The Naming Game – Lady Gaga

Tara Madgwick - Thursday, 19 November 2009

Our readers have jumped on a touchy subject this week - the naming of racehorses – highlighted in a recent Breednet article published on Tuesday entitled Lady Gaga? For those seeking a good laugh, read on to see some of the feedback.

For those not up to speed click here for Lady Gaga?

We appealed to our readers to share their thoughts and experiences as regards the naming game and the following are some of the best responses.

Martin Kennedy - Referring to your naming article today. I was part of a syndicate with some mates that bought a Snippets-Lusso Colt at the Scone Inglis sales in 2001.

After much deliberation we named him Glasos - for the church goer amongst our owners and to him it meant God Loves A Son Of Snippets.

But for the rest of us, he really was named Goes Like A Shower of S.... Which he did winning his first 3 starts (2 at Rosehill) before having his career cut short through bad feet inherited from his Mum.

Another one I had with different owners was a Marwina-Bonny Miss Filly. We named her Bel Culo (Italian for nice behind as she was a good looking filly) and raced her (unsuccessfully) for a few years. Then as a 4yo mare Racing NSW changed her name. Funny thing is they changed it to Bell Bottom - difference being???. We are still trying to work that out. One of the owners took her on himself and is still trying to win a race now at six.

Anne Kelly – The battle to name Bad Trip, a colt by Good Journey (USA).

Excerpt from Registrar of Racehorses email declining the name - We note the expression BAD TRIP can have several meanings, however unfortunately one of those meanings is widely known and used to refer to the use of dangerous and illicit drugs, more specifically the term is used to describe a wide range of possible negative consequences ranging from anxiety attacks and depression to death and/or suicide.

Whilst we understand that you did not intend for the term to relate in any way whatsoever to drugs, wherever possible, RISA avoid approving contentious names which are likely to be offensive or appear insensitive to other members of the public, especially those which are drug related.

We therefore cannot grant this name and request a list of alternative names be submitted. Perhaps you would consider the name ROUGH TRIP instead? This name is currently available.

Excerpt from owner email requesting Registrar of Racehorses review their decision - I cannot let the rejection of the proposed name Bad Trip pass without comment as I feel strongly about the assumed position of the Registrar as the apparent upholder and protector of public morals with this type of inexplicable censorship.

Truly, would any thinking person associate the name Bad Trip for a colt by Good Journey with drugs? It took a google search apparently for your department to make the association. Why would it be assumed that the racing public would be subverted, offended or think anyone is being insensitive by calling a racehorse an antonym of its sire? If I may also point out that even in the direst circumstances it would hardly by seditious even to associate the name with all the bad connotations cited.

As Alan Jones is want to protest long and loud, this is political correctness gone mad, what should be a fun exercise in an industry that costs me many thousands of dollars a year in breeding, racing and selling thoroughbreds makes me question why I bother.

I won’t bother pointing out the inconsistencies (Pants Man, Happy Hooker, Chocolate Starfish etc.) or the well known brothel keeper who lampooned the Chief Steward with Happy High Pants! If you look hard enough at the most innocent naming you can find sinister connotations but do we need to pander to those people rather than the vast majority?

Therefore, I respectfully request that my application to name this colt be reviewed.

It was and he is now named Bad Trip.

Matt Ahrens - I sympathise with your frustration in naming yearlings, we have had many a conflict with the powers that be at the registrar of racehorses. The latest being told we couldn’t haveHro Eight for a filly by Lonhro out of Petal Power because they had no idea how we came up with the first part of the name and it made no sense to spell it like that.

When we explained it was from the last three digits in Lonhro’s name they said it would be too difficult to say and although they said everyone now knew how to say Lonhro, they wouldn’t be able to work out Hro Eight because they had difficulty saying Lonhro when he first came onto the scene!!! Laughable really.

Danny Power - Loved your Lady Gaga story – anomalies everywhere. If the name is fictitious, then how is it the name of someone famous? How would harnessracingbeiftherewasnoChristianCullenorhisbrotherTigerWoods?

Steve Brassel – I thought the John Wheeler 2YO Soliciting was well named, by Street Cry out of Sunset Stripper. He's a coltwhocould well have been named Hewgrant!

Ausi - One of the really great names - GREAT LOVER By Spoiled Lad - Fun For All - 1976 AJC Derby winner as well.

Scott Darby -A couple of horses that Darby Racing owners were knocked back on were-

Lonhro / Southern Rose – The owners had their heart set on Axl Rose as this colt at the time was full of character and paraded like a rock star. Also it was amazing how many Guns ‘N’ Roses fans there were in the large group. Axl Rose was knocked back and he was named Eight Thorns!

Beautiful Crown / Mahlin – Another colt with a lot of character at the time of naming! One of the owners came up with Mahlin Brando which was an instant hit with the owners. Although spelt differently from the famous actor, this name was again was knocked back and he was named Iconic Flame.

With a lot of arguing with the powers that be I found it hard to accept that the group was knocked back on both of these names considering I threw names at them such as Elton John, Jessicabeel and asked how these names were approved in light of ours being rejected. No answers were given!

I must admit when the group came up with Axl Rose I never for a moment thought it would be knocked back and I sat back thinking if this horse has some sort of ability everyone in Australia is going to remember his name, maybe some sort of cult following! Oh well Eight Thorns is still pretty catchy and yes he does have ability!

Anonymous - A horse that bolted in at Ballarat on Wednesday called Intelligentsia was originally registered as Queeve... The name was passed by the registrar…. It means something not discussed in polite company… How in the hell did they not look that up? There are a million references to it on Google... Gross!

Damian Murphy - I bought and named, for a few mates, a Brahms colt out of My Chastity Belt a few years back. He was as slow as a wet week but we all enjoyed the name............Musical Box!

Bruce – How did these get passed?

Faith Hill – Country singer Faith Hill
Troy Dan -Troy Dann is the real name of the singer but it is an obvious knock off
Jessicabeel - (Clever but if the others don’t get through then why is this allowed)

Other ordinary ones:

Sister I’m Coming (Obviously either a Kiwi or Tasmanian)
Seymour Bush
Wooden Swallow

Iain Gretton – Remembers two questionable names that as luck would have it fell conveniently into the same race at Kilmore in July of 2006.

The second of them Wooden Swallow, was subsequently renamed Weekend Flight.

Leigh Ahrens - Further to your article on the naming of Lady Gaga, we were recently in your position of trying to name friends of ours Racers Edge colt out of a mare called 'Pretty Mover'

I suggested Billy Elliott after the fictional character from the movie about a young male ballet dancer. Like you, it too got knocked back.

Yet there is a mare out there called 'Stripper' out of a mare called Miss Charmer. There was also the 2001 Grafton Cup winner 'Desktop Lover' which a friend had a share in at the time and we thought it was a clever name being by Bureaucracy out of Love to Spare. Are these names any more suggestive?

Please, if you ask me the above names are clean fun and so are all the names mentioned in your article. With stallions standing with a name like Foreplay, they can expect a lot of 'suggestive' names to arrive in the future. What are they going to do if connections decide to send a mare like Stripper to Foreplay. Ban her from visiting him just in case the owners have fun trying to name that one?

Andrew McDonald - We have had three fillies over time, each named after a fictional character from a film or TV show.

Ours were :

Cashmere McCloud (Primary Colors)
Dedee Truitt (The Opposite of Sex)
Meadow Soprano (The Sopranos)

These were passed, but the name we submitted first for Dedee, Ellen Ripley (Aliens) was rejected.

I think the reason given for the rejection was that there was an E. Ripley in the phonebook!

Strange and inconsistent Stud Book policy and methodology.