Hill Gail
| Hill Gail | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Bull Lea |
| Grandsire | Bull Dog |
| Dam | Jane Gail |
| Damsire | Blenheim |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1949 |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Calumet Farm |
| Owner | Calumet Farm |
| Trainer | Ben A. Jones & Horace A. Jones |
| Record | 32: 11-5-3 |
| Earnings | $335,625 |
| Major wins | |
|
Arlington Futurity (1951) Phoenix Handicap (1952) San Vicente Stakes (1952) Santa Anita Derby (1952) Derby Trial (1952) Kentucky Derby (1952) |
|
Hill Gail (1949–1968) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the leading American two-year-olds of 1951, Hill Gail recorded his most important success the following spring when he won the 1952 Kentucky Derby. He was injured during the race and was never as effective in his subsequent racing career. He was retired to stand as a breeding stallion in Ireland, where he had limited success as a sire of winners.
Hill Gail was a dark bay horse bred and raced by Calumet Farm of Lexington, Kentucky. He was sired by Champion sire Bull Lea out of Jane Gail, a successful but temperamental racemare described by her trainer Jimmy Jones as "a well-authenticated bitch". As a descendant of the broodmare St Angela, Jane Gail was distantly related to the British champion St. Simon and Orme.
Hill Gail was trained by Ben Jones for races in the East while his son Jimmy handled the colt's conditioning in California.
At age two, Hill Gail set a new Arlington Park track record for six furlongs when winning the 1951 Arlington Futurity, the most valuable two-year-old race of the season. In October, Hill Gail recorded an upset victory over the year's leading colt Tom Fool in a sprint race at Belmont Park, but was beaten by the same colt in the Belmont Futurity five days later.
In early 1952, Hill Gail equaled the Keeneland Race Course record for six furlongs in winning the 1952 Phoenix Handicap but was twice defeated by the Irish colt Windy City. In the Santa Anita Derby however, he reversed the form to beat Windy City by four lengths. On the eve of the Kentucky Derby Hill Gail set a new Churchill Downs track record of 1:34.4 for eight furlongs when winning the Derby Trial by six lengths. With Tom Fool ruled out by illness, Hill Gail became the popular choice for the Kentucky Derby.
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