DEL MAR, Calif. - Prince of Monaco remained undefeated after his third win in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity for 2-year-olds at Del Mar on Sunday, but the competition was much closer at the finish than in the colt’s last two starts. The win gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record 17th win in the track’s leading annual race for 2-year-olds. Baffert, who won his first Del Mar Futurity with the famous Silver Charm in 1996, did not attend the race. Baffert traveled to Kentucky over the weekend for the upcoming September yearling sales. Sent off at 1-20 on Sunday, Prince of Monaco stalked pacesetter and stablemate Mirahmadi to early stretch, took the lead before the eighth pole and won by three-quarters of a length over that rival. The Del Mar Futurity was the feature race on the closing day of the track’s summer meeting. Ridden by Flavien Prat, Prince of Monaco ($2.10) ran seven furlongs in 1:22.65 and earned an 87 Beyer Speed Figure. “The teammate gave us a good race,” Prat said.  Prince of Monaco has earned $327,000 by winning a five-furlong maiden race by eight lengths at Los Alamitos on July 9, and his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes at six furlongs by 4 1/4 lengths at Del Mar on Aug. 13. Owned by a partnership that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stable, Prince of Monaco, by Speightstown, was purchased for $950,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale in 2022. Mirahmadi, a maiden after four starts, ran the best race of his career on Sunday. Mirahmadi set an early pace of 22.18 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.75 for a half-mile, leading by at least a half-length. Prince of Monaco, who broke from the inside in a field of six, was second on the backstretch and moved into contention on the outside of Mirahmadi on the turn. “He jumped well,” Prat said of Prince of Monaco. “I thought the pace was good. I was traveling well all the way around.” Mirahmadi (15-1) finished 3 3/4 lengths in front of 28-1 Next Level. Raging Torrent finished fourth, followed by Mary’s Boy Bolt and Rothschild. Valiant Knight, a two-time stakes winner in Wyoming, was withdrawn early Sunday on veterinary advice. Mirahmadi had his second appearance in a stakes in the $300,500 Del Mar Futurity. The colt was second in the Fasig-Tipton Futurity at Santa Anita in his debut in June, and later fourth in consecutive maiden races earlier at the Del Mar meeting before Sunday’s race. Juan Hernandez, the leading rider at the Del Mar summer meeting, has been aboard Mirahmadi in each start. Hernandez thought Mirahmadi showed improvement in the Del Mar Futurity from his previous races. “I knew the other horse was right there, but my horse was running really good,” Hernandez said. “I had no excuses. “He’s shown he has talent in the morning. Today, he showed the talent in the afternoon.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.