Every racehorse has a name; often, those names come with interesting stories or may come from a person or simply be related to their breeding.
The 13 colts and geldings and one filly in Friday’s 165th King’s Plate have a variety of monikers and one them with be in the history books very soon.
NO MORE OPTIONS: A dark bay colt by Frac Daddy, an Ontario sire from Stony Miss by Birdstone, this fellow was originally a $5,000 (!) weanling at the 2021 Keeneland November Breeding Sale, later purchased in training by Mary Self.
“When I worked for the Department of Defense there was no arguing with the big bosses. If someone suggested a different approach, they were told there were “no more options.” We all lived by that phrase. So when my kids didn’t want chicken for dinner, Mom said there were no more options. Excellent phrase!”
ESSEX SERPENT: I asked Penny Conrad about the name of her gelding, owned with her husband Manfred. The son of Honor Code is a homebred from the mare Eileen’s Girl, but you might recognize the name if you are a reader or TV series-watcher.
I asked her if she named the gelding for the book by Sarah Perry, or the TV show:
“Both. I loved both the book and the show. It takes place in Essex, England where I am from and all the little places in the book were all places I grew up around.”
JOKESTAR – Al and Bill Ulwelling often use the sire and dam of their homebreds for names. This gelding is by Practical Joke out of Starmaline.
PIERRE – This Ulwelling runner (picked by Canadian Thoroughbred to upset the Plate) was bred by Ivan Dalos and is by Tapiture from Archerette. Why Pierre for a name?
Al says they named him after Pierre Poilievre, ‘the next Prime Minister of Canada’.
Not sure if Prime Minister Trudeau will be betting on this guy.
CAITLINHERGRTNESS – The lone filly in the field is by Omaha Beach from Belatrix. She is named for a successful basketball player, a favourite of co-owner Elliott Walden, Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. Walden is the owner of WinStar Farm LLC in Kentucky and he owns the filly with Siena Farm, LLC run by Ryan Smith.
BEDARD – Bred by Anderson Farms and owned by X-Men Racing Stable III and Madaket Stables, Bedard is named after top young hockey player Connor Bedard. Donato Lanni, master of X-Men Racing and Canuck Racing Club, enjoys naming all of his horses after famous Canadians or famous Canadian landmarks.
FRIENDLY GHOST – By Outwork, this $46,000 yearling purchase by Sue Leslie is from the mare Kin’s Ghost, by Ghostzapper. And yes, his nickname is Casper!
MY BOY PRINCE is the second King’s Plate starter in succession with Prince in his name for Gary Barber. Paramount Prince, owned by Mike Langlois and Barber, won last year’s Plate. My Boy Prince is by Cairo Prince.
The late Frieda Stronach had much to do with the horse names for Stronach Stable runners. For many years, she would ask all staff at farms and tracks to submit ideas for horse names for their large stable of runners.
Their two entrants this year, RAFAROO and VITALITY, could have been named by Frieda.
King’s Plate contender No More Options has a bath with (L) owner Mary T. Self of Ocala FLA, and (father) trainer Zeljko Krcmar. No More Options will attempt to capture the 165th running of the $1,000,000 Plate at Woodbine Racetrack on Saturday August 23, 2024. (Woodbine/ Michael Burns Photo)
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