race for Thoroughbred racehorses three years of age and older run at a distance of 1⅛ miles. In 2007, the Breeders' Cup Ltd...
s.
Stud career
Retired to stand at studHorse 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...
at his owner's Prestonwood Farm
WinStar Farm
WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Formerly known as Prestonwood Farm, it was owned by Houston, Texas oilmen Jack, Art, and J. R...
, Victory Gallop ranked second among 2003's freshman sires
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
. Through November 2006, he had sired sixteen individual stakes race winners.
In 2008; Victory Gallop was sold to The Jockey Club of Turkey.
Honors and awards
Victory Gallop's performances won him the 1999 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male HorseEclipse Award for Outstanding Older Male Horse
The title of American Champion Older Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a stallion or gelding, four years old and up. Prior to 1971, this award was referred to as "Champion Handicap Male Horse", and was open to any horse, three years old and up...
and in a poll published by the New York Times' About, Inc.
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, he was the top vote getter for Most Impressive Performance of the Year for his win in the Stephen Foster Handicap.
Victory Gallop was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
in 2010.