In December 1925, French stallion Sir Gallahad arrived in the United States carrying the hopes of the four men who had invested in his potential. In a deal initiated by Arthur B. Hancock, this son of Teddy joined the stallion roster at Claiborne Farm and began a two-decade stud career that made him a record breaker. From 1926 to 1949, Sir Gallahad III was a stallion who made a sizable impact on the sport, giving rise to at least one immortal and a long list of winners.

Across the Atlantic

Captain Jefferson Davis Cohn was named for an American, but actually was English; his grandfather aided the president of the Confederacy when Davis fled to England after the war. When Cohn was born in 1881, Jefferson Davis was named as his godfather. Cohn later served in the British Army in World War I, winning the Mons Star for his service during the conflict’s early years. After the war, his business ventures supported his racing stable in France and his breeding operation at Haras du Bois Roussel near Alençon. Among his broodmare band was Plucky Liege, a daughter of Epsom Derby winner Spearmint.

Plucky Liege had been more of a sprinter than a stayer as her sire was and had shown her best at two, tapering off in her three-year-old season. As a broodmare, though, her pedigree boasted enough classic winners in both England and Australia that Cohn purchased her from his employer, Lord Michelham. She would produce twelve foals for Cohn, including seven by Teddy, also owned by Cohn. Her second by the French stakes winner was a colt Cohn would name Sir Gallahad.

The 1920 crop included not only Sir Gallahad, but also Épinard, multiple stakes winner in France and Massine, Ascot Gold Cup and Priz de l’Arc de Triomphe victor in 1924. Sir Gallahad won his share of stakes in France and England, including the Lincolnshire Handicap and a victory over Épinard in a 1924 match race. He retired after his four-year-old season and then stood at Haras du Bois Roussel in 1925. That’s when the Americans came knocking.

A Good Investment

In late 1925, Arthur B. Hancock came to Captain Cohn with an offer to purchase the stallion and bring him to the United States. To raise the funds necessary for this, Hancock partnered with three Americans, including one William Woodward, the master of Belair Stud in Maryland.

When he joined Claiborne’s stallion roster in 1925, Sir Gallahad became known as Sir Gallahad III as two others horses with that same name were already registered with the Jockey Club. He settled in at the Paris, Kentucky farm, his book full for his first season in 1926. Among those visiting him that year was Marguerite, one of Woodward’s prized mares.

In nearly twenty-five-year career as a stallion, Sir Gallahad III led the sire list four times and was ranked in the top ten eight other years. He also led the broodmare sire list a record twelve times. As the sire of three Kentucky Derby winners, Sir Gallahad III joins Virgil, Falsetto, and Bull Lea on that short list of dominant stallions. As the sire of one Triple Crown winner and the grandsire of another, he occupies as a special place in the annals of horse racing history.

To read more about this sale and Sir Gallahad’s impact on American breeding, pick up The Foxes of Belair: Gallant Fox, Omaha, and the Quest for the Triple Crown, available in early May from the University Press of Kentucky.