Crowned Prince (31 January 1969 – 18 February 1989) was a Kentucky-bred, British-trained
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 was sold for a world-record $510,000 ($ million
inflation adjusted) in 1970. In a brief racing career he established himself as the leading British juvenile of his generation in 1971 with win in the
Group Two Champagne Stakes and the Group One
Dewhurst Stakes
The Dewhurst Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), ...
. He was retired from racing after a single, unsuccessful start in the following spring and had little success as a breeding stallion.
Background
Crowned Prince was a chestnut horse with a white
star
A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
and white
socks
A sock is a piece of clothing worn on the feet and often covering the ankle or some part of the calf. Some types of shoes or boots are typically worn over socks. In ancient times, socks were made from leather or matted animal hair. In the late ...
on his hind feet bred in Kentucky by
Leslie Combs II
Leslie Combs II (1901–1990) was an American equestrian. He was the founder and owner of the Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky.
Biography
Early life
He was born in 1901.Edward L. Bowen, ''Legacies Of The Turf: A Century Of Great Thoroughbr ...
of
Spendthrift Farm
Spendthrift Farm is a thoroughbred race horse breeding farm and burial site in Lexington, Kentucky, currently owned by Eric & Tammy Gustavson. It was founded by Leslie Combs II and named for the great stallion Spendthrift, who was owned by Combs' a ...
and
Frank McMahon. He was sired by
Raise a Native
Raise a Native (April 18, 1961 – July 28, 1988) was an undefeated Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorse that was named 1963 champion two-year-old colt in the Turf and Sport Digest poll and was the highest rated juvenile in the Experimental Free ...
, an American racehorse who was unbeaten in four races and was named
American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971.
The award originated in 1936 when the ''Daily Racing F ...
by ''Turf and Sports Digest'' in 1963. Crowned Prince's dam
Gay Hostess was a highly-successful broodmare, having produced
Majestic Prince
Majestic Prince (March 19, 1966 – April 22, 1981) was a Thoroughbred racehorse. One of the leading North American horses of his generation, he won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes in 1969.
Background
In September 1967, Majestic Prince ...
from a previous coverings by Raise a Native. Her other descendants have included
Real Quiet
Real Quiet (March 7, 1995 – September 27, 2010) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was nicknamed "The Fish" by his trainer due to his narrow frame. He is best remembered for winning the first two legs of American Triple ...
,
Caracolero
Caracolero (1971 – after 1987) was a Kentucky-bred, French-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He showed some promise as a two-year-old in 1973, winning one of his three races, but was rated well behind the best of his year in France. ...
and
The Derby winner
Secreto
Secreto (1981–1999) was a Maryland-bred Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that consisted of only four races, he won three times. His most important success came in June 1984 when he won the Derby.
Background
Secret ...
.
At the
Keeneland Sales Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres (0.59 km2) of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene. A division of ...
in July 1970 the
yearling
Yearling may refer to:
*Yearling (horse), a horse between one and two years old
*''The Yearling
''The Yearling'' is a novel by American writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, published in March 1938. It was the main selection of the Book of the Mo ...
was sold for a then world-recond price of $510,000, breaking the record set two years earlier by the filly Reine Enchanteur, with McMahon buying out his partner Combs.
Majestic Prince had previously held the record as well as the other Spendthrift graduates One Bold Bid and Bold Discovery.
The colt was sent into training with Bernard Van Cutsem at his Stanley House stable at
Newmarket, Suffolk
Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...
. At the time, Van Cutsem was one of the most successful trainers in Britain, handling major winners including
Park Top
Park Top (May 1964 – 1989) was a top-class British racehorse. She had an unfashionable pedigree, cost only 500 guineas as a yearling and did not run as a two-year-old. Her Grand-dam Oola Hills was the dam of Pappa Fourway, but unlike him ...
(
) and Karabas (
Washington, D.C. International Stakes
The Baltimore Washington International Turf Cup is an American Grade III invitational horse race run over one mile. Inaugurated in 1952, it was raced at Laurel Park Racecourse on the turf in Laurel, Maryland, at a distance of miles (12 furlongs ...
).
Racing career
As a two-year-old in 1972, Crowned Prince was a member of an exceptional team of juveniles trained by Van Cutsem which also include
High Top
The high-top is a shoe that extends slightly over the wearer's ankle. It is commonly an athletic shoe, particularly for basketball. It is sometimes confused with the slightly shorter mid-top, which typically extends no higher than the wearer's a ...
and
Sharpen Up
Sharpening is the process of creating or refining the edge joining two non-coplanar faces into a converging apex, thereby creating an edge of appropriate shape on a tool or implement designed for cutting. Sharpening is done by removing material ...
. Crowned Prince won two of his three races. At
Doncaster Racecourse
Doncaster Racecourse (also known as the Town Moor course) is a racecourse in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England. It hosts two of Great Britain's 36 annual Group 1 flat races, the St Leger Stakes and the Racing Post Trophy.
History
Doncas ...
in September he contested the Champagne Stakes over seven furlongs. Ridden by
Lester Piggott
Lester Keith Piggott (5 November 1935 – 29 May 2022) was an English professional jockey and trainer. With 4,493 career flat racing wins in Britain, including a record nine Epsom Derby victories, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest f ...
he started the
11/10 favourite
and won from the
Barry Hills
Barry Hills (born 2 April 1937) is a retired British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England.
Biography
Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage, to Maureen Newson: John, Michael, and Richard. John (died 2014) was a ho ...
-trained
Rheingold. In the Dewhurst Stakes at
Newmarket Racecourse
Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
a month later he was matched against Rheingold and won by five
lengths
Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
at odds of 4/9.
In the following year hear he finished fourth in the
Craven Stakes
The Craven Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old colts and geldings. It is run over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) ...
after which he was found to have developed a soft palate problem and was retired from racing.
Assessment
There was no International Classification of European two-year-olds in 1971: the official handicappers of Britain, Ireland and France compiled separate rankings for horses which competed in those countries. In the British Free Handicap, Crowned Prince was the best two-year-old of the season by a two-pound margin from his stable companion High Top.
The independent Timeform organisation, however, rated him six pounds inferior to
Deep Diver
''Deep Diver'' was the name of a deep-sea scientific research submersible built by Edwin Albert Link. ''Deep Diver'' was the first small submersible designed for lockout diving, allowing divers to leave and enter the craft while underwater. It w ...
.
Stud record
As a breeding stallion, Crowned Prince stood in Ireland and shuttled to Australia before being exported to Japan in 1978.
Pedigree
References
{{s-end
1969 racehorse births
1989 racehorse deaths
Racehorses bred in Kentucky
Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom
Thoroughbred family 4-d