|
Gallant Fox
“The Fox of Belair,” as he was popularly known, was considered by many experts to be the finest stayer seen in American racing since the retirements of Man o’ War and Exterminator. Bred by Belair Stud, the handsome, blaze-faced bay was the result of a union between *Sir Gallahad III and the Celt mare Marguerite. By the excellent sire *Teddy out of the great broodmare Plucky Liege, *Sir Gallahad III had been a good racehorse in Europe, his twelve victories from 25 starts including the 1926 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas). Imported to the United States by A. B. Hancock, Sr., and syndicated, he would lead the American general sire list four times and the American broodmare sire list twelve times. Marguerite could not match *Sir Gallahad III’s racing accomplishments, having injured her back in her only start. She had already proven her worth as a broodmare, however, having produced the 1928 Travers Stakes winner Petee-Wrack to the cover of *Wrack. Her sire, Celt, had been a first-class racehorse in his own racing days and led the American general sire list in 1921; Gallant Fox would help make him the leading broodmare sire of 1930 as well. As a juvenile, Gallant Fox had a good but not outstanding record. With the aid of a thirteen-pound weight concession, he defeated Caruso for the Flash Stakes at Saratoga, but Caruso reversed those results at level weights in the United States Hotel Stakes. The Belair colt ran third in the Futurity Stakes behind Whichone and won the Junior Champion Stakes to round out the season. Ranked sixth among the American juveniles of 1929 by The Blood-Horse, Gallant Fox had shown promise but was clearly immature compared to many of the other top colts, particularly mentally: in his only finish out of the money, he was left at the post in the Tremont Stakes because he was watching a passing airplane. Nonetheless, his prospects for the future were considered bright enough that William Woodward, owner of Belair Stud, was able to tempt the great jockey Earl Sande out of retirement to ride “The Fox” at three. Gallant Fox opened his sophomore season by winning the Wood Memorial Stakes, then run at New York’s old Jamaica track. He then traveled to Maryland for the Preakness, which was run prior to the Kentucky Derby in 1930. The 1930 Preakness was the first Classic race to be started from a starting gate rather than a standing start at a line, but the newfangled device troubled Gallant Fox not at all. Although he got into close quarters on the first turn, he won by three-quarters of a length over Crack Brigade, who had also been the runner-up in the Wood Memorial. The next stop was Churchill Downs, where the 1930 Kentucky Derby became the first edition of that race to be started from a starting gate. Once again, Gallant Fox got into close quarters early, but he had little trouble disposing of his field once he got clear and came striding home two lengths ahead of Gallant Knight. The winner received a fine speech of congratulations from the Derby’s guest of honor, the seventeenth Earl of Derby, whose ancestor, the twelfth Lord Derby, had been the namesake for the original Derby Stakes in England. Oddly, although Gallant Fox had been favored at both Pimlico and Churchill Downs, he was only the second choice at Belmont despite the fact that he was facing only three other opponents. The favorite was the previous year’s Futurity winner and generally acknowledged two-year-old champion Whichone, who was coming into the Belmont off a four-length score in the Withers Stakes. Whichone did not care for the off going on Belmont Day, however, and Gallant Fox won by three lengths from the good staying colt Questionnaire with Whichone third. Thus, Gallant Fox had emulated Sir Barton in sweeping the biggest spring three-year-old races in Maryland, Kentucky, and New York. Bryan Field of the New York Times referred to the sweep as a “Triple Crown,” a term then picked up on by Daily Racing Form writer Charles Hatton and used in his columns. And so began the tradition of the American Triple Crown, which was firmly entrenched in the imagination of American racing fans by the time of War Admiral’s sweep in 1937; Sir Barton, of course, is now retroactively recognized as the first winner of the series. Gallant Fox’s next conquest was the Dwyer Stakes, followed by a neck victory in the Classic Stakes at Arlington Park over the Kentucky Derby runner-up Gallant Knight. The trophy had been hard-earned, for Gallant Knight stayed glued to Gallant Fox almost every step of the way and yielded only grudgingly. Sande, however, later said that Gallant Fox had merely been loafing and had won more easily than appearances would indicate. “The Fox” then traveled to Saratoga for the Travers Stakes. Waiting for him was Whichone, who had in the meantime improved his resume with a win in the Saranac Stakes. Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt was in attendance for the race, and so high was the anticipation for the rematch between these two fine colts that parking was tied up as far as two miles from the track gates, leaving many racegoers to walk in. The fans got a spectacle, all right, but not quite what they had anticipated. Thanks to heavy rains, the Saratoga track was a sea of mud; yet, despite the tiring going, Sonny Workman on Whichone and Earl Sande on Gallant Fox shot their mounts away from the start and engaged in a torrid speed duel. Both had apparently completely forgotten the two other horses in the race. One, Sun Falcon, was eminently forgettable; he ended up last. But the other, Jim Dandy, was a proven mudder who had won the only other stakes victory of his career, the Grand Union Hotel Stakes, on this selfsame Saratoga strip under very similar racing conditions. Whichone broke down at the head of the stretch (though he managed to stagger on well enough to beat Sun Falcon for third, he never raced again), but he had completely exhausted Gallant Fox, who had nothing left to answer Jim Dandy’s challenge. At odds of 100-1, Jim Dandy rolled home by eight lengths, thus scoring one of the most legendary upsets of Saratoga’s “Graveyard of Champions” and giving his name to the primary modern prep race for the Travers Stakes. Gallant Fox ended his three-year-old season with three straight victories over routes. He won the fourteen-furlong Saratoga Cup easily over his stablemate Frisius, then defeated Questionnaire in a tremendous battle for the Lawrence Realization at a mile and five-eighths. He finished out his season and his career with an easy victory in the two-mile Jockey Club Gold Cup, setting a new single season earnings record of $308,275. By consensus, Gallant Fox was the American champion three-year-old male and Horse of the Year for 1930. His record would earn him induction into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1957. Having ended his career with eleven wins and five placings from seventeen starts and a grand total of $328,165 in earnings, Gallant Fox was considered a prime prospect to follow in his sire’s footsteps as a stallion. And, in fact, he started extremely well, getting the 1935 Triple Crown winner Omaha in his first crop and both 1936 Horse of the Year Granville and 1938 Ascot Gold Cup winner Flares in his second crop. He was unable to sustain that level of excellence, however, and was no more than useful during the remainder of his stud career, which ended with his death in 1954. He was buried at Claiborne Farm. Text © 2005 by Avalyn Hunter Artwork © 2006 by Pat DeLong. Used by permission and may not be copied or distributed in any form without the express permission of Pat DeLong. For information regarding purchases, reproductions, or licensing, please contact Pat DeLong at patdelongart@aol.com. |
