They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I'm not so convinced when it comes to naming racehorses.
In the last couple of weeks, I've seen two pacers at the races - one named Efficient and one named So You Think.
Within a code, the authorities are pretty strict on reusing the names of group 1 winners, but no such restrictions apply across codes.
But come on, owners/breeders - to use the name of a 2007 Melbourne Cup winner (Efficient) and the dual-hemisphere star of a few seasons ago (So You Think) is pushing the limits, in my opinion.
... some familiar names
There's no exact figure on how many words are in the English language, but let's go with one million.
Surely there are other options than recycling the name of a recent star? I can sympathise a little bit with the So You Think name, as the pacer is out of the mare, Wish You Were Here.
As all Pink Floyd disciples will tell you, the opening line to Wish You Were Here is ''so you think you can tell, heaven from hell''. See, we're not just about racing here at Racing Matters.
Presenting in style
A nice little quirk from the Waikouaiti Racing Club on New Year's Day. The hard-working committee members decided to reward some of the well-dressed ladies in the crowd by choosing a couple of them to present the sash to the winning horses and trainers in each race.
Such an idea doesn't cost anything for the club, but may well make the day for a couple of novice racegoers.
A turn for the better
If you had a winning bet on Franco Tyrone in race 6 at Omakau yesterday, consider yourself lucky the horse turned up. Yaldhurst trainer Daniel Reardon had never raced a horse in this part of the world, and clearly there was no GPS system in his truck.''
I got lost coming to the track,'' he said.
''I was heading to Wanaka. Luckily, I got some advice from a local who said Wanaka wasn't the place to be.''
Reardon reckons the Red River Hanover 5yr-old will get better with another six months under the belt, so maybe look out for him next spring.
Lazy Fiver
Umshini Wami never went into battle after the Kurow meeting was abandoned. I'm hearing a bit of chat for The Empire's Sister in race 11 at Roxburgh. She's a last-start winner and her form prior to that wasn't bad either. She'll enjoy the front-line draw as well.
