What's In a Name

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...

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...

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....

Julius Caesar was almost a Roman Emperor. He was prevented from being one by the assassins led by his adopted (and natural, some say) son Brutus, while on his way to the Senate on March 15, 44 B.C. According to Shakespeare-validated legend, Caesar uttered "Et Tu Brute?" ('You too. Brutus?') when he saw Brutus among his assailants, and stopped defending himself. So the name of this Chepstow 2-year-old winner by Holy Roman Emperor (Ire) tells an ancient story, one of tragically hyper-partisan politics. 3rd-Chepstow, £5,400, Mdn, 6-30, 2yo, 6f 16yT,...

Not far from the Baltic Sea, Tilsit was a contested town of many names, in different languages: it was Tilsit in German, Tilže in Lithuanian, Tylza in Polish, and now Sovetsk in Russian, since 1945. Napoleon signed two treaties in Tilsit in 1807, at the apex of his power: first with the Russian Czar Alexander I (on a raft in the river Neman) and then with the Prussians two days later. A first foal out of very promising mare Multilingual, 3-year-old colt Tilsit, who won at Newcastle by 19 lengths...

In 1961, former foundryman Yuri Gagarin was the first cosmonaut to orbit the earth, and the first man in space outright, getting an early lead for the Soviets in the Race to the Moon. The name of the 4-year-old Kempton winner by Sea The Moon (Ger) out of Soviet Terms (GB) is a thoughtful and deserving one. 3rd-Kempton, ,5,400, Novice, 6-15, 3yo/up, 10f 219y (AWT), 2:21.70, st. YURI GAGARIN (GB) (g, 4, Sea the Moon {Ger}--Soviet Terms {GB}, by Soviet Star) Sales history: 300,000gns Ylg '17 TAOCT. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,...

There is quite a convergence of different languages in the brilliant name of Gulfstream winner and Classic player Sole Volante--Italian for "Flying Sun". His sire's name Karakontie (Jpn) (whose dam is Sun Is Up) is Mohawk (American Indian) lingo for, voila'!, "Flying Sun". Great name: every horse tells a story, some even more so. 9th-Gulfstream, $46,000, Alw, Opt. Clm ($100,000), 6-10, 3yo, 1m, 1:34.80, ft. SOLE VOLANTE (g, 3, Karakontie {Jpn}--Light Blow, by Kingmambo) Sales history: $6,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $20,000 2yo '19 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 6-4-1-1, $293,310. *1/2...

DETROIT TESORO may not sound as an operatic name for this winning filly, but it is. The dam is Bella Traviata and Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" is the ideal opera for some, and definitely one of the most popular. The most famous song (romanza) of "La Traviata" is "Parigi O Cara" "Paris, Oh Dear". I do not know where Detroit comes from (owner's prerogative), but in Italian Tesoro (treasure) is definitely a synonym of Cara as a term of endearment. I am exhausted and I rest my case. Detroit Tesoro,...

1st-Tampa Bay Downs, $20,000, Msw, 4-25, 3yo/up, f/m, 6 1/2f, 1:18.28, gd. BOURBON REBELLION (f, 3, Shanghai Bobby--Soul of Bourbon, by Perfect Soul {Ire}). The Whiskey Rebellion of 1791-94 was mostly a Pennsylvania affair, but only because no one was found to collect the infamous tax on whiskey in Kentucky (the state was admitted to the Union in 1792, very much in medias res). So a BOURBON REBELLION could be defined as a win in a no-contest situation and is an excellent name for a winning filly from a breeding...

10th-Oaklawn, $60,000, Msw, 4-19, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:09.96, sy. MERNEITH (f, 3, American Pharoah--Flattermewithroses {SW}, by Flatter) With American Pharoah and Cairo Prince around, one would naturally expect Egyptian choices to be popular in the naming of horses, but the name of Oaklawn winner MERNEITH is really outstanding and fitting. She is a filly by American Pharoah and, "Merneith may have been the first female pharaoh and the earliest queen regnant in recorded history", according to Wikipedia. Please note the slight difference in the spelling of the designation of the...

by Andrea Branchini 6th-Gulfstream, $40,700, Alw (NW2$X), Opt. Clm ($62,500), 4-17, 4yo/up, 7f, 1:22.55, ft MIHOS (c, 4, Cairo Prince--Feline Flatline, by Lion Heart) O-Centennial Farms; B-Wayne, Gray & Bryan Lyster (KY); T-James A. Jerkens Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton. The Gulfstream Park winner Mihos runs like an Egyptian, and a very feline one at that. In the ancient mythology of Egypt, "Mihos was a lion-god and was depicted as a lion or a lion-headed man", according to Google. Keep in mind that this colt...

CLAUDE BENIADA Apogee is a name that has been used in the past by the Juddmonte operation of Prince Khalid Abdullah. Apogee (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) was a Group 3-winning filly in France in the care of André Fabre. At the heart of a top Juddmonte family, she is the dam of multiple group winner Dance Routine (GB) (Sadler's Wells) and the granddam of champions Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) among others. I wish the same future to the Apogee (Malibu Moon) of Christophe Clement. (Click...