Twenty-five years ago, Victory Gallop denied Real Quiet a historic Triple Crown in a Belmont Stakes thriller. Exported to Turkey for his second career at stud, he became a highly successful sire – and, having just turned 28, he’s still thriving as a beloved elder statesman
It was a complete juxtaposition. Fifty years ago Secretariat’s triumph in the Belmont Stakes brought immense pleasure to the racing world – but 25 years after that, Victory Gallop snatched the joy of a longed-for Triple Crown away with a well-timed bob of his head.
In 1998, Real Quiet was aiming to become the first Triple Crown winner in 20 years and only the 12th in history. No horse had pulled off the feat since Affirmed in 1978, and when Real Quiet and jockey Kent Desormeaux took a clear lead at the top of the stretch in the Belmont, the roar of the crowd seemed to will him home. Except with every stride, Victory Gallop was closing under Gary Stevens.
Even 25 years later, it is stunning that Victory Gallop made it in time – but when it counted, it was his nose on the wire first. He probably also saved the stewards a nightmare situation, as there had been bumping in the stretch.
Since Victory Gallop won the photo, the question of whether they would have really taken down a Triple Crown winner for interference remains nothing more than a hypothetical. The two principals finished six lengths in front of the next horse, and racing would have to wait another 17 years for American Pharoah to finally win the Triple Crown.
No sort of villain
While Victory Gallop played the role of spoiler that day, he was not any sort of villain. A Canadian-bred trained by Elliott Walden, he had danced every dance too, finishing second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes.
Both colts would race on at four, and both would be G1 winners as older horses. Real Quiet was the champion three-year-old of 1998, and Victory Gallop was the champion older horse in 1999.
Upon retirement, both champions began their stallion careers in Kentucky before eventually being relocated. Real Quiet died in September 2010 after a paddock accident in Pennsylvania. He was 15. Amongst his most famous progeny is champion sprinter Midnight Lute, the dual Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner.
In February 2008, two years prior to his old adversary’s demise, Victory Gallop was sold to the Jockey Club of Turkey. Now at age 28, he reigns as the country’s all-time leading stallion and is a beloved elder statesman at Izmit Stud Farm.
“He’s a very lovable horse, and he is also very happy here in Turkey as his second home,” said Burak Konuk, the assistant general manager of the Turkish Jockey Club.
‘An easy horse with a good character’
“He is a very good example of an easy horse with a good character. He has become a favorite with the staff since his arrival. You touch his upper lip, and he puts his tongue out to play with you and to be pet. His favorite treat is a carrot.
“Although he’s a stable walker, he does it very intelligently and regularly – like around 10 minutes every hour or so and on both sides! Probably that habit helps to keep him as fit as he is because he doesn’t look like he’s 28 but more like a 16-year-old.”
Remarkably, Victory Gallop is still an active stallion, although his book is limited more with each passing season. From year-to-year, he has been the leading sire in Turkey multiple times and continues to be a force.
“We don’t do anything special except for feeding him with some supplements with vitamins and minerals to support his fertility,” explained Konuk. “His libido is still the same as his first season in Turkey. He covers no more than once a day due to his age. We decreased his book of mares from 30 to 20 this season.”
All-time leading sire
Through late May, Victory Gallop has sired 372 winners from 589 foals in Turkey, of which 117 have won black-type races, including 18 G1 winners, and he is the all-time leading stallion there with 190.689.632,35 Turkish Lira (about $9.6 million) in progeny earnings.
“His impact on Turkish racing and breeding is very important as the statistics show,” said Konuk. “He’s been very consistent in siring high-quality tough horses who have long and successful racing careers.
“Although his male progeny seems to be more performant than the females on track, his daughters’ performance as broodmares is also very good as can be seen statistically in detail on our website www.tjk.org.
“So his impact as a broodmare sire is also very important for our breeding industry. Also, a few of his sons have already started their stud careers and one of them even gave two-year-old winners last year.”
Izmit Stud Farm, which is about 100km from Istanbul, was built in 1973 on 176 acres. As well as being a stallion farm, it also provides year-round permanent boarding for mares and foals.
Other stallions calling the farm home this year include Battleground, Bodemeister, Elarqam and Super Saver, who are all also Turkish Jockey Club stallions, as well as a few other privately owned stallions. Victory Gallop and company are given plenty of time to be horses in addition to their stallion duties.
“Victory Gallop is out in his paddock from about 8am until 4pm every day, except in very bad weather,” explained Konuk. “He gets three meals a day, which are adapted to the season and his activity. His daily routine includes: grooming, vet check, foot care, a bath when needed, and so on, like all the other stallions.”
Many happy returns
On May 30, Victory Gallop celebrated his 28th birthday. As they had done in prior years, those at Izmit Stud Farm adorned him with a birthday sash and presented him with a bowl of treats.
Thirteen years after leaving America for Turkey, Victory Gallop certainly has left his mark on the breed there, as well as on the people who take care of him, and he continues to show that he was an astute purchase by the Turkish Jockey Club.
“Besides being a Belmont Stakes winner and an Eclipse Award champion racehorse with a superb pedigree, along with greatly balanced conformation and exceptional looks, he was also the type of horse that Turkish breeders and owners prefer – a middle- to long-distance horse with a great turn of foot, not a big heavy horse to produce late runners and so on,” said Konuk, who was part of the delegation that inspected the stallion at WinStar Farm in Kentucky.
“He also showed his quality with his stakes-winning first crops in the USA, so he was on our radar. We were and still are very lucky to have him.”
• Visit the Turkish Jockey Club website
View the latest TRC Global Rankings for horses / jockeys / trainers / sires