Sir Gallahad III was a French Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse

Horse racing

Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...

 and a very important Sire

Father

A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...

 in the United States.

Racing at age two in France for his British breeder/owner, Jefferson Davis Cohn, Sir Gallahad earned victory in three of his five starts but was overshadowed by the 1922 Champion colt, Epinard

Épinard

Épinard was a French Thoroughbred racehorse who was given the French name for spinach. He is considered a racing legend by French racing authority France Galop....

. At age three, he won four races, most notably the French 2,000 Guineas

Poule d'Essai des Poulains

The Poule d'Essai des Poulains, sometimes referred to as the French 2,000 Guineas, is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts...

 (Poule d'Essai des Poulains). At four, he won three important races in France and in England

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 won the Lincolnshire Handicap

Lincoln Handicap

The Lincoln Handicap is a flat horse race in Great Britain which is open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile , and it is scheduled to take place each year in late March or early April....

. That year, he also went head-to-head with Epinard, winning a 6½ furlong event.

Leading Sire

Sir Gallahad was retired after his four-year-old season to stand at stud

Horse breeding

Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...

 at Haras du Bois-Roussel in Alençon

Alençon

Alençon is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon .-History:...

. In 1926, owner Jefferson Davis Cohn sold him to an American syndicate made up of Robert A. Fairburn, William Woodward, Sr.

William Woodward, Sr.

William Woodward, Sr. was an American banker and major owner and breeder in thoroughbred horse racing.-Background:...

, Marshall Field III

Marshall Field III

Marshall Field III was an American investment banker, publisher, racehorse owner/breeder, philanthropist, heir to the Marshall Field department store fortune and a leading financial supporter and founding board member of Saul Alinsky's community organizing network Industrial Areas Foundation.Born...

, and Arthur B. Hancock

Arthur B. Hancock

Arthur Boyd Hancock was an American breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses who established the renowned Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky....

. In the United States, he was recorded as Sir Gallahad III for registration clarification. Although he was sent to the various breeding farms of his four owners, he stood primarily at Woodward's Belair Stud

Belair Stud

Belair Stud was an American thoroughbred horse racing stable and breeding farm founded by Provincial Governor of Maryland, Samuel Ogle in 1747 in Collington, Prince Georges County, Maryland in Colonial America.-Colonial Period:...

 in Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 and at Hancock's Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm

Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...

 in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

.

Sir Gallahad sired 65 Graded stakes race

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 winners and was the United States Champion Sire four times. He was the sire of Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 winner High Quest

High Quest

High Quest was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1934 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown series of races....

, Jockey Club Gold Cup

Jockey Club Gold Cup

The Jockey Club Gold Cup, established in 1919, is a prestigious thoroughbred flat race open to horses of either gender three-years-old and up. It is typically the main event of the fall meeting at Belmont Park, just as the Belmont Stakes is of the spring meeting and the Travers Stakes is of the...

 and multiple stakes winner Fenelon, and a record three Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 winners: Gallahadion

Gallahadion

Gallahadion was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the 1940 winner of the Kentucky Derby. A son of the Champion sire Sir Gallahad III, his damsire was U.S. Horse of the Year Reigh Count who won the 1928 edition of the Kentucky Derby. Owned by Ethel V...

, Hoop Jr.

Hoop Jr.

Hoop Jr. , was an American Thoroughbred racehorse sired by the European stakes winning stallion Sir Gallahad...

, and Gallant Fox

Gallant Fox

Gallant Fox was a United States Thoroughbred horseracing champion.Foaled at Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky by Sir Gallahad III out of the mare Marguerite, Gallant Fox was a bay colt who became the second horse to win the U.S...

, who won the U.S. Triple Crown

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing

The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...

. Sir Gallahad also sired Roman, who won eighteen races and in turn sired fifty-four stakes winners, including Champion

Eclipse Award

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...

 and Preakness Stakes winner Hasty Road

Hasty Road

Hasty Road was an American thoroughbred racehorse best remembered for winning the 1954 Preakness Stakes and coming in a close second to Determine in the 1954 Kentucky Derby. Hasty Road was a very large bay thoroughbred with a distinctive white blaze...

.

In addition, Sir Gallahad was the U.S. Champion Broodmare Sire a record 12 times, with his daughters producing 139 stakes winners including two Hall of Famer

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 members: Challedon

Challedon

Challedon was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Maryland by William L. Brann and Robert S. Castle, he raced under the colors of their Branncastle Farm....

 and Gallorette

Gallorette

Gallorette was a Maryland-bred chestnut thoroughbred filly who became a Hall of Fame race horse. Sired by Challenger II, out of Gallette, Gallorette's damsire was Sir Gallahad III. Even so, her dam, Gallette, had once exchanged hands for $250 and was used as a hack. -Breeding:Trainer Preston M...

.

Sir Gallahad died at Claiborne Farm in 1949 and is buried in its equine cemetery.