Nostalgic Horse

By Elizabeth Rancani

The year 1957 saw one of the best groups of three year olds ever born in the history of thoroughbred racing. Bold Ruler, often remembered more for being the sire of Secretariat, was a superstar racehorse in his own right. Bold Ruler was the favorite in the 1957 Kentucky Derby after narrow victories in the Flamingo over General Duke and the Wood Memorial over the courageous Gallant Man. Bold Ruler finished fourth on Derby day and then went on to win the Preakness Stakes. He finished third in the Belmont when a mile and a half proved too much distance for him to handle.

The Belmont winner, Gallant Man went on to win an easy allowance race and then won the 1957 Travers Stakes by a half length over Bureaucracy when his top contemporaries stayed in the barn. Not to say Gallant Man would not have won anyway for he had a great three year old campaign. Aside from his narrow loss in the Wood Memorial, he also only lost the Kentucky Derby by a mere nose and many attribute that to his jockey, Bill Shoemaker misjudging the finish line and standing up in the irons. He won the Peter Pan after his Derby defeat, and then cruised home in the Belmont ahead by eight lengths. After his Travers victory he added the Nassau County Handicap and the Jockey Club Gold Cup to his resume.

Bold Ruler returned to the races in September that year winning a six furlong allowance handicap and then the mile Jerome Handicap before finishing third in the Woodward to Dedicate and Gallant Man. He then won four straight, including the Trenton Handicap turning the tables on Gallant Man, thus securing Horse of the Year honors.

The third place finisher in the Trenton and also the Kentucky Derby was Round Table. After the Derby Round Table went out west and beat up the competition at Hollywood Park, winning five straight races. He left California in August and met up with Derby winner Iron Leige in The American Derby defeating him easily by four lengths. Round Table would go on to have the longest career of the Derby’s top four, running a total of 66 times, finishing in the money 56 times before he was retired at age five.

The class of 1957 was often a rubber match, with the top ones taking turns in the winners’ circle. One top horse of 1957 that is often overlooked is Calumet Farm’s ill-fated General Duke. A Derby prep, The Bahamas at Hialeah Park featured Bold Ruler, Gallant Man, Federal Hill and newcomer General Duke. The General could do no better than second that day as the speedy Bold Ruler made light work of the field. Next eventual Derby winner, Iron Leige defeated the maturing General Duke in an allowance race at Hialeah in February. In a resounding display of just how deep this crop was, General Duke and Bold Ruler battled it out in the Everglades setting a new stakes record and handing the newcomer a narrow victory over Bold Ruler. The two colts met two more times with Bold Ruler winning the Flamingo and General Duke taking the Florida Derby. One paper it was very hard to separate these colts and young three year olds. General Duke suffered a foot bruise after finishing second in The Derby Trial Stakes and was unable to run in the Kentucky Derby that year. Sadly, the forgotten colt developed a rare, incurable spine disease and never raced again. He was euthanized the following year.

While The Travers Stakes certainly could have been more interesting in 1957 as only Gallant Man showed up, it was still a great summer to be a fan of thoroughbred racing.

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