World Cup winner Monterosso to Darley Japan

Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso will stand at Darley’s farm on the island of Hokkaido, Japan for the 2014 breeding season. A fee will be announced at a later date.

A homebred by prominent Darley stallion Dubawi, Monterosso emerged in England in the spring of his 3-year-old season, capturing the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot over subsequent St. Leger winner Arctic Cosmos. The following year, he shipped to Dubai to win the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold before subsequently finishing a close third in the Dubai World Cup behind Victoire Pisa.

Following that effort, Monterosso was away from the races for nearly a year, returning in March of 2012 to finish fourth in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3 at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai. Three weeks later, he scored an upset three-length victory in the 2012 edition of the $10 million World Cup, paying $73.60 in U.S. pools.

Six-year-old Monterosso has won seven of 17 career starts, earning $7,403,790.

“Monterosso was an excellent racehorse with the versatility to perform on turf and synthetic surfaces, where he demonstrated great speed and stamina,” Shotaro Kajiva, Darley’s nominations manager in Japan, said. “He was outstanding when he won the Dubai World Cup last year. Monterosso is a big rangy type of horse and he will be a popular addition to our roster next year. It is also wonderful to be able to stand a son of Dubawi at Darley in Japan. We look forward to showing him to breeders in the new year.”

Monterosso is out of the Barathea mare Porto Roca, an Australian Group 1 winner.