Owned and bred by Queen Elizabeth II, Pall Mall was one of the leading British two-year-olds of 1957, when he won the New Stakes at Royal Ascot and was placed in three other important races.
Pall Mall's dam, Malapert, showed no ability as a racehorse and was bought on behalf of King George VI for 100 guineas at the Newmarket sales in December 1949.
[6] In April 1958, Pall Mall began his three-year-old season by finishing fourth on soft ground behind Aggressor in the 2000 Guineas Trial at Kempton Park Racecourse, leading some observers to write him off as a sprinter with no classic prospects.
In the 2000 Guineas, run over the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket on 30 April, Pall Mall started a 20/1 outsider in a field of fourteen runners.
He was ridden by Doug Smith as Harry Carr had elected to ride the stable's other runner, Bald Eagle, who was made 7/4 favourite.
He started 5/2 favourite and finished second of the twenty-three runners, beaten one and a half lengths by Faultless Speech, a four-year-old to whom he was conceding 20 pounds.
[6] In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Pall Mall an "average" winner of the 2000 Guineas.