What’s in a name? How Medina Spirit and the Kentucky Derby horses got their names
Soup and Sandwich #SoupandSandwich
If you’ve discovered your Hidden Stash and desire a Soup and Sandwich or Midnight Bourbon, this Kentucky Derby is for you.
Twenty horses are entered in Saturday’s Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, and each brings a name with a story.
The origin of some names is easy to decipher – Like the King is a son of Like a Queen. Others, like Helium or Medina Spirit, require more explanation.
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For the record, all horse names must be approved by the Jockey Club, and there are several rules. A few of them:
Here’s a look at the names in this year’s Kentucky Derby field:
Click on each horse’s name to learn more.
“A state of consciousness occasionally achieved upon the consumption of an ample sufficiency of bourbon,” owner Calumet Farm explained in an email.
It’s a tribute to sire Wicked Strong and the Brooklyn roots of owner Mark Schwartz. Brooklyn Strong is a New York-bred.
Co-owner Daisy Phipps Pulito said the horse originally was named Barbuda for an island in the eastern Caribbean. She said co-owner Mike Repole changed the name once he became a co-owner. “Mike and (trainer Todd Pletcher) always saw a lot of talent in him when he got to the barn,” she said.
“Quality” comes from the dam, Delightful Quality. “It’s a good phrase,” said Jimmy Bell, president and racing manager for Godolphin, which owns Essential Quality.
“We didn’t have the ability to watch him train, but we watched him on video and he was described as really light on his feet,” said Jon Green, general manager for owner D J Stable. “That really resonated with us, and we went to the periodic table to find something that was lighter than air. Helium is what came up.”
“I’m learning more about what ‘hidden stash’ means in the last two weeks,” co-owner Braxton Lynch said with a wry smile. “My brothers all give me a hard time because they thought it was a reference to (marijuana), and it happens to be that my birthday is on April 20, so I’m 4/20. … Our button has a pouch of gold coins hidden in the straw, so that’s the reference we’re going with.”
Owner Seth Klarman of Klaravich Stables is known for using business-related names – Cloud Computing, Digital Age, Domestic Spending, Network Effect – for his horses. The name also is a relative synonym for the dam, Strong Incentive.
“Being a half-brother to Mitole, we really thought he was going to be a sprinter,” co-owner Greg Helm explained. “So we thought he was going to be a ‘hot rod.’ Also, one of my partners who came up with the name said he just wanted to hear (track announcer) Trevor Denman yelling his name, ‘Hot Rod Charlie,’ coming down the stretch because he thought it would sound cool.” Indian Charlie is the sire of the horse’s dam, Indian Miss.
It’s a tribute to the Zac Brown Band song “Keep Me In Mind,” which was released in 2011.
Named after Tyson Fury, the two-time world heavyweight champion boxer from England.
The name comes from the ties horse owner Vinnie Viola has as a businessman and U.S. Army veteran. “He likes names that are action-oriented, and he’s also an old movie buff,” bloodstock agent John Sparkman said. “A lot of times he jots down phrases he likes from the movies.”
A tribute to the dam, Like a Queen.
A mandaloun is a mullioned window and an element of the traditional architecture of Lebanon that first appeared in the 17th century stately mansions. Juddmonte Farms, which owns Mandaloun, is the international thoroughbred horse racing and breeding enterprise founded in 1980 by Prince Khalid bin Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
Medina is the second holiest city in Islam and the capital of the Medina Province of Saudi Arabia, which is the home of horse owner Amr Zedan.
And the winner is … Medina Spirit is the champion of the 2021 Kentucky Derby, snagging trainer Bob Baffert his 7th Derby
“It was pretty much a stream-of-consciousness thing,” said David Fiske, general manager of Ron Winchell’s Winchell Thoroughbreds. “Ron and his buddies do like to try out all the new (bourbon) batches, and he also deals with a lot of liquor distributors. So liquor is in the forefront of his mind a lot, with business and pleasure. So it just came together.” The “Midnight” part of the name can be tied to the dam, Catch the Moon.
The “O” comes from Orb, the horse’s sire and winner of the 2013 Kentucky Derby. “Besos” is Spanish for “kisses.” The horse’s dam is Snuggs and Kisses.
“From what I understand, it’s just a fun, great name and we were hoping he would rock everybody’s world,” said Stephanie Hronis of co-owner Hronis Racing.
Elliott Walden of WinStar Farm has named several horses in relation to his Christian faith, including Creator, New Testament and Benediction.
Horse owner Charlotte Weber is the granddaughter of Campbell Soup founder John Dorrance. Soup and Sandwich’s dam is Souper Scoop.
The horse was named by Marilyn Asmussen, wife of co-owner Keith Asmussen and mother of trainer Steve Asmussen. Super Stock’s dam is Super Girlie. “We just thought his pedigree was good stock,” Marilyn Asmussen said.
Jason Frakes: 502-582-4046; jfrakes@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @KentuckyDerbyCJ.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: What’s in a name? How Medina Spirit and the Kentucky Derby horses got their names