Funny names, brilliant names, names chosen by The Queen, names so dreadful you wouldn’t give them to a horse. They are all inside.
“While most people are only good at one thing or no things, Galileo was brilliant at all sorts of things. An inventor, scientist, astronomer and engineer, and after a bit of practice Galileo did just as well as a racehorse and then a stallion.”
A jolly good name:
That’s Your Lot
Auction Ring
Guillotina
“Dolly Parton’s equine namesake didn’t quite match her achievements, although we’ve yet to hear her sing.”
A jolly clever name:
Au Renoir
Peintre Celebre
Goodbye
“Given his gluttony and the size of his girth, Billy Bunter was ill-equipped to win races. He didn’t.”
A jolly bad name:
Bagapooh
Bag
Mertzie Pooh
In 1990 David Ashforth abandoned an academic acarreer to devote himself to something more useful. He has spent the last 28 years trying to work out which horse will reach a wooden post first. He has failed – so far. Twice vote Horserace Writer of the Year he is now theoretically retired but periodically dug up to fill holes.
Paperback.