At the end of his racing career, a stallion will go from a backside barn with regular gallops to the wide-open paddocks of a farm where he will trade those gallops for another job: making babies. The sport of kings is built on both the hope of finding the finish line first and the faith that pairing the right stallion with the right mare will produce something special. William Woodward found that with Sir Gallahad III and Marguerite: together they produced multiple stakes winners like Gallant Fox and Foxbrough. If a breeder is truly lucky, those kinds of names appear in pedigrees for years to come, signalling that the match between sire and dam is one of value.
Each week, I will profile a horse with a Belair Stud connetion in either their career or their pedigree. The relationship might not be obvious, but, with some detective work, I’m sure you could guess who the horse is. With that in mind, here is the first installment.
Who Am I?
This undefeated stallion had a Hall of Fame trainer, but no stakes wins to his name. His pedigree boasts classic winners, yet this stallion never made it into the starting gate for any them. His pedigree has a Belair connection, but probably not the one you might be thinking of. This stallion stood at one of America’s most famous breeding farms, where he was able to sire horses of both sexes that won classics in more than one country.
Who is this stallion?
How is he connected to Belair Stud?
I will publish the answers on Friday! Until then, what is your guess?
So often in horse racing, as in human sports, we try to find rivals, two personalities who dominate on their own, but together create something magical. That thrill of confrontation between two athletes replete with talent and heart intrigues us and leaves us always clamoring for more. For Gallant Fox, that horse was Whichone, a Harry Payne Whitney home-bred who boasted an Epsom Derby and Lawrence Realization winner in his pedigree.
Whichone. (Keeneland Library Sutcliffe Collection) This image is protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in print or electronically without written permission of the Keeneland Library.
Whichone’s pedigree was deep in distance runners, with Spearmint, 1906 Epsom Derby winner, and Hamburg, 1898 Lawrence Realization champion, among his progenitors. Like his sire Chicle, Whichone won the Champagne Stakes in 1929, his third stakes victory. This was enough to win him the two-year-old championship for that year, making Whichone an early favorite for the 1930 Kentucky Derby. However, the colt was as injury-prone as his sire: he came out of the Champagne with an issue that kept him out of training until late May. Whichone would not challenge Gallant Fox, who dominated the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby, but instead would meet his rival in the Belmont Stakes.
In the run-up to their Belmont meeting, Whichone squeaked out a victory in the Withers Stakes, where jockey Sonny Workman had to work hard to get the colt out of traffic to find a clear path to victory. Even though he won by four lengths, skepticism in the colt’s preparedness followed him into the Belmont Stakes. Gallant Fox came in fresh off the three-week break after his victory in the Derby, ready to meet all challengers. Despite the Fox’s recent run of greatness, Whichone met him at the Belmont barrier as the favorite over the Belair colt.
With the benefit of hindsight, we know how the confrontation turned out: Gallant Fox triumphed over his Whitney challenger, beating him by four lengths. Gallant Fox was so eager to run that rainy day at Belmont that he bolted from the barrier and ran nearly a furlong before Sande was able to pull him up and get him back in line. The anticipated battle between the two looked like it might emerge at the top of the stretch, but Sande was handy with the bottomless Gallant Fox that day. The Fox rebuffed Whichone’s efforts, denying fans the duel they were hoping for and pulling away with ease.
Gallant Fox had not simply beaten Whichone. No, he had dominated him, the twelve furlongs of the Belmont Stakes more of a show than a test. Nevertheless, determined to try again, Whichone joined Gallant Fox at Saratoga for the Travers Stakes. The two would hook up early in the race, running toward the middle of a muddy track, avoiding the slushy inside at the rail. Dueling on the front, Sonny Workman and Earl Sande locked into the battle that fans had clamored for, Gallant Fox and Whichone fought each other for the front — and lost. Running to their inside, relishing the slush, Jim Dandy snuck through on the rail and passed the two champions. Whichone had already beaten Gallant Fox once in the 1929 Futurity; Gallant Fox had beaten the Whitney colt at Belmont. In the end, Whichone limped home, the speed duel forgotten, his racing career over. Sure, Gallant Fox might have beaten Whichone home that day, technically scoring his second victory over his supposed rival, but now that rivalry was over. Whichone was retired to stud at Whitney’s stud farm in Kentucky.
Did you enjoy this glimpse at one of the featured names from Foxes of Belair? I can’t wait to share more of the details of this rivalry and explore just how Gallant Fox gained his immortal fame in my upcoming book on the Belair Triple Crown winners.
