Majestic Prince: Difference between revisions

|race= [[Los Feliz Stakes]] (1969)<br>[[San Vicente Stakes]] (1969)<br>[[Santa Anita Derby]] (1969)<br>[[Stepping Stone Purse]] (1969)<p>'''[[Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing#United States Triple Crowns|American Triple Crown]] wins:'''<br>[[Kentucky Derby]] ([[1969 Kentucky Derby|1969]])<br>[[Preakness Stakes]] ([[1969 Preakness Stakes|1969]])</p>

Raced lightly as a two-year-old, Majestic Prince won both of his starts in his 1968 fall campaign. Ridden by [[Bill Hartack]], at age three, he quickly became the dominant three-year-old in [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] racing, capping it off with an eight-length victory in the [[Santa Anita Derby]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Majestic Prince: A Racehorse Who Lived Up to His Name |url=https://www.americasbestracing.net/the-sport/2022-majestic-prince-racehorse-who-lived-his-name |access-date=2022-12-16 |website=www.americasbestracing.net |language=en}}</ref> Unbeaten, Majestic Prince headed for [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]] and the [[Kentucky Derby]].

To this day, speculation abounds as to why McMahon changed his mind and raced Majestic Prince in the Belmont, but the pressure from the press was intense, including [[Whitney Tower]]'s article in ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' entitled "The Prince Ducks the Big One". The decision to run never sat well with Longden, and despite his well-documented shouting match with the horse's owner in the days leading up to the race, Majestic Prince was still sent out to compete in the Belmont Stakes. The first horse in history to enter the race undefeated, having won the Derby and the Preakness, finished second, beaten by Arts and Letters by 5½ lengths. Majestic Prince never raced again.<ref>{{cite web|title=Decrease font Enlarge font June 02, 1969 The Man Takes Charge Of His Horse|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082458/1/index.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503071449/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082458/1/index.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 3, 2014|publisher=Sports Illustrated|access-date=1 August 2012|author=Whitney Tower|date=June 2, 1969}}</ref> This feat was later matched by [[Smarty Jones]] in 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Smarty Jones: An Unlikely Hero |url=https://www.americasbestracing.net/the-sport/2022-smarty-jones-unlikely-hero |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=www.americasbestracing.net |language=en}}</ref>

Jockey Bill Hartack told reporters, "The horse was hurting. We should never have run in [the Belmont]." Longden later commented that Majestic Prince had what was called a check ligament in his right front [leg]. "When he bore out in the Preakness, that was a warning. We never should have run him in the Belmont." Longden said that he tried to bring Majestic Prince back to racing later in 1969 and then again the following year, but could not, and the horse was sold to a racing syndication for $1.8 million. Retired to [[Spendthrift Farm]] in [[Lexington, Kentucky]], Majestic Prince sired 33 [[graded stakes race|stakes]] winners before he died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Majestic Prince (horse) |url=http://www.americanclassicpedigrees.com/majestic-prince.html |access-date=2022-10-05 |website=American Classic Pedigrees |language=en}}</ref> Among his progeny was [[Coastal (horse)|Coastal]], winner of the 1979 Belmont Stakes.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1983-06-12 |title=MAILBOX; Coastal's Sire: Majestic Prince |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/12/sports/l-mailbox-coastal-s-sire-majestic-prince-228380.html |access-date=2022-10-05 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081012061227/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082458/1/index.htm June 2, 1969 ''Sports Illustrated'' feature story article on Frank McMahon and Majestic Prince titled ''The Man Takes Charge Of His Horse'']