Texas oilman Ralph Lowe had reason to be grateful that he listened to bloodstock agent Humphrey Finney rather than his veterinarian when he agreed to accept a little bay colt with questionable feet and ankles as part of a group of youngsters Lowe was buying from the Aga Khan. Although Gallant Man never won an official championship, he was unquestionably of championship class. One of the heavyweights of a vintage crop, Gallant Man slugged it out on even terms with the likes of Bold Ruler, Round Table, and Gen. Duke and won his fair share if not more. He retired as the holder of track records from 6 to 12 furlongs and went on to become a good sire.
Race record
26 starts, 14 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$510,355
1957:
1958:
Honors
National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1987)
Assessments
Gallant Man was rated #36 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3yo males of 1957, 2 pounds below Horse of the Year Bold Ruler.
Co-highweighted with Bold Ruler at 132 pounds atop the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for older males of 1958, 1 pound above Horse of the Year Round Table.
As an individual
Gallant Man stood 15.1-1/2 hands. He had suspicious-looking ankles and feet and toed out slightly, with hocks a bit behind him. Otherwise, he was an attractive colt with a handsome head, short coupling, strong quarters, and good bone for his size. He had an unusually fluid stride. His form improved dramatically from 2 to 3.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Gallant Man sired 331 winners (66.5%) and 51 stakes winners (10.2%) from 498 named foals. According to Sires and Dams of Stakes Winners 1925-1985 (Blood-Horse), Gallant Man sired 52 stakes winners (10.4%). Gallant Man is a Brilliant/Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
Notable progeny
Avie (USA), Coraggioso (USA), Gallant Bloom (USA), Gallant Romeo (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Genuine Risk (USA), Guilty Conscience (USA), Habitony (IRE), Lord Avie (USA), Lotka (USA), Pine Circle (USA), Stephan's Odyssey (USA)
Connections
Gallant Man was bred by the Aga Khan and Prince Aly Khan. He was owned by Ralph Lowe and trained by John Nerud. He stood at Spendthrift Farm throughout his stud career. He was pensioned in 1981 and died at Spendthrift in 1988. He was buried at Spendthrift Farm.
Pedigree notes
Gallant Man is inbred 3x3 to Mah Mahal and 4x4 to Blandford. His dam Majideh was a dual Classic winner and champion in Ireland and also produced 1948 English and Irish champion 3-year-old filly Masaka (by Nearco), dam of 1954 Park Hill Stakes winner Bara Bibi (by Bois Roussel) and second dam of 1966 French champion miler Silver Shark. Another daughter of Majideh, Gallant Man's full sister Mehrabi, is the second dam of 1968 American champion 2-year-old male Top Knight and 1966 Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap winner Stanislas and is the third dam of 1985 Joe McGrath Irish Sweeps Derby (IRE-G1) winner and two-time Irish champion Law Society, Grade 2 winner Strike Your Colors, and English Group 3 winner Legal Bid. Through other daughters, Majideh is also the second dam of 1953 Prix d'Aumale and 1954 Prix de Guiche winner Beigler Bay, 1965 Louisiana Derby winner Dapper Delegate, and 1964 Preakness Stakes runner-up The Scoundrel.
Majideh was produced from 1930 Coronation Stakes winner Qurrat-al-Ain (by Buchan), also the dam of 1940 Irish Oaks winner Queen of Shiraz (by Bahram). The last-named mare produced 1955 Santa Anita Handicap winner Poona II and 1959 Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Sallymount, both by Tudor Minstrel, and is the second dam of 1967 Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Atherstone Wood, 1969 Irish St. Leger winner Reindeer, and 1970 Irish Guinness Oaks winner Santa Tina. Qurrat-an-Ain, in turn, is out of Harpsichord, also the dam of 1929 Eclipse Stakes winner Royal Minstrel (by Tetratema) and 1934 Dewhurst Stakes winner Hairan (by Fairway). Sired by 1913 Two Thousand Guineas winner Louvois, Harpsichord is out of Golden Harp, by 1906 Eclipse Stakes winner Llangibby.
Books and media
Fun facts
Photo credit
Pictured with Bill Shoemaker up. Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: May 11, 2023
Race record
26 starts, 14 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$510,355
1957:
- Won Hibiscus Stakes (USA, 6FD, Hialeah)
- Won Belmont Stakes (USA, 12FD, Belmont; new American record 2:26-3/5)
- Won Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Belmont)
- Won Travers Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Peter Pan Handicap (USA, 9FD, Belmont)
- Won Nassau County Handicap (USA, 9FD, Belmont; new track record 1:47-1/5)
- 2nd Kentucky Derby (USA, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Trenton Handicap (USA, 10FD, Monmouth)
- 2nd Wood Memorial Stakes (USA, 9FD, Jamaica)
- Also set a new track record of 1:09-2/5 for 6 furlongs at Tropical Park in an allowance race
1958:
- Won Hollywood Gold Cup (USA, 10FD, Hollywood)
- Won Sunset Handicap (USA, 13FD, Hollywood)
- Won Metropolitan Handicap (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Carter Handicap (USA, 7FD, Aqueduct)
Honors
National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 1987)
Assessments
Gallant Man was rated #36 among the top 100 American racehorses of the 20th century by a panel of experts assembled by The Blood-Horse (Thoroughbred Champions, Eclipse Press, 7th printing, 2005).
Rated at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3yo males of 1957, 2 pounds below Horse of the Year Bold Ruler.
Co-highweighted with Bold Ruler at 132 pounds atop the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for older males of 1958, 1 pound above Horse of the Year Round Table.
As an individual
Gallant Man stood 15.1-1/2 hands. He had suspicious-looking ankles and feet and toed out slightly, with hocks a bit behind him. Otherwise, he was an attractive colt with a handsome head, short coupling, strong quarters, and good bone for his size. He had an unusually fluid stride. His form improved dramatically from 2 to 3.
As a stallion
According to Jockey Club records, Gallant Man sired 331 winners (66.5%) and 51 stakes winners (10.2%) from 498 named foals. According to Sires and Dams of Stakes Winners 1925-1985 (Blood-Horse), Gallant Man sired 52 stakes winners (10.4%). Gallant Man is a Brilliant/Intermediate chef-de-race in the Roman-Miller dosage system.
Sire rankings
Per the American Racing Manual (Daily Racing Form) series:
- 5th on the American general sire list in 1970; 8th in 1968; 9th in 1967.
- 5th on the American broodmare sire list in 1980; 8th in 1979; 10th in 1984.
Per Great Thoroughbred Sires of the World (2006, Churchill, Reichard, and Rogers):
- 5th on the American general sire list in 1970; 8th in 1968; 9th in 1967.
- 5th on the American broodmare sire list in 1980; 8th in 1979; 10th in 1984.
Notable progeny
Avie (USA), Coraggioso (USA), Gallant Bloom (USA), Gallant Romeo (USA)
Notable progeny of daughters
Genuine Risk (USA), Guilty Conscience (USA), Habitony (IRE), Lord Avie (USA), Lotka (USA), Pine Circle (USA), Stephan's Odyssey (USA)
Connections
Gallant Man was bred by the Aga Khan and Prince Aly Khan. He was owned by Ralph Lowe and trained by John Nerud. He stood at Spendthrift Farm throughout his stud career. He was pensioned in 1981 and died at Spendthrift in 1988. He was buried at Spendthrift Farm.
Pedigree notes
Gallant Man is inbred 3x3 to Mah Mahal and 4x4 to Blandford. His dam Majideh was a dual Classic winner and champion in Ireland and also produced 1948 English and Irish champion 3-year-old filly Masaka (by Nearco), dam of 1954 Park Hill Stakes winner Bara Bibi (by Bois Roussel) and second dam of 1966 French champion miler Silver Shark. Another daughter of Majideh, Gallant Man's full sister Mehrabi, is the second dam of 1968 American champion 2-year-old male Top Knight and 1966 Michigan Mile and One-Eighth Handicap winner Stanislas and is the third dam of 1985 Joe McGrath Irish Sweeps Derby (IRE-G1) winner and two-time Irish champion Law Society, Grade 2 winner Strike Your Colors, and English Group 3 winner Legal Bid. Through other daughters, Majideh is also the second dam of 1953 Prix d'Aumale and 1954 Prix de Guiche winner Beigler Bay, 1965 Louisiana Derby winner Dapper Delegate, and 1964 Preakness Stakes runner-up The Scoundrel.
Majideh was produced from 1930 Coronation Stakes winner Qurrat-al-Ain (by Buchan), also the dam of 1940 Irish Oaks winner Queen of Shiraz (by Bahram). The last-named mare produced 1955 Santa Anita Handicap winner Poona II and 1959 Prix Jacques Le Marois winner Sallymount, both by Tudor Minstrel, and is the second dam of 1967 Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Atherstone Wood, 1969 Irish St. Leger winner Reindeer, and 1970 Irish Guinness Oaks winner Santa Tina. Qurrat-an-Ain, in turn, is out of Harpsichord, also the dam of 1929 Eclipse Stakes winner Royal Minstrel (by Tetratema) and 1934 Dewhurst Stakes winner Hairan (by Fairway). Sired by 1913 Two Thousand Guineas winner Louvois, Harpsichord is out of Golden Harp, by 1906 Eclipse Stakes winner Llangibby.
Books and media
- Gallant Man's rivalry with Bold Ruler and Round Table was featured as the ninth chapter of Horse Racing's Greatest Rivalries (2008, Eclipse Press), a compilation produced by the staff and correspondents of The Blood-Horse.
- Gallant Man is profiled in Chapter 80 of Abram Hewitt's Sire Lines (1977, The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association; updated and reprinted by Eclipse Press in 2006).
- Gallant Man is profiled in Chapter 8 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Prior to the 1957 Kentucky Derby, Ralph Lowe told his friends that he had dreamed that the jockey stood up prematurely on Gallant Man, costing him the race. Eerily, Bill Shoemaker did exactly that at the sixteenth pole, and Iron Liege beat Gallant Man by a nose. The “Bad Dream Derby” has been part of Derby legend ever since.
- Ironically, Shoemaker wasn't originally slated to be on Gallant Man; he picked up the mount after Johnny Choquette was suspended for rough riding, and paid the penalty for his own lapse with a 15-day suspension. Owner Ralph Lowe didn't hold it against him, giving Shoemaker US$5,000 and a new car for the second-place ride, and Shoemaker repaid Lowe's kindness with Gallant Man's spectacular Belmont Stakes victory.
- Gallant Man was the fifth foreign-bred horse to win the Belmont Stakes, following in the wake of Saxon (1874), Bowling Brook (1898), Hourless (1917), and Johren (1918).
- While Gallant Man is often spoken of as an Irish-bred and has strong Irish associations as his dam Majideh was maintained at the Aga Khan's stud in County Kildare, he was foaled at Homestall Stud Farm in Sussex, England, where Majideh had been sent in anticipation of a mating to Tudor Minstrel.
- The Gallant Man Handicap was run at Hollywood Park in 2008 as a 13-furlong race on the Cushion Ride track for horses age 3 and up.
Photo credit
Pictured with Bill Shoemaker up. Photographer unknown. From the private collection of Dale Wyatt; used by permission.
Last updated: May 11, 2023