why the names of racehorses are important.

​This is not the first time I have written on this subject and I doubt it will be the last. Though if I die shortly then obviously this will be my last word on the subject. Let’s hope not, anyway. At least, angry gods, allow me to live past this coming Saturday so that I can witness what will be, I believe, Frodon’s swansong at Sandown over a distance of ground he has never attempted during his long and successful time as a racehorse.
By the way, although he is a French-bred and Frodon must be a town or village in France and hence has his French-themed name, I have no objections to it. To an ignorant Englishman it is easily pronounceable.
I will not upset or insult owners of French-bred horses ‘saddled’ with tongue-twisting French-language names by citing examples of my displeasure. Nor will I give examples of what I refer to as ‘the Irish plague’ of using perfectly nice English words into a form of word-play train which needs to be unlinked in order to establish how it is to be pronounced. Worse still are the language manglers that in order to conform to the 18-character regulation leave out vowels in order to make the finding of the correct pronunciation a horse racing version of trivial pursuits. I admire and respect J.P.McManus in front of any other living human being, yet he, I believe, was the originator of this crime against language and the inspiration for so many to follow in his wake.
Another of my pet hates, no doubt a deliberate policy by French breeders of National Hunt horses, are names that use half-French and half-English words. And, then, as if the namers of French horses have no other aim but to annoy me, and the rest of Mankind, I suspect, there is the misplaced apostrophe, as easily cited by the great Big Buck’s and the less great Favorito Buck’s. What is that about? French ignorance or lack of regard for the English language?
Then there is the plague of the suffix that entangles in the memory horses of the past. How many de Obeaux are there? How many de Clermonts? De Guyes. Or de Berlais. I could go on. And, no doubt, will. Minella, for instance.
The similarity of Arabic names also brings about entanglements in the memory. I just pray Hawaii does not become a hot-bed for either the breeding of thoroughbreds or its language becoming in-vogue for the naming of racehorses.
Just don’t get me started on the replication of names of famous horses from the past. Just don’t. It is not just the laziness of people to seek out original names but disrespect for the history of our sport and the horses that have inspired people to attend racecourses throughout the decades, or to bet on horses, to work in horseracing etc etc. 
Yes, the naming of horses is a bit of an obsession with me.
On the surface, the names of horses, especially when set against the indisputable greater problems the sport is grappling with at the moment, is trivial. Yet, I would contend, the first nuance of our complex sport anyone attending a race-meeting for the first time or forced, perhaps, to watch horse racing on the t.v. on an afternoon, will be confronted with will be the names of the horses walking around in front of them. Could anyone take football seriously if competing teams had names like Nicnaknickynoo Wanderers, for example. Or cricket if the teams bore names like the Loopy Lou Eleven. Names are a welcoming voice. Names will suggest whether we take horses seriously or are they just considered by racing people as takeaways, easily replaced if they do not prove up to the mark. Elements of the sport may be fun, entertainment for the masses, but the sport now embraces a ‘from birth to death’ policy when it comes to care of the horse and though when a racehorses moves from licenced stables to the roll of ex-racehorse it’s stable name can be changed, it’s name in racing history remains the same. Name a racehorse Nicnaknickynoo and when the new owner of the now ex-racehorse is asked the name of his or her new pride and joy, the name will reflect poorly on both the sport and whoever named the unfortunate beast.
My obsession with this topic came from being told by someone working at the time for the B.H.A. (his name, by the way, is Paul Singh) that it is difficult to find a name not already in use or one that cannot be used as it is the name of a classic winner, Grand National winner, etc etc. Thank the Lord for that latter small mercy. The reply came from a strongly worded complaint that Coolmore had the audacity and ignorance to name a horse Spanish Steps, arguably the name of the most revered racehorse since Brown Jack. Bold claim? Not if you go by the number of ‘contacts’ I receive either in support of my opinion or those who had a connection with the horse and wish to forward me their pride in the connection with a horse ‘who danced every dance’ during his long and successful time as a racehorse. Do you know Jack Morgan, who trained Edward Courage’s horses, is buried next to the great horse. I only know as someone contacted me with the information.
It is a fact that British and Irish trainers source almost the majority of their fresh stock from France so it’s about time I made my peace with the intricacies of the French language. Right? No. Why not translate from the French into English when these horses cross the channel? Ban 18-character names made up of a train of words that have to be disassembled to be made sense of. And owners, please give horses nice, sensible names, names that add dignity to the horse and the sport. My ‘racehorse names’ page is a feeble, naïve, perhaps, attempt to help owners find a suitable name for their wonderful horses. The English language is huge and growing all the time, with words that go and out of fashion. ‘Feague’, for instance. Google the word and you’ll find the meaning is horse-related, for all that it is distasteful.
If blessed with the task of naming your yearling or store horse, choose wisely and give the future some consideration. You wouldn’t want to be associated with naming a future Derby or Grand National winner Nicnaknickynoo, would you?