Le Prince

[Indian Charlie]

Does anyone here remember a Seattle Slew colt named Le Prince?

He ran one time winning by like a dozen lengths, and was going to be favored in the Travers, but never ran again.

And he doesn't seem to have been bred either.

He won in faster time as a debuting 3yo than Carson City did winning a stakes on the same card.

[Calzone Lord]

He was entered in the Gotham Stakes as a first-time starter. Scratched.

Won his debut at Belmont on July 20th.

Ran 7 furlongs in 1:22 2/5 while winning by 12.5 lengths.

On the same card, at the same distance, Carson City won an allowance race by 5 lengths in 1:23 flat while carrying just 112lbs. The 2nd place finisher, Rubiano (carrying just 111lbs) would later become an Eclipse champion sprinter. Rubiano was 8.5 lengths clear of the 3rd horse...who was beaten 13.5 lengths.

Le Prince was entered in the Jim Dandy. Scratched. Entered in the Travers, scratched. Never raced again.

The race would be a cool candidate for the NYRA video Youtube page if they can find it.

Belmont - July 20th 1990 - race 1 was Le Prince's debut.

July 20th race 6 was Carson City VS Rubiano alw race.

[blackthroatedwind]

Remind me later this week. We should be able to post it.

[Calzone Lord]

Thanks. Will do.

His trainer, Dominick Imperio said he ran the 3rd fastest figure of all-time. On whose figures, the articles didn't say. It was obviously a blazing fast debut race, though.

He also did a good job of trying to sell him as 'the best that never was'

"I think," Imperio said, "that's he's as good as his father. He may be the best I've ever seen."

Kind of feels like the East Coast answer to Maclean's Music...but this one had distance breeding with the sire being Seattle Slew and the Dam having finished 2nd in the 3rd leg of the Candian Triple Crown to Canadian Hall of Fame male Overskate at 12 furlongs on turf at Woodbine.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by blackthroatedwind

Remind me later this week. We should be able to post it.

Do you know what happened to him? Did he die? I can't imagine he wasn't worth a lot as a stallion prospect, and the only reasons I can think of that he has no progeny are that he either died or was infertile.

[Indian Charlie]

That crop was already pretty good with Unbridled and Summer Squall, but man, if Le Prince and the mighty Grand Canyon could have stayed alive/sound, that would have been special.

[Merlinsky]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

Do you know what happened to him? Did he die? I can't imagine he wasn't worth a lot as a stallion prospect, and the only reasons I can think of that he has no progeny are that he either died or was infertile.

After some poking around on the interwebz, all I've found so far was a mistake in a sporthorse pedigree claiming he sired a horse born 14 years before he was and someone thinking they read he was exported to Sweden but they weren't sure. If he was sent to Sweden, it would explain the difficulty of figuring out who he sired if anybody. Not sure how you'd go about figuring that out. I did a quick directory search and found 4 stud farms in Sweden that don't appear to be standing him so at age 25 going on 26, the options are that he's been sent elsewhere (if he was ever in Sweden to begin with), pensioned or died.