- Majestic Prince
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Majestic Prince Sire Raise a Native Grandsire Native Dancer Dam Gay Hostess Damsire Royal Charger Sex Stallion Foaled 1966 Country United States Colour Chestnut Breeder Leslie Combs II Owner Frank M. McMahon
(Silks: Black, Gold Hoops, Black Sleeves and Cap)Trainer Johnny Longden Record 10: 9-1-0 Earnings $414,200 Major wins San Vicente Stakes (1969)
American Classic Race wins:
Santa Anita Derby (1969)
Stepping Stone Purse (1969)
Kentucky Derby (1969)
Preakness Stakes (1969)Honours U.S. Racing Hall of Fame (1988)
#46 - Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th CenturyHorse (Equus ferus caballus) Last updated on September 17, 2006 Majestic Prince (1966 - April 22, 1981) was a Thoroughbred racehorse purchased by Calgary, Alberta oilman Frank McMahon at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 1967 for a then record price of $250,000. The California based colt, who grew to a powerful 1,120 pounds, was trained by another Albertan, Johnny Longden, a longtime friend of Frank McMahon who had retired in 1966 as the winningest jockey of all time.
Raced lightly as a 2-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 3-year-old in West Coast racing, capping it off with an eight-length victory in the most important Santa Anita Derby. Unbeaten, Majestic Prince headed for Louisville and the Kentucky Derby.
Contents
The Kentucky Derby
The 1969 Derby had a very strong field that deterred entries, and as such only eight horses went to the starting gate. Majestic Prince was the betting favorite, followed by Top Knight, winner of the 1968 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse. The 3rd favorite was the highly-regarded Claiborne Farm colt Dike, and Paul Mellon's Arts and Letters was the 4th choice. The remaining four horses entered were all at very long odds.
Majestic Prince drew the last post position, which meant he started from the far outside. Arts and Letters, racing along the rail, took the lead by the time they reached the mile pole and were about to head for the stretch run. Majestic Prince ran the entire race on the outside but pulled up alongside Arts and Letters into 2nd place as they came down the homestretch, then moved ahead to win by a neck. The victory made Majestic Prince the first unbeaten Kentucky Derby champion in 47 years. Johnny Longden became the only person in history to ever win the Derby both as a jockey and as a trainer, a feat that as of 2009 has not been matched.
The Preakness Stakes
The heavy favorite going into the second leg of the U.S. Triple Crown, Majestic Prince again met Arts and Letters, and the two dueled to the finish with "The Prince," as the media dubbed him, winning his ninth consecutive race by a head.However, the morning after his victory, trainer Johnny Longden advised the media that Majestic Prince came out of the race with a problem in the right front tendon. Longden stated the horse wouldn't be able to run his best in the Belmont Stakes and therefore he was being shipped back to California to be rested until the fall. When asked by a reporter, owner Frank McMahon said he concurred with Longden's view, adding: "We want a Triple Crown, not a Crippled Crown."
That the horse with the best chance in twenty-one years to win the Triple Crown was pulling out brought a frenzy of publicity and questions, particularly because Longden had said the injury was a developing problem but Majestic Prince could still run, although not at his best. The idea that someone in those circumstances would pass up the chance to achieve American racing immortality seemed incomprehensible.
The Belmont Stakes
To this day, much speculation abounds as to why owner Frank 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 never sat well with trainer Johnny 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 Belmont Stakes undefeated made a valiant effort but finished second, beaten by Arts and Letters by 5½ lengths. Majestic Prince never raced again.
Jockey Bill Hartack told reporters: "The horse was hurting. We should never have run in [the Belmont]." Trainer Johnny Longden would later comment 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 was sold to a racing syndication for $1.8 million. Retired to Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky, Majestic Prince sired thirty-three stakes winners before he died of a heart attack in 1981. Among his progeny was Coastal, winner of the 1979 Belmont Stakes.
In 1988, Majestic Prince was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and in the 2000 Blood-Horse ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, he was ranked #46.
Pedigree of Majestic Prince Sire
Raise a NativeNative Dancer Polynesian Unbreakable Black Polly Geisha Discovery Miyako Raise You Case Ace Teddy Sweetheart Lady Glory American Flag Beloved Dam
Gay HostessRoyal Charger Nearco Pharos Nogara Sun Princess Solario Mumtaz Begum Your Hostess Alibhai Hyperion Teresina Boudoir II Mahmoud Kampala See also
- List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
References
- Majestic Prince's bio
- Majestic Prince's pedigree
- Majestic Prince's offspring at the Triple Crown database by Kathleen Irwin and Joy Reeves
- Jim O'Donnell "The pain and glory of Majestic Prince." Chicago Sun-Times newspaper article, May 31, 2004. (retrieved September 10, 2006)
- June 2, 1969 Sports Illustrated feature story article on Frank McMahon and Majestic Prince titled The Man Takes Charge Of His Horse
- Brennan, Brian. Alberta Originals (2001) Fitzhenry & Whiteside Publishing ISBN 1-894004-76-0
Kentucky Derby winners 1875 Aristides • 1876 Vagrant • 1877 Baden-Baden • 1878 Day Star • 1879 Lord Murphy • 1880 Fonso • 1881 Hindoo • 1882 Apollo • 1883 Leonatus • 1884 Buchanan • 1885 Joe Cotton • 1886 Ben Ali • 1887 Montrose • 1888 Macbeth II • 1889 Spokane • 1890 Riley • 1891 Kingman • 1892 Azra • 1893 Lookout • 1894 Chant • 1895 Halma • 1896 Ben Brush • 1897 Typhoon II • 1898 Plaudit • 1899 Manuel • 1900 Lieut. Gibson • 1901 His Eminence • 1902 Alan-a-Dale • 1903 Judge Himes • 1904 Elwood • 1905 Agile • 1906 Sir Huon • 1907 Pink Star • 1908 Stone Street • 1909 Wintergreen • 1910 Donau • 1911 Meridian • 1912 Worth • 1913 Donerail • 1914 Old Rosebud • 1915 Regret ♥ • 1916 George Smith • 1917 Omar Khayyam • 1918 Exterminator • 1919 Sir Barton ₩ • 1920 Paul Jones • 1921 Behave Yourself • 1922 Morvich • 1923 Zev • 1924 Black Gold • 1925 Flying Ebony • 1926 Bubbling Over • 1927 Whiskery • 1928 Reigh Count • 1929 Clyde Van Dusen • 1930 Gallant Fox ₩ • 1931 Twenty Grand • 1932 Burgoo King • 1933 Brokers Tip • 1934 Cavalcade • 1935 Omaha ₩ • 1936 Bold Venture • 1937 War Admiral ₩ • 1938 Lawrin • 1939 Johnstown • 1940 Gallahadion • 1941 Whirlaway ₩ • 1942 Shut Out • 1943 Count Fleet ₩ • 1944 Pensive • 1945 Hoop Jr. • 1946 Assault ₩ • 1947 Jet Pilot • 1948 Citation ₩ • 1949 Ponder • 1950 Middleground • 1951 Count Turf • 1952 Hill Gail • 1953 Dark Star • 1954 Determine • 1955 Swaps • 1956 Needles • 1957 Iron Liege • 1958 Tim Tam • 1959 Tomy Lee • 1960 Venetian Way • 1961 Carry Back • 1962 Decidedly • 1963 Chateaugay • 1964 Northern Dancer • 1965 Lucky Debonair • 1966 Kauai King • 1967 Proud Clarion • 1968 Forward Pass • 1969 Majestic Prince • 1970 Dust Commander • 1971 Canonero II • 1972 Riva Ridge • 1973 Secretariat ₩ • 1974 Cannonade • 1975 Foolish Pleasure • 1976 Bold Forbes • 1977 Seattle Slew ₩ • 1978 Affirmed ₩ • 1979 Spectacular Bid • 1980 Genuine Risk ♥ • 1981 Pleasant Colony • 1982 Gato Del Sol • 1983 Sunny's Halo • 1984 Swale • 1985 Spend A Buck • 1986 Ferdinand • 1987 Alysheba • 1988 Winning Colors ♥ • 1989 Sunday Silence • 1990 Unbridled • 1991 Strike the Gold • 1992 Lil E. Tee • 1993 Sea Hero • 1994 Go For Gin • 1995 Thunder Gulch • 1996 Grindstone • 1997 Silver Charm • 1998 Real Quiet • 1999 Charismatic • 2000 Fusaichi Pegasus • 2001 Monarchos • 2002 War Emblem • 2003 Funny Cide • 2004 Smarty Jones • 2005 Giacomo • 2006 Barbaro • 2007 Street Sense • 2008 Big Brown • 2009 Mine That Bird • 2010 Super Saver • 2011 Animal Kingdom
Legend - ₩ = Triple Crown Winners, ♥ = Filly1873 Survivor • 1874 Culpepper • 1875 Tom Ochiltree • 1876 Shirley • 1877 Cloverbrook • 1878 Duke of Magenta • 1879 Harold • 1880 Grenada • 1881 Saunterer • 1882 Vanguard • 1883 Jacobus • 1884 Knight of Ellerslie • 1885 Tecumseh • 1886 The Bard • 1887 Dunboyne • 1888 Refund • 1889 Buddhist • 1890 Montague • 1894 Assignee • 1895 Belmar • 1896 Margrave • 1897 Paul Kauvar • 1898 Sly Fox • 1899 Half Time • 1900 Hindus • 1901 The Parader • 1902 Old England • 1903 Flocarline • 1904 Bryn Mawr • 1905 Cairngorn • 1906 Whimsical • 1907 Don Enrique • 1908 Royal Tourist • 1909 Effendi • 1910 Layminster • 1911 Watervale • 1912 Colonel Holloway • 1913 Buskin • 1914 Holiday • 1915 Rhine Maiden • 1916 Damrosch • 1917 Kalitan • 1918 War Cloud • 1918 Jack Hare Jr. • 1919 Sir Barton • 1920 Man o' War • 1921 Broomspun • 1922 Pillory • 1923 Vigil • 1924 Nellie Morse • 1925 Coventry • 1926 Display • 1927 Bostonian • 1928 Victorian • 1929 Dr. Freeland • 1930 Gallant Fox • 1931 Mate • 1932 Burgoo King • 1933 Head Play • 1934 High Quest • 1935 Omaha • 1936 Bold Venture • 1937 War Admiral • 1938 Dauber • 1939 Challedon • 1940 Bimelech • 1941 Whirlaway • 1942 Alsab • 1943 Count Fleet • 1944 Pensive • 1945 Polynesian • 1946 Assault • 1947 Faultless • 1948 Citation • 1949 Capot • 1950 Hill Prince • 1951 Bold • 1952 Blue Man • 1953 Native Dancer • 1954 Hasty Road • 1955 Nashua • 1956 Fabius • 1957 Bold Ruler • 1958 Tim Tam • 1959 Royal Orbit • 1960 Bally Ache • 1961 Carry Back • 1962 Greek Money • 1963 Candy Spots • 1964 Northern Dancer • 1965 Tom Rolfe • 1966 Kauai King • 1967 Damascus • 1968 Forward Pass • 1969 Majestic Prince • 1970 Personality • 1971 Canonero II • 1972 Bee Bee Bee • 1973 Secretariat • 1974 Little Current • 1975 Master Derby • 1976 Elocutionist • 1977 Seattle Slew • 1978 Affirmed • 1979 Spectacular Bid • 1980 Codex • 1981 Pleasant Colony • 1982 Aloma's Ruler • 1983 Deputed Testimony • 1984 Gate Dancer • 1985 Tank's Prospect • 1986 Snow Chief • 1987 Alysheba • 1988 Risen Star • 1989 Sunday Silence • 1990 Summer Squall • 1991 Hansel • 1992 Pine Bluff • 1993 Prairie Bayou • 1994 Tabasco Cat • 1995 Timber Country • 1996 Louis Quatorze • 1997 Silver Charm • 1998 Real Quiet • 1999 Charismatic • 2000 Red Bullet • 2001 Point Given • 2002 War Emblem • 2003 Funny Cide • 2004 Smarty Jones • 2005 Afleet Alex • 2006 Bernardini • 2007 Curlin • 2008 Big Brown • 2009 Rachel Alexandra • 2010 Lookin At Lucky • 2011 Shackleford
Categories:- 1966 racehorse births
- 1981 racehorse deaths
- Thoroughbred racehorses
- American racehorses
- Racehorses bred in Kentucky
- Racehorses trained in the United States
- United States Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame inductees
- Kentucky Derby winners
- Preakness Stakes winners
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