The Green Monkey, whose $16-million price was the most ever for a Thoroughbred sold at public auction, has been retired from racing. The 4-year-old son of Forestry will enter stud next year at Randy Hartley and Dean De Renzo’s Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds near Ocala, Fla.
Hartley and De Renzo consigned The Green Monkey to the 2006 Fasig-Tipton Florida select sale of 2-year-olds in training at Calder Race Course, where he worked an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5. The colt’s buyer at the world record amount was Irish agent Demi O’Byrne, who held off Sheikh Mohammed’s bloodstock manager, John Ferguson, in an intense bidding battle.
The Green Monkey raced three times for Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith, with all of his starts coming last year. He finished third in his career debut at six furlongs at Belmont Park in September and then was fourth in a seven-furlong race at Belmont in October. In what would be his last career race, The Green Monkey was fourth in a 1 1/16-mile turf event at Hollywood Park Nov. 21.
"We purchased half of him to stand at stud in 2009, and he arrived at our farm four or five days ago," Dean De Renzo said Feb. 11 "We’re waiting until 2009 because he came in late, and I feel that a lot of people have already booked their mares. Also, because he had injuries, the stress levels could hurt his breeding, so we didn’t want to take that chance this year. Injuries in his 2-year-old year caused him enough pain that, with as many layoffs as they tried, they just couldn’t get him back to where he could move like he did before he got injured. His contract reads that he has to go to Ashford Stud (in Kentucky) if he does well."
Anne and Satish Sanan’s Padua Stables bred The Green Monkey in Florida out of the Unbridled mare Magical Masquerade. Hartley and De Renzo purchased the colt for $425,000 at the 2005 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July select yearling auction from Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Padua.
"To me, he was an incredible, incredible horse," De Renzo said. "He had the feeling of a champion; he thinks he’s a champion. He was a tremendously fast horse, as we all know. He was the fastest horse we ever had, and maybe the fastest horse that ever came down to the sale (at Calder) so far. He was pretty incredible. This (being a stallion) is his second chance, and he looks phenomenal."
Hartley and De Renzo plan to build The Green Monkey his own barn at the farm, and they are considering allowing special tours of the farm that will allow visitors to see The Green Monkey.
"I think people would like to see him," De Renzo said. "He’s a pretty special horse. His price was the most expensive in history, and he is a part of Thoroughbred history."
No stud fee has been set. "We will make it reasonable enough to make people have to breed their good mares to him," De Renzo said.
