Louisiana-bred stalwart Monte Man retired

Monte Man, a fixture on the Louisiana circuit since 2017, came out of a Dec. 31 workout with an injury and has been retired, trainer Ron Faucheux said Tuesday.

Now a 9-year-old, Monte Man won the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint on Dec. 11 in what would be his final start, the gelding’s 18th victory from 50 career starts. Fifteen of those wins came in the 29 starts Monte Man made for Faucheux after Ivery Sisters Racing claimed him for $25,000 in October 2017 at Belmont, intending to take advantage of Monte Man’s status as a Louisiana-bred. Eight of the 15 Louisiana wins came in stakes races, and during his long spell in the Faucheux barn, Monte Man never finished worse than fourth. He won the Champions Day Sprint in 2020 and returned from a layoff of nearly four months to win it again last month.

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“He came out of his work with a little issue,” Faucheux said. “We could give him time and bring him back, but he’s 9 already and we’ve already talked about retiring him.”

Monte Man, a son of Custom for Carlos, was bred by Val Murrell, owner of Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, La. Murrell, Faucheux said, has agreed to provide a retirement home for Monte Man.