Whether you want to cite a deprived childhood or just a narrow focus, I can't say that The Lone Ranger calls up many associations for me. The character is in that vast array of topics that I hope people don't pursue with such passion at a party that I'm required to do more than fake it and nod. But as far as the rest of the country goes, I gather The Lone Ranger is famous enough that a couple of successful eponymous thoroughbreds aren't going to affect his prominence much. They would probably make about as much difference for his popularity as my vote is going to make for the Presidency.
That said, we did have Sloane Ranger running 3rd in the newly ungraded DeFrancis on Saturday, while 2-year-old The Roan Ranger debuted to be 2nd in a maiden special weight at Santa Anita. I can't see that either horse gets his name from the pedigree, so the owners are presumably true fans of The Lone Ranger. I say fans, plural, because the ownerships of the horses are different. (If you want all of the stats, Sloane Ranger is by Parker's Storm Cat, out of Toppenish, by You and I, owned and bred by Vicki Schowe. The Roan Ranger is by Exchange Rate, out of Crafty Marian, by Crafty Prospector, owned by a group including Blinkers On Racing Stable, and bred by Nick Cimino.)
It would be maddening if The Roan Ranger were not in fact roan, and he is. It would seem Lone Ranger horses in general should be of that color, since The Lone Ranger's horse was Silver, but Sloane Ranger is dark bay or brown.
It would seem this period where only the clever can acknowledge The Lone Ranger may soon be coming to a close, as plain "Lone Ranger", a gelding who won 5 times and $75,000, last started in 2006. His name still appears in the Jockey Club list of names, but I would think it would be becoming available in 2012.
Now that I think of it, it's not clear to me that the five-year inactivity period guarantees that a horse will not start again. I know I've seen three-year layoffs, and maybe even four-year. Horses are coming back off longer and longer layoffs.
I'm sure if a horse hasn't run for years but records a workout, however, that the calendar starts anew. A racing layoff of multiple years usually involves failed comebacks and new injuries. For a horse not even to progress to working in a five-year stretch, but then to return successfully to the races, makes the prospect even more implausible.
Perhaps there is a rule that horses aren't allowed to return after more than five years' absence? If so, then The Jockey's Club's five-year moratorium makes sense. Obviously, safety and humane concerns should drive inactivity bans, though, not existing Jockey Club policy. But it makes sense for the two to be aligned.
If a comeback were attempted for a horse that had been off for more than five years, and the horse's name had been given away, I wonder if the horse would have to be renamed? Or if the Jockey Club would just live with the two horses with the same name? We see this all the time with foreign-bred horses running in the U.S. Two horses with the same name wouldn't present a practical problem, but it would be messy and out of place. We trust The Jockey Club not to let it happen.
No comments:
Post a Comment