Name Shame ? - Galloping Grocer (and other crazy monikers)

General on-topic discussion.

Moderators: Roguelet, hpkingjr, WaveMaster

User avatar
Heidilady
Eclipse Champion
Posts: 2435
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 1:29 pm

Name Shame ? - Galloping Grocer (and other crazy monikers)

Postby Heidilady » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:59 am

I swear why do owners do it? sure it's got alliteration but geez

that horse, just based on his database pic, looks fantastic...sucha shame that name is on him..I mean seriously I want the sport to gain more notoriety but that name's not so lovely and people hear he won a classic race, they'll snicker... I realize there've been some doozies before but I really don't see why this one was necessary. Some nice names to draw from on either side of the pedigree. I guess though with his sire AP Jet having no relation to AP Indy, funky things were bound to happen. Galloping anything is kinda suspect but ever inserting the name Grocer is pretty much bizarre at best.

Hey I know, who am I to judge, I just think it's silly. I mean I thought Smarty Jones was kinda cute in name and in fact. Maybe they have grocery store connections...hmm... yeah still a weird name..and on a horse with potential it borders on sad. Does anyone think likewise? Please, no lectures on 'they can name it whatever they want' cuz heaven knows they already have and there's no changing it now..this is just the last straw on the funky names..I just have a theory an ESPN or some commentator guy mentioned himself..that the Triple Crown winner or Derby winner won't be named something stupid, it's just not allowed to happen by the racing gods or whatever...odd sure, stupid no..that's why it's a shame.
Last edited by Heidilady on Sat Jun 03, 2006 5:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Sam
Chef de Race: Intermediate
Posts: 4194
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:51 pm

Postby Sam » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:25 am

I dunno ...

I thought "Lil E. Tee" was pretty damn stupid.

Still do.

User avatar
Heidilady
Eclipse Champion
Posts: 2435
Joined: Sun Sep 19, 2004 1:29 pm

Postby Heidilady » Sun Nov 21, 2004 1:30 am

I actually think Lil E. Tee was odd but dunno if I'd call it the same as Galloping Grocer...and to be fair, it's grown on me to the point I'd almost call it strangely cute. Anything with the word Galloping in it though, to be used with utmost care and discretion for fear of 'yikes'

chiggins6
Allowance Winner
Posts: 363
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 7:00 am
Location: Woods Hole, Cape Cod, MA

Postby chiggins6 » Sun Nov 21, 2004 7:35 am

I take a particular interest in race horse's names, the name so often reflects the horse, and in race fan's interest in the horse, I have to input my own dismay of when I look through, say the Canter listings, oh, some unfortunate names, why people choose them -

Tower of Terror - described as "just slow"
Onrichardsaccount - owner can't afford his horses?
Mr. Sneaker Snack - ??
Not At First - not at all?
Will Call - owner having relationship problems??
Justa True Man - owner having more relationship problems??
Dan is Slavic - Okaaayyy....

We've all seen names that make us groan, while so many of these groaners simply make the owners look like such losers! For so many horses, the one great thing they might ever do would be to go through life with a glorious name, some of these names seem like a handicap in their own right, LOL!
Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket!

chiggins6
Allowance Winner
Posts: 363
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 7:00 am
Location: Woods Hole, Cape Cod, MA

Postby chiggins6 » Sun Nov 21, 2004 8:58 am

LOL, from another post, "Our Sparkie" - sounds like a Steven King movie - gonna sit in Ol' Sparkie, gonna ride the lightnin'... :roll:
Where am I going and why am I in this handbasket!

Supernova
Maiden Special Weight
Posts: 247
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 4:39 am
Location: Ontario, Canada

Postby Supernova » Sun Nov 21, 2004 9:14 am

I was looking at some CANTER listings and saw a horse named "Weiner Water Soup", also while watching the races one day I saw a horse named "Stinke Pant's". The announcer even commented that he didn't want to have to say that name again.

User avatar
Mahubah
Freshman Sire
Posts: 2774
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 2:23 pm
Location: Lake City, Florida

Postby Mahubah » Sun Nov 21, 2004 9:37 am

There was actually one called Garbage racing in the 1910s -- unfortunately, he distinguished himself in one race by crossing over in a packed field and causing a four-horse pileup that resulted in at least one jockey's death.
"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher...You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse." C. S. Lewis

LSB
Grade II Winner
Posts: 1465
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 3:55 pm
Location: Kentucky

Postby LSB » Sun Nov 21, 2004 9:53 am

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they name their horses. Clearly they haven't imagined the name being said aloud during a race. One of my mares has a relative on her page named Double Dippin' Debbie. A friend owns a relative of a mare named Whiplash Wilma.

So far, I've only gotten to name one horse. Subterfuge (Favorite Trick x Smart Angle by Quadrangle) whom people have been known to call SuperFudge. :D

The ones I've bred I've sold unnamed so the new owner can have the fun of doing it themselves. But then I bought a yearling in September and she came pre-named. As it happens, it was a good name (History, by Coronado's Quest x Colonial Review by Pleasant Colony) so I didn't get to change it.

yukidragon
Starters Handicap
Posts: 616
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 11:29 pm
Location: Oregon

Postby yukidragon » Sun Nov 21, 2004 10:14 am

Well if you need any crazy names ask me I can think of thousands.
Boat,Tom Fool, Meow,GaGa are crazy to me.
I look for Car ,Truck,Bag Lady ,condo etc... to become horse names by someone.

rdharding
Newborn
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 7:05 pm
Location: Upstate NY

Postby rdharding » Sun Nov 21, 2004 10:16 am

In NY, I have seen a couple of racehorses (I think with the same owner, who I heard owned a deli: could be rumor) named Ham Sandwich and I think the other was named On Rye
Virtue shall be bound into the hair of thy forelock... I have given thee the power of flight without wings.
- The Koran

Linda in TX
Maiden Special Weight
Posts: 185
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 5:07 pm
Location: Manor Downs
Contact:

Postby Linda in TX » Sun Nov 21, 2004 10:52 am

LSB wrote:Clearly they haven't imagined the name being said aloud during a race.


That's very true plus the tongue twisting effect that's created for the poor announcer especially if they're entered in the same race. Imagine the call of a race that included Peanutbutteronit, Spinelessjellyfish, Itsallinthechase, Easyfromthegetgo, Outofthebox, and my personal favorite, Hoof Hearted.

Mike Pegram's a master at coming up with silly names - Isitingood and Icecoldbeeratreds. I haven't seen any evidence of it to date, but I heard a rumor a year or so ago that Pegram planned to name a horse Dixe Norma's.

User avatar
madelyn
Moderator
Posts: 10049
Joined: Fri Sep 17, 2004 1:53 pm
Location: Louisville, KY

Postby madelyn » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:00 pm

It is interesting; I have read a book about Lil E. Tee; his name came about because Lil was the breeder's initials and everything he bred had that tagged on the front. The colt was always stargazing and ran around with his head so high he got nicknamed E. Tee on the farm (when the movie was all the rage)... poor Galloping Grocer probably belongs to some mini-tycoon who made all his money selling pork and beans.

If I really wanted to mess with "showing off" like that, my babies could be called All in Hex, Garbageingarbageout, Code Warrior, Hacking Milnet, etc. etc. etc. to reflect my former career. I have resisted. I always think about when the announcer gets down to the blue ribbon (many ottb's have this in their future), and "yer winner in the Junior Equitation for twelve-and-under is Chelsea Foxford, riding Isitingood!"

User avatar
diomed
Grade III Winner
Posts: 1142
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2004 4:16 pm

Postby diomed » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:11 pm

I happen to love the way Claiborne names it's horses..Those one word names just seem to stand out..I have been doing the same thing. I named two horses this year..I take the father and/or mother, look up words in the dictionary and go from there..
The colts are named Sacrilege and Impose...Sacrilege was a name taken after the mother whose name is Tequila's Halo(really an oxymoron)..Impose was a name derived from both parents(Pancho Press x Dance Closer)..I thought that Press and Close had similiar meanings and went with those...
It's fun to pull up the online dictionary and go back and forth to the online names book to see if they are taken....

BargainBlueblood
Starters Handicap
Posts: 566
Joined: Thu Sep 16, 2004 12:02 pm

Postby BargainBlueblood » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:21 pm

Speaking of Ham Sandwich, his owner/breeder actually had 4 consecutive foals out of the mare Danas Wedding. He named them:

Ham Sandwich
On Rye
With Mustard
To Go

All four of them were decent runners on the NYRA circuit.

And just for the record, I kinda like Galloping Grocer. Something whimsical about the name...and he is owned by the Waldbaum family, which owns a large East-coast grocery chain. Or maybe I like him just because he's a NY-bred, gorgeous and chock full of talent!
Michael Slezak
Bargain Blueblood
[email protected]
917.455.0693 (cell)

Ramona
Allowance Winner
Posts: 265
Joined: Sat Sep 18, 2004 10:31 am
Location: Kennewick, WA

Postby Ramona » Sun Nov 21, 2004 12:57 pm

I'm getting a kick out of some of these names...but you have to think that some of these horses might do well enough to become stallions, so one should be careful of course. I recall some names that were kind of off beat EG; Jockey Shorts, Keep Your Tips Up and Pin Head Taxi. Unraced stallions names that go to stud names can be changed, such as "Butch," who is now "Cascadian," a lovely name.