Namesakes
Frankel - Bobby Frankel's namesake
Frankel, the exceptional winner of Saturday’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, is now the fourth highest rated horse in Timeform’s history. The unbeaten Galileo colt has a rating of 143, which is higher than such legends as Mill Reef, Ribot, Sea The Stars, Dancing Brave and Dubai Millennium.
The only three rated superior to him are Sea Bird (145), Tudor Minstrel and Brigadier Gerard. The latter pair are rated equal on 144 lbs.
Frankel was named after Bobby Frankel, who trained so successful for Juddmonte Farms (Owner and breeder of Frankel). The trainer died of leukaemia in 2009 , and Frankel has proven to be a fitting tribute to his human name sake. Bobby Frankel’s sheer dominance as a trainer was underlined by the fact, that in 2003, he set a world-record for individual G1 winners trained in a year. (He saddled 23 top flight winners that year alone, the majority of which were for Juddmonte).
Over the years, a number of horses have been named for celebrated humans. Frankel is the latest in a long line of well named (or not) racehorses.
The US champion 3yo filly of 1974, Chris Evert (Swoon’s Son), was named in honor of the famous tennis player. The equine Chris Evert won graded races at 2,3, and 4, and won four G1 races. She latter became the granddam of the first ever Breeders Cup winner, Chief’s Crown (Danzig).
Nijinsky II and Nureyev (two of history’s greatest sires) were named for legendary ballet dancers Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev respectively. On his death-bed, Nijinsky vowed to come back as a horse, and he could have had no finer name sake than Nijinsky II, a thoroughbred of tremendous class.
There was also a Nureyev who raced in South Africa, and who won the 1979 G3 King’s Cup.
Other champions to share their name with a famous and successful human include Mozart (champion sprinter in the UK in 2001), George Washington (the ill-fated 2000 Guineas winner), and, fittingly enough, Galileo – sire of Frankel.
Galileo was named in honour of Galileo Galilei, an Italian physicist, who was described by Stephen Hawking as “was responsible for the of birth modern science.”
Champion sprinter, and successful sire, Stravinsky (Nureyev), was named after the great composer, Igor Stravinsky.
The great US stallion, Alydar, was named in part for the ill-fated Aly Khan, son of the Aga Khan and the playboy owner of champion Petite Etoile (Petition).
Lundy’s Liability, who currently stands at Ambiance , was named after J T Lundy. Lundy ran famed stud farm, Calumet Farm, into the ground, and was eventually sent to jail. Lundy’s Liability, who was owned by in partnership by Stud TNT and Mary Slack, was raced in Calumet Farm’s former silks of red and blue, which had been purchased by Stud TNT.
.
Champ’s dam in foal to top sire
Sunshine Lover (Badger Land), dam of Saturday’s G3 Diana Stakes victress Ebony Flyer, has been tested in foal to champion sire Western Winter. The foal will be bred on the same Western Winter/Badger Land nick which produced G1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship winner On Her Toes. Sunshine Lover, owned by Team Valor, was named Equus Broodmare of the Year for the 2010-2011 season. She has produced a pair of Cape Fillies Guineas winners in Captain’s Lover and Ebony Flyer (Jet Master) respectively.
Sunshine Lover’s yearling colt is a son of leading sire Captain Al, and is thus an own brother to Captain’s Lover.
.
Whipping up a storm
Britain’s recent decision to implement a new law regarding the whipping of a horse in a race has unleashed a storm of controversy. Top jockey Richard Hughes has stopped race riding, a strike of British jockeys was only just averted and ace Belgium rider Christophe Soumillon recently lost 50,000 pounds after striking his winning mount, Cirrus des Aigles, six times in the last furlong of the Champion Stakes. He is permitted, by the new law, to hit his horse five times in the final furlong. Soumillion was also hit, no pun intended, with a ban of five days.
The absurdity of the new law is underlined by the fact that had Soumillion hit his mount ten strides earlier he would not have received any ban or fine. Quite what the difference is in ten strides is hard to determine! To expect a jockey to be able to measure the distance between the furlong poles while trying to win an important race is unreasonable.
The new law also demands that riders only hit their mounts no more than seven times during the running of a flat race. (Over jumps riders can hit their mounts eight times). A rider found guilty of breaking this rule not only faces a suspension, but will lose any money from that race.
While the authorities are certainly correct to monitor the situation, it should be remembered that the whips currently used by leading jockeys are padded, but light and soft, and are all but incapable of inflicting harm on a horse (or a human for that matter). Thus, the resulting fine and ban seems somewhat harsh.
While I, for one, applaud the authorities for cracking down on jockeys who believe that a good ride involves heavy use of the whip and not much else, I find it hard to believe that the powers that be have actually taken into consideration what the whip is made of.
The modern day whip is known to not to be particularly severe, and, it would appear that the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) is more concerned with political correctness than anything else.
It’s great to know, however, that the good of horses is being taken so seriously.
A number of the UK jockeys are now taking on the BHA – and it’s hard to see how anyone will win in this situation. If the jockeys go on strike, everyone will lose out and the action will attract further negative publicity to a sport which desperately needs all the good PR it can get.
