Claiborne Farm will stand for $30,000 LFSN the newly-retired 'TDN Rising Star' and Grade I winner Prince of Monaco (by Speightstown), during the 2025 breeding season, the stud farm said in a Friday press release.
“Prince of Monaco has sustained minor bone bruising, preventing him from competing in the Sprint and Malibu races,” said co-owner Tom Ryan of SF Racing. “As a result, we have decided to retire him. He demonstrated brilliance almost every time he stepped onto the racetrack.”
The current 3-year-old colt, who will available for inspection at Claiborne in Paris, Kentucky during the November sales, earned his 'Rising Star' badge last year when he broke his maiden at first asking by eight lengths for trainer Bob Baffert over the Los Alamitos course that July.
A next-out winner of the GIII Best Pal Stakes at Del Mar a month and a half later, the 2-year-old delivered in the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity in early September. As a 3-year-old, Prince of Monaco raced twice and was the runner-up in both the GI Woody Stephens at Saratoga June 8 and in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes over the same surface Aug. 24.
“Running a 103 Beyer as a 2-year-old is a significant achievement and a great barometer of talent and ability,” said Walker Hancock. “Additionally, he was only beaten a combined three-quarters of a length in two premier Grade I races at Saratoga this summer, while dealing with troubled trips. We have a tremendous amount of respect for Stonestreet's breeding program and we are excited to add another one of their homebreds in Prince of Monaco to our stallion roster.”
Prince of Monaco at Los Alamitos | Benoit
A $950,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, Prince of Monaco raced for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan and Tom Ryan.
“SF Bloodstock has been Speightstown's biggest fan and supporters for going on two decades now,” said Ryan. “On the heels of having Charlatan, we are very excited to be associated with Speightstown's fastest 2-year-old ever in Prince of Monaco. You would be hard pressed to find a better-looking animal and we are staunch in our beliefs that he will fall into the successful footsteps of his father.”
The only son of Speightstown to win a Grade I as a juvenile, Prince of Monaco was bred in Kentucky by Barbara Banke's Stonestreet program and is out of the Medaglia d'Oro mare Rainier, who is a half-sister to SW Laurie's Rocket (Bluegrass Cat) and SW Greeley's Rocket (Mr. Greeley).
“I am excited for what lies ahead,” said Banke. “Prince of Monaco has been a standout since birth, with his natural talent and athleticism evident from the start. His speed, heart, and sheer brilliance on the track will make him an extraordinary stallion. He's the complete package, and I can't wait to see him pass on that exceptional talent to future generations.”
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