By Andrea Branchini
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 king of Ancient Egypt in the previous sentence. The correct spelling is “pharaoh” and the Jockey Club did pick up the discrepancy at the time of the naming of the Triple Crown winner, we are told, but it was decided by the owners to leave letters as they were. The supposed superstition about not changing horses' names has been around for a long time, but in the case in question, a superstition is a superstition no more when things turn out so good. All's well what ends well.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
