| Horsename: | Elegant Prince |
| Sire: | Raise a Native |
| Grandsire: | Native Dancer |
| Dam: | Gay Hostess |
| Damsire: | Royal Charger |
| Sex: | Stallion |
| Foaled: | 15 March 1974[1] |
| Death Date: | 2000 |
| Country: | United States |
| Colour: | Chestnut |
| Breeder: | Leslie Combs II and Frank McMahon |
| Owner: | Franklin Groves |
| Record: | Unraced |
Elegant Prince (15 March 1974 - 2000) was a Thoroughbred racehorse sold for a world-record $715,000 ($ million inflation adjusted) in 1975. He never raced nor had success as a breeding stallion.
Elegant Prince was a chestnut horse with a white blaze[2] bred in Kentucky by Leslie Combs II of Spendthrift Farm and Canadian oilman Frank McMahon. He was sired by Raise a Native, an American racehorse who was unbeaten in four races and was named American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt by Turf and Sports Digest in 1963. Elegant Prince's dam Gay Hostess was a highly-successful broodmare, having produced Majestic Prince and Crowned Prince (Dewhurst Stakes) from two previous coverings by Raise a Native. Her other descendants have included Real Quiet, Caracolero and The Derby winner Secreto.[3]
At the Keeneland Sales in July 1975 the yearling was sold for a then world-recond price of $715,000, with Franklin Groves winning the auction ahead of the Canadian Ted Burnett.[4] [5] He broke the record set a year earlier by another Spendthrift graduate Kentucky Gold. Both Majestic Prince and Crowned Prince had previously held the record.[6]
Elegant Prince was trained in the United States and was later transferred to Ireland. He did not race in either country.[6]
Elegant Prince was retired to stud in 1979 but had little success as a sire of winners. He died in 2000.[7]
