what is the meaning or translation of 'Bend Or'

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kerryman
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what is the meaning or translation of 'Bend Or'

Postby kerryman » Mon Oct 26, 2009 3:40 am

Anyone know the translation or meaning of the name 'Bend Or' the great stallion of the 19th century. I know 'or' is 'gold' in French but what does the full name mean?

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dublino
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Postby dublino » Mon Oct 26, 2009 7:27 am

I think this and quite a few other horses are actually quiet humourously named to pull one over on the Jockey club.

Say Bend Or quickly its like Bender i.e. GAY.

There are quiet a few horses registered like this another one springs to mine is Ma Biche, to an English speaker would be said Ma Bitch.

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Postby xfactor fan » Mon Oct 26, 2009 9:31 am

I always figured it was Bend Or, (Bend over). Rough stable humor.

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Re: what is the meaning or translation of 'Bend Or'

Postby aethervox » Mon Oct 26, 2009 10:02 am

kerryman wrote:Anyone know the translation or meaning of the name 'Bend Or' the great stallion of the 19th century. I know 'or' is 'gold' in French but what does the full name mean?


In heraldry a 'bend or' is a stripe of gold that goes from top left to bottom right on a shield (as you're looking at it). Examples can be found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Bends_in_heraldry

I'm not sure if he was actually named for that, but that's one meaning.

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Postby xfactor fan » Mon Oct 26, 2009 2:51 pm

I suspect the heraldic version is the official story. "Why what do you mean Mr Jockey Club person, of course his name comes from heraldry" On the other hand, hard to rule out stable humor on an oddly marked yearling.

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Postby kerryman » Sat Oct 31, 2009 5:48 pm

thanks aethervox- that looks like the correct official explanation alright. And his sire (Doncaster) dam was called Marigold so it makes sense from that point of view.

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Postby Pedigree Ann » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:03 pm

It seems whenever someone comes across a name whose derivation they aren't familiar with, they want to find a 'shady' meaning or double entendre from it; perhaps a result of our popular culture so obsessed with sex and scandal. Like the person who was unfamiliar with Irish geography and so found Dingle Bay in questionable taste. People of the 19th Century were more familiar with heraldry than with 20th/21st Century slang and were unlikely to give a nobly-bred horse a Peagram-esque name; it would have been considered an offense against the animal's dignity and reflect negatively on the owner. The Duke of Westminster, owner and breeder of Bend Or, would be unlikely to choose a disreputable name for a prized colt.
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Pedigree Ann
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Postby Pedigree Ann » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:20 pm

dublino wrote:There are quiet a few horses registered like this another one springs to mine is Ma Biche, to an English speaker would be said Ma Bitch.


And why would a French-speaking person name his horse to make 'joke' in English? Although bred in the US, Ma Biche was named and raced in France. In French, 'ma biche' means 'my doe', as in female deer, and is a common endearment. (Why a doe? Why not? Why my little chickadee?). See what I mean by finding a 'shady' meaning in a perfectly straightforward name that someone doesn't bother to research?
There is no such thing as too much Teddy.

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dublino
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Postby dublino » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:34 pm

Pedigree Ann wrote:; perhaps a result of our popular culture so obsessed with sex and scandal.

The Duke of Westminster, owner and breeder of Bend Or, would be unlikely to choose a disreputable name for a prized colt.


Maybe if you do some research yourself you will find out the people who often get caught up in sex scandals have titles like the Duke.

Roayalty and nobility are infamous becuase of them.

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dublino
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Postby dublino » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:35 pm

Pedigree Ann wrote:
dublino wrote:See what I mean by finding a 'shady' meaning in a perfectly straightforward name that someone doesn't bother to research?


Unless you were there when the form was filled in naming the horse what you summise above is nothing more than your opinion.

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Postby Pedigree Ann » Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:31 pm

dublino wrote:
Pedigree Ann wrote:; perhaps a result of our popular culture so obsessed with sex and scandal.

The Duke of Westminster, owner and breeder of Bend Or, would be unlikely to choose a disreputable name for a prized colt.


Maybe if you do some research yourself you will find out the people who often get caught up in sex scandals have titles like the Duke.

Roayalty and nobility are infamous becuase of them.


So they are all painted with the same brush, throughout history. Guilt by association. Even those who have never been accused of such misdeeds. The 1st Duke of Westminster had a well-documented life, as an M.P. before he inherited the peerage, and as the third generation of his family to breed top-class racehorses. Not a whisper of scandal. He bred not only Bend Or, but Ormonde, Flying Fox, Sceptre, and many other classic winners. And they all had straightforward names.

Bend Or has a perfectly straightforward meaning, one that was likely to be known to a peer of that era. Why would one assume that there is a hidden meaning that depends on him being conversant with the slang of another era?

Ma Biche has a perfectly straightforward meaning to her French owner. Why would one go looking for an ulterior motive based on a mispronunciation in another language he would not anticipate? After all, the British, the English-speakers he is most likely to have known, take pains to pronounce French words correctly.

I am baffled by this need to find 'clever vulgarity' in horse names that are clear in meaning and derivation.
There is no such thing as too much Teddy.