FROM STUD AND STABLE There’s Something In A Name – For Horses

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30364, 13 February 1964, Page 4

FROM STUD AND STABLE There’s Something In A Name - For Horses

What’s in a name? Plenty. Tom Sawyer might never have built that raft if Samuel Clemens had called him Abraham Feckle. But Clemens was a pretty adept name-caller, and chose Mark Twain for himself.

Although there is no evidence that he was much of a horse-player, one can’t help feeling he would have approved of Shakedown Cruise, which is what Alfred Vanderbilt has named his colt by Sailor out of Plucky Maid.

After all, the naming of racehorses is as tricky a business as naming fictional juvenile delinquents, and Mr Vanderbilt, according to the American weekly, “Thoroughbred Record,” is generally acknowledged as the world champion. Recently Mr Vanderbilt released a list of names for his coming two-year-olds, as follows:

Beyond The Pale—Ch. f., by •Cavan out of Never the Twain. Captive Audience—br. f.. by Native Dancer out of Home Port. Crock of Gold—ch. f., by *Cavan out of Slave Bracelet. Cultural Kick—ch. c., by Native Dancer out of Social Worker. Ducky—ch. f., by Bryan G. out of Waddle. Get the Point—ch. c., by Sword Dancer out of Not That. Gone Goose—ch. f., by Crafty Admiral out of Sitting Duck. Head Over Heels—ro. f., by Native Dancer out of Stumbling Block. Hop ‘N’ Skip—br. f., by Native Dancer out of Now And Again. Kiss of Death—b. f., by *Our Babu out of Femme Fatale. Local Talent—br. g., by Native Dancer out of Home-Made. Loop the Loop—ch. c., by •Windy City II out of Hula. Pillar to Post—b. f., by *Our Babu out of Hither And Yon. Political Plum—blk. f., by The Doge out of Good Thing. Roving Eye—b. c„ by Swoon’s Son out of Nomadic. Shakedown Cruise—blk. c., by Sailor out of Plucky Maid. Take Flight—b. c„ by Bald Eagle out . of Irisen. Understudy—gr. c.. by Native Dancer out of Novice. This list would seem to set a rule that a few New Zealand owners could do well to follow—that the name should

be a natural conclusio.n of the horse’s breeding. Some abide by this, of course. Recently, for example Honestly was chosen for a filly by Le Filou (French for the pickpocket) from Contrive; and the Voiron-Petrify . gelding was registered as Thriller. The Easy Way But others take the easy way out by claiming a composite of sire and dam (a recent example is Ta Vince, by Targui-HConvince) or retreating into abstract realms (readers might like to speculate on the logic behind Woo Sung, the name claimed for the filly by Peter’s Descent — Awake). The probable New Zealand champion horse-namers have been the Clifford family. A glance through the record books reveals some curious names among winners raced by the lafe Sir George Clifford or Sir Charles Clifford.. Counterfeit, for example, the 1911 Oaks winner, was by Treadmill—Delusive; she became the dam of Subterfuge, by Cannie Chiel, and Miss Mimic, by Sanquhar. Miss Mimic became the dam of. Bewitching, which produced Infatuate. when mated with. Defaulter and Relinquish when' mated with Finis. Winning Hit, Sir George Clifford’s 1921 Derby winner, was mated with Equipment to produce Ball Dress. This mare when mated with Nightmarch dropped a filly ■that Sir Charles Clifford called Dress Parade. Mr J. B. Douglas-Clifford kept up the family tradition when he chose Hue and Cry as the name for Dress Parade’s 1947 filly by Wild Chase. .Hue and Cry is now.at the stud and Mr Douglas-Clifford has named two of her sons Hunted and Hullabaloo. Literary Tastes Some owners have literary tastes. In England there was an Aaron’s Rod; he was' gelded and sent to India in 1926. And in New Zealand there was the 1924 mare Lorna Doone, whose 1932 colt foal was named Jan Ridd, and the 1921 mare Miss Homer, a daughter of Fanny Homer, which traced back to the imparted mate Lyra. There was the stallion Iliad, whose progeny included Plato and Homer Pigeon; and there is also, the Defoe family, which has generally been a disappoint-ingly-named lot, with not a Moll Flanders among them. More heartening names for the connoisseur are Monotony, which was chosen for one of the progeny of St. Boswells, and Mishna (by Rabbi—Elysian). Once one starts dipping into the Stud Book it is difficult to stop. What possessed someone to name Bird of Prey (by Solicitor-General), Execution (by' Shambles). Catherine of Aragon (by Royal Divorce), or Girl Friend (by Man’s Pal)? There are delights in the racing records for those with musical tastes, too. Shady Tune and High Fidelity are two members of the leading American family which produced the current handicap star, Will I Rule. Harry James, the famous trumpeter and dance band leader, turned to his profession for names for most of his string of horses, which included Rhythm Session and Birth of the Blues. Brookby Song was a great steeplechaser. Another jumper in recent years was Mozart. Currently racing are Sweetnotes. Satchmo, Serenata, arid Robin’s Guitar, and there is a .colt in training at Riccarton whose dam is Rhondo. In Melbourne there are Comic Opera, Golden Melba, Let’s Twist, Interval, Baby Grand, and Sweet Lullaby, while in Sydney there is an Arty Boy and a Blue Soprano. One of the choice episodes in horse-naming occurred in

Australia a few years ago, when an owner became embarrassed by the name of a horse he had imported ■ from England and re-registered it as “The Buzzard.” Its English name was “The Bastard.” Closer to home some may like to speculate about the name chosen recently for the filly by Golden Galleon — Foreign Princess. This filly is registered with the New Zealand Racing Conference as Had it.—D.W.R.