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RECENT ENGLISH TURF NOMENCLATURE Case of Witch of the Air Cited in Connection with the Death of King Edward There is great fascination in the study of the nomenclature of race horses and to a large number of people it gives keen delight to read of a good name being bestowed as It does to look on a beauti ¬ ful picture or to hear an inspiring passage of music The subject has come considerably to the point of late years and much has been written about it many instances of happy names being quoted but I do not think that what many will hold to be the best of all has ever been referred to and this omis ¬ sion in all the circumstances associated with it is strange Iteferenee is made to Witch of the Air the last nnimal ever to carry King Kdwards colors Could any name for appropriativeness and beauty be better for a daughter of Kobert le Diablo VaneV It is a model which any wouldbe namers of horses would do well to bear in mind since it fulfills every requisite of a perfect name combining the first case of good nomenclature in that it suggests the name both of the sire and of the dam it is not trite hackneyed or obvious it is a name that means something it denotes the sex of the animal and it is rhythmical and pleasing to the ear Queen Alexandra used to name most if not all of bis late majestys race horses and reference to racing rec ¬ ords and to the Sandringham breeding stud will show how happy the majority of these names were It would be particularly interesting to know whether Queen Alexandra was responsible for the naming of Witch of the Air The filly only ran once but there was crowded into this brief racing career an aeon of incident of pleasures of tragedy The first and only time she was saddled was for the Spring Two YearOld Plate at Kempton Park on Friday May C 1910 when she was a twoyearold and she won it This was at that terrible time when his majesty was lying at deaths door and he was weak but was conscious and remembering the mare was running gave instructions that he should be informed of the result of the race as soon as it was known When he was told Witch of the Air had won he showed unmistakable pleasure and it seemed indeed to act as a tonic lor he tem ¬ porarily rallied The hone was engendered that the victory of the race horse which had appeared for the greater part of the race to be hooelessly beaten but had struggled on with unflinching courage to emerge successfully at the finish might prove sym ¬ bolic and presage nn infinitely greater victory but it was not to be and King Kdward passed away that night nightQueen Queen Alexandra expressed a wish that Witch of the Air should not run any more and the filly was sent Into the paddocks at Sandringham Richard Marsh the kings trainer presented one of the plates the filly wore to the Kempton Park Club as a memento and it was gilded to prevent rust and the directors decided to place It without in ¬ scription over the gateway leading from the mem bers enclosure into the paddock the gateway through which King Edward was in the habit of passing so frequently Whether Witch of the Airs golden slipi er still remains in its place or whether it has for the time being been removed for safety the writer does not know knowPERSIMMON PERSIMMON A GOOD EXAMPLE EXAMPLEPersimmon Persimmon which did such yeoman service in the same royal colors is another example of gooil nomenclature though the fact seems to have passed unnoticed lie was a son of St Simon and Perdlta II and though persimmons are not well known in England they are as common in America as plums are here hereLord Lord Rosebery usually gives good names to his horses and a striking instance of this was Fast and Loose by Cremorne Clerrima so it was natural that special interest should be taken as to what name he would give to his recent winner at New ¬ market a colt by Cicero Signorinetta a youngster which as the sou of two Derby winners was de ¬ serving of something particularly distinguished His lordship called him Itizzio and this must be accounted excellent for Rizzio like Cicero was an Italian and here Signorinetta also comes in The names of Cicero and Itizzio have each the Italian sound about them and to add further to the connection Rizzio like Cicero was murdered Riz ¬ zio was born in Turin and became attached as a musician to the Court of Mary Queen of Scots being assassinated at Holyrood in 15liS 15liSGlancing Glancing haphazard through the Racing Book Calendar for the current season one occasionally comes upon a good name but truth to tell all too seldom The names of certain sires make it par ¬ ticularly difficult to find good names for their off ¬ spring and these unfortunately happen at the mo ¬ ment to be iii chief request unfortunately that is from the point of view of nomenclature such as Polymelns the innumerable Bachelors this and Bachelors fliat emanating from Albert Lowrys suc ¬ cessful stud at Bachelors Lodge Tredennis Santol etc while after the brilliant triumph of Sun dridge and of his succession of sons now at the stud owners may well declare that when it comes to giv ¬ ing names to the offspring of Sunder Sunbright Sunflower Sweet Sun and Sunstar they find that is literally nothing new under the sun sunHere Here are a few instances of good names borne by animals which have run this year How could you Improve on Queen of the Hunt for a daughter of Royal Reahn and Flaming Vixen This filly belongs to Lord Lensdale in whose colors it is to be hoped she will live up to her title Then Queen of the Ballet by Royal Realm Lady Lightfoot is little inferior This voung lady is a halfsister to Prince Palatine the horse that was sold for more money than any other animal of any species throughout the world and the filly herself ran well the last time out in the nice where the Signori lietta colt Rizzio beat Bruff Bridge Roseaway BridgeRoseaway is a capital name for a daughter of Stornoway and Rose of Ayrshire White Prince is rather too obvious t IK really good for a colt by Prince Palatine Blanche II and the same criticism perhaps applies to FlowcrlKMl for a son of Featherbed May Lily at any rate Spring Mat ¬ tress in the latter case would have been more ori ¬ ginal Evening Star for a filly by Sunstar Dusky Slave passes muster and Elkington for a son of Symington and Elcctra is good goodLORD LORD DERBY GIVES GOOD NAMES NAMESLord Lord Derby has been singularly happy in the names he has given to his two classic fillies Stony Ford and Ferry the one being a daughter of Swyn ford Gneiss and the other a daughter of Swynford Gondolette Greenroom is all right for a son of Greenback Miss Tillie There is something pleas ¬ antly suggestive alwut Liberty for a daughter of Bridge of Earn Pursuit and Limpsfield is capital for an animal by Buckwheat Lame Duck Me ¬ lange for a colt by Meleager Mixed is good and Mixed Bathing for a son of Tidal Wave Amusement will pass though it is not a name which somehow one would associate with a Derby winner Mons Star for a filly by Sunstar Preferment is much better granted that it would be better still if the youngster was a colt My Land for an Irishbred son of Llangibby Myla is permissible and so is New Guinea for a colt by Greenback Coral CoralPitkit Pitkit is legitimate for a daughter of Picton and Tendril ami there is everything to like about Pourboire for a colt by Poor Boy Golden Vale Quadrille is good for a filly by Simon Square Gallop Along and Simon the Cellarer could not be missed for a son of Simon Square and Sour Grapes while other names which have been fittingly usec for the offspring Of Simon Square are Square Cut for a son of Nicotine and Square Meal for a son of Surfeit Tom Fool for a son of Long Tom and Amusement is attractive and Torrid Zone which by the way has gone to India is appropriate for a son of Arizona and Hot Water Bag Beggar Prince passes muster for a son of Prince Palatine and St Begeo and her owner could not well have given any other name than Beauty of Kildare to his filly by Kildare II Brendans Beauty Best Sellei Is almost too technical for a son of Book and Quick Sale and Black and White is too obvious for a son of White Magic and Dark Agnes Blink AgnesBlink could not be beaten for a daughter of Sunstar and WlnUJpop and there is everything to like about Booby Trail for a son of Senseless and Catch of the Season SeasonThe The above hastily compiled list does not by any means contain an the good names at present in use but one cannot help thinking that if owners devoted a little more time to the matter when they are naming their young horses an infinitely better selection could each year be given They wouhi at least refrain from repeating the names of such wellknown animals as Florence and Llanthony particularly as in the case of Florence there is nothing in the newcomers pedigree to make it an appropriate name This threeyearold which has had her name changed to Florence is by Sunflowe II Linggi and used to be called Linggis First FirstAlso Also such names as He and Herself are awkward and meaningless and it is to be hoped that now each of these has turned out to be so useful theh respective owners Ixird Glanely and Mr Donulc Fraser will not think it too late to change them The only excuse for calling the colt He is that hi is a son of She while for the filly there is nt apparent reason for the name of any sort Names consisting of initials are equally unsatisfactory such as a filly jn Darlings stable and 2 Z trained in Ireland How do such names compart with Sawdust for a colt by See Saw Refuse S A P ill London Sportsman
