Sir Gaylord (February 12, 1959 – 1981) was an American

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. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

who later became a successful

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...

Background

He was bred and raced by

Christopher Chenery Christopher Chenery (September 16, 1886 – January 3, 1973) was an American engineer, businessman, and the owner/breeder of record for Thoroughbred horse racing's U.S. Triple Crown champion Secretariat. Early life and career Christopher C ...

. Sir Gaylord was sired by the British-bred, American-raced

Turn-To Turn-To (1951–1973) was a British-born, American-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Background He was sired by the British stallion Royal Charger, out of the French mare Source Sucree, whose sire, Admiral Drake, was third on the Fre ...

out of the mare

Somethingroyal Somethingroyal (March 12, 1952 – June 9, 1983) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown champion and Hall of Fame inductee Secretariat. She also produced three other stakes winners and was n ...

and was therefore the half-brother of

Secretariat Secretariat may refer to: * Secretariat (administrative office) * Secretariat (horse) Secretariat (March 30, 1970 – October 4, 1989), also known as Big Red, was a champion American thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who is the ninth winne ...

Racing career

One of the leading two-year-old colts of 1961, Sir Gaylord was the favorite going into the 1962

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. Shortly before the Derby, on May 4, he suffered a hairline fracture of the

sesamoid bone In anatomy, a sesamoid bone () is a bone embedded within a tendon or a muscle. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for ' sesame seed', indicating the small size of most sesamoids. Often, these bones form in response to strain, or can be pres ...

in his right foreleg during a workout which ended his racing career.

Stud career

Sir Gaylord was successful as a sire. He stood at stud in the United States until 1972, when he was sent to

Haras du Quesnay Haras du Quesnay, known as "Le Quesnay", is a thoroughbred horse breeding farm in France about four miles (6 km) outside the city of Deauville on 3 km². Early years The stud was established in 1907 by wealthy American sportsman William Kissam V ...

(France). His best-known progeny included: *

Sir Ivor Sir Ivor (May 5, 1965 – November 10, 1995) was an American-bred, Irish-trained champion Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from July 1967 to October 1968 he ran thirteen times and won eight races. He won major races in ...

(1965) - 1968

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

winner and champion broodmare sire. Sir Ivor was the sire of

Sir Tristram Sir Tristram (IRE) (7 April 1971 – 21 May 1997) was an Irish-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who stood at stud in New Zealand, where he sired an extraordinary 45 Group One winners, including three Melbourne Cup winners. His progeny earned him 17 ...

a champion sire in Australia and New Zealand, as was his son

Zabeel Zabeel (25 October 1986 – 25 September 2015) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He is a bay son of Sir Tristram (IRE) from the Nureyev mare Lady Gisell ...

. *

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

(1966), a top-level stakes winner in England and France and also a successful sire. Biography of Sir Gaylord. Accessed February 3, 2011.

Death

Sir Gaylord died in France of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in the spring of 1981, aged 22.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 1959 racehorse births 1981 racehorse deaths Racehorses bred in Virginia Racehorses trained in the United States Thoroughbred family 2-s Chefs-de-Race