RACEHORSE NAMES (and why they matter).

​I have written on this subject and I apologise for banging on about it, especially as in the present racing climate there are many more important issues that need to be addressed.
There is a page on this site dedicated to possible names owners, if they are experiencing difficulty either having a name accepted by the B.H.A. or even coming up with a name, might choose to take advantage of. I admit that this never-ending list of possible names has become an obsession, with my eye constantly on fixed alert for any word, name or combination of the two that to me seems like a nice name for a racehorse.
Unlike the B.H.A. I believe the naming of racehorses to be of significant importance and not as difficult a task as they would have us believe. The English language alone should be enough to satisfy anyone wishing to name a horse, added to which there is the little matter of all the other languages of the world to use, as well as names that can be made at random –Lessargo, Morargo, Forargo, Bosargo, just off the top of my head, to give such examples.
Amongst embargoed names, horse who have won the classics, the Ascot Gold Cup, Grand National, Cheltenham Gold Cup etc, are the names of horses that have held a memorable place in racing’s history. I have no idea what the criteria might be for defining ‘memorable’, and it is rather shocking to discover that Golden Cygnet died 41 years ago, but if his name is not memorable then not many can be. Vincent O’Brien, no less, described him as the best hurdler he ever saw. Yes, his reign was short as the fates were unkind to him, yet whenever a young horse wins one of the novice hurdles at the Cheltenham Festival, Samcro being the latest, it is compared to Golden Cygnet, for his performance in the Supreme Hurdle is the defining benchmark for any young horse – ‘the best performance at a Cheltenham Festival since Golden Cygnet’, will be heard for many a long year to come.
The ‘suits’ at the B.H.A. just do not get it, do they? Names are important. They are the strands that take us back in time to memories that are fondly held, that remind us of days and moments that can never be forgetten. My angst on this matter was brought to a head when Coolmore were allowed to call a horse Spanish Steps, and they were not the first to do so. If Spanish Steps did not fall into the category of ‘if a horse has clearly crossed the threshold into becoming a household name’ that allowed an embargo to be placed on his name, then tell me of a horse who does? I do not claim to receive hundreds of contacts but over the years the highest single topic is when people discover my blogs about Spanish Steps and my belief that there should be a cherished list of famous names of horses who have, to use B.H.A. speak. ‘crossed the threshold into becoming a household name’, and that is the households of people who hold this sport dear to their heart, not just anybody.
Racehorses deserve our 100% respect. We cannot praise them to the sky when they win, for example as this is relevant to the present debate on this subject, the Portland Handicap (the name Fantasy Believer has been reused, the original having won 17 races, including the before mentioned race), and then dismiss their memory as irrelevant when someone wants to reuse their name. Big race winners should have their names embargoed for fifty years, not twenty or five years after death. The mighty few should never have their name reused. At the moment there is a Manderin running on the flat. Talk about legend. There is an equine legend and nobody has kicked up a fuss about having a mere flat racer bearing his name. It’s nothing short of scandalous.
I have opened today’s Racing Post at random to Ballinrobe and the 8.10. From this race I can come up with the following possible names – One Mile, Formula Memphis, Marlborough Mel, Sound Burn, Noble Minola, Bianca Expression, Vita Copia, Charlie Khudha, and using the names of jockeys in the following race, Seamie Lee, Slattery Ross, Manning Mark, Madden Hayes, Orr Keane. They might make no sense but the names of racehorses rarely make sense. They only have to sound respectful of the beautiful creature who will be referenced by it in their lifetime and hopefully long into the future.
Will we one day seen names such as Freddie, Baulking Green, Flying Ace, and more up to date as they are yet to win one of the selected races that in winning will allow their name to die with them, Frodon, Black Corton, Pacha Du Polder, Top Notch?
It should not be too difficult a task to give a racehorse an original name or at least a name that doesn’t trample over memory or the history of the sport. If you are desperate to name a horse Golden Sygnet, for example, why not translate it into French, Italian or Gaelic. Or any of the languages of the world.