What's In a Name | Horse Racing Free Tips

What’s In a Name? Sir Alfred James

6th-Churchill Downs, $101,097, Alw, 9-5, (NW1X), 3yo/up, 7f, 1:21.41, ft. SIR ALFRED JAMES (g, 4, Munnings–Super Phoebe, by Malabar Gold)
The Ashford stallion Munnings (by Speightstown out of La Comete) and his winning son SIR ALFRED JAMES (out of Super Phoebe) represent a welcome return to the old tradition of giving painters’ names to racehorses. Both father and son are obviously named after Suffolk-born Sir Alfred James Munnings (1878-1959), great classic painter of horses and World War I battle scenes. No one was fonder of this practice than the illustrious Federico Tesio, who borrowed painters’ names for many of his champions, like unbeaten legend Ribot (buried at Darby Dan Farm in Lexington), El Greco, Apelle, Botticelli, Toulouse Lautrec, and so on. The jury is still out on America’s foundation sire Nearco (another of Tesio’s jewels): some say he may have been a ceramist. In any case, horses have always fascinated painters from all ages in history. Smartly named Sir Alfred James would have made his namesake proud, with his tenacious come-from-behind run on Saturday at Churchill Downs in a quality six-furlong allowance race.

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What’s In a Name: Cabaletta

There is plenty of music in the pedigree of Newbury listed winner Cabaletta (GB). She is out of Allegretto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) (moderately fast tempo in classical music, 102-110bpm technically speaking), herself out of Alleluia (GB) (Caerleon). Still, the name of this filly is particularly fitting: a “cabaletta” can be defined as an operatic aria with a simple, animated rhythm, and, according to Wikipedia, “the word may derive from the Italian cavallo (horse), a reference to the pulsating rhythm of a galloping horse”. In fact, both jockey David Egan and the TDN race reporter seem to agree that this talented and promising filly has to be kept in a steady and controlled rhythm until the finale, when, as Walt Whitman would put it, “with music strong she comes”.

BET365 APHRODITE FILLIES’ S.-Listed, £25,500, Newbury, 7-18, 3yo/up, f/m, 12fT, 2:32.10, gd.
1–CABALETTA (GB), 117, f, 3, by Mastercraftsman (Ire)—
   Allegretto (Ire) (Hwt. Older Mare-Eng at 11-14f, 2x Hwt.
   Older Mare-Eng at 14f+, G1SW-Fr, MGSW & MG1SP-Eng,
   $962,172), by Galileo (Ire). ‘TDN Rising Star’. 1ST BLACK-TYPE
   WIN. O/B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-Roger Varian; J-David
Egan. ,14,461. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, $35,663. *69th SW for
her sire (by Danehill Dancer {Ire}).

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What’s In a Name: Valeria Messalina

Group 3 winner Valeria Messalina (Ire), a 3-year-old filly by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire), carries a name heavy with reputation–good and bad but never indifferent. There were many Roman Emperors in the life of the historical Valeria Messalina, who lived in the first century, during the first decades of the Empire: her husband Claudius (she was his third wife), her cousin Caligula, her cousin Nero, and her great-granduncle Augustus. The emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty did not appear to be exemplary models of conservative family values, and Valeria Messalina was probably affected by that perception: she became a target for accusations of promiscuity and unfaithfulness–maybe politically motivated claims at the time, but later picked up by serious historians. She was eventually executed by a Praetorian guard on the order of her husband’s men on account of conspiracy against the Emperor. Her legend lived ever after in figurative arts, literature and the popular imagination–a phenomenon that is somehow similar to that of the public fascination with the great outlaws (Robin Hood, Billy The Kid, etc).

Sunday, Cork, Ireland
IRISH STALLION FARMS EBF BROWNSTOWN S.-G3, €65,000, Cork, 7-12, 3yo/up, f/m, 7fT, 1:23.72, gd.
1–VALERIA MESSALINA (IRE), 128, f, 3, by HolyRomanEmperor (Ire)
                1st Dam: Arty Crafty, by Arch
                2nd Dam: Princess Kris (GB), by Kris (GB)
                3rd Dam: As You Desire Me (Ire), by Kalamoun (GB)
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Anthony Rogers;
B-Airlie Stud (IRE); T-Jessie Harrington; J-Shane Foley. Lifetime
Record: 4-2-1-0, $70,913. *1/2 to Pincheck (IRE) (Invincible
Spirit {Ire}), GSW-Ire, $179,594.

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What’s in a Name: Pinatubo

Godolphin’s Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal) exploded with speed in the last furlong of Sunday’s G1 Prix Jean Prat in Deauville, as is appropriate for a horse named after a volcano. Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines “is most notorious for its VEI-Level 6 (max is 8) eruption on June 15, 1991, the second largest one of the 20th century,” according to Wikipedia. The dam of Pinatubo is Lava Flow (Ire) (Dalakhani {Ire}), and the granddam is Mount Elbrus (GB) (Barathea {Ire}), which is the name of a dormant volcano in Southern Russia. Remarkable theme consistency in the pedigree (vein-naming) made for this ingenious and appealing name.

Sunday, Deauville, France
QATAR PRIX JEAN PRAT-G1, €240,000, Deauville, 7-12, 3yo, c/f, 7fT, 1:23.03, g/s.
1–PINATUBO (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Shamardal
                1st Dam: Lava Flow (Ire) (SW-Fr), by Dalakhani (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Mount Elbrus (GB), by Barathea (Ire)
                3rd Dam: El Jazirah (GB), by Kris (GB)
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick.
€137,136. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 2yo Colt-Eur, Eng & Fr,
G1SW-Eng & Ire, 9-7-1-1, €1,031,896.

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