Gallant Man

Performance at Kentucky Derby

Gallant Man is remembered primarily for his upset loss in the 1957 Kentucky Derby. 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 stirrups, 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 a nose. As noted in books, in articles, and on online sites, Shoemaker's error remains one of the biggest blunders in racing history.

Career after the Derby

After the Derby, Hall of Fame trainer John Nerud sent Gallant Man out to decimate the field in the Belmont Stakes, 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, Gallant Man beat Bold Ruler in the Metropolitan Mile, and his Jockey Club Gold Cup was achieved against older horses.

Gallant Man raced 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. 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 (Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner) Migoli out of Majideh (winner of both the Irish Oaks and the Irish 1,000 Guineas), Gallant Man stood 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). However, 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 Kentucky'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.

Death

After being pensioned in 1981, Gallant Man was euthanized on September 7, 1988 at the age of 34 after a losing battle with lameness, respiratory problems,and many failing organs. When Gallant Man passed, John Nerud said, "When he was sound and good, a horse never lived who could beat him ... he had it all—speed and endurance."

Longevity

According to the most up to date records on past racehorses, Gallant Man is the longest-lived racehorse ever to win any Triple Crown race, surpassing Count Fleet, who lived for 33 years and 8 months, on November 30, 1987. His longevity genes continued throughout the generations. Nearly 20 years to the day of his death, his granddaughter Genuine Risk, who lived 31 1/2 years, died naturally from similar health problems, but also became the longest-lived filly ever to win a Triple Crown race. His grandson Lord Avie became one of the few thoroughbred racehorses to place third or better in all of his races and is the longest-lived horse with this distinction. In 2012, Lord Avie at 34 surpassed his grandfather in longevity by approximately 2 1/2 months.