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Churchill to Trump – the horses named after famous leaders

Churchill (Ryan Moore, right) leads them home in the Guineas
Churchill: named after political heavyweight Sir Winston ChurchillCredit: Edward Whitaker

Churchill, named after Sir Winston Churchill – voted the greatest ever Briton in a BBC poll – lived up to his lofty reputation when winning Saturday's 2,000 Guineas. Naming horses after political heavyweights is not uncommon, but the results have been varied, as these five examples show.

Iron Lady
There had already been a filly named after Margaret Thatcher not so long after she left office. The Iron Lady, foaled in 1996, never made the track, but found moderate success as a broodmare.

The name was reinvigorated last year by the Perspicacious Punters Racing Club with this Exceed And Excel filly. Their other horse in training at the time was Willytheconqueror, recalling the politics of a rather different age.

Iron Lady cost a fairly significant 52,000gns as a yearling, but in three starts as a two-year-old for William Muir beat only two of the 24 rivals she faced. Assuming we see her in 2017, she will start from a mark of 50.

LEOPARDSTOWN SUN 12 APRIL 2015  PICTURE: CAROLINE NORRIS   RYAN MOORE EASES DOWN JOHN F KENNEDY TOWARD THE LINE AFTER HE HAD HAD A DISAPPOINTING RUN IN THE PW MCGRATH MEMORIAL BALLYSAX STAKES
John F Kennedy: in equine formCredit: Caroline Norris

John F Kennedy
A typically superbly bred and ominously named colt from the Coolmore stock, John F Kennedy had a fine two-year-old campaign and spent the winter of 2014 as favourite for the Derby.

His career hit the buffers quite spectacularly as a three-year-old. He finished last of three in the Ballysax and last of five in the Dante before returning in the autumn and finishing a moderate third (but not last) behind Fascinating Rock in the Irish Champion Stakes.

Tricky Dicky
A name given to US president Richard Nixon, Tricky Dicky pulled off a surprise when winning on his handicap debut and three-year-old reappearance at Redcar last March. He would win three more times as the season wore on and ended it as he had started, with success over 6f at Redcar. This time he was 7-4 favourite.

Some years earlier there had also been a horse named Tricky Dick, trained in Germany by Bruce Hellier. He got black type by finishing third in the Premio Primi Passi, Italy's first Group race for juveniles, in 2000.

President Trump: likely to be called Fake News in the future
President Trump: likely to be called Fake News in the futureCredit: Snaith Racing

Fake News
Originally named President Trump until South Africa's ruling body demanded a name change, Fake News has made the headlines worldwide this year.

An unraced juvenile, President Trump was refusing to focus on his work and take his profession of racehorse seriously, leaving his trainer Justin Snaith no choice but to geld him.

As news of how the equine President Trump has been tamed went viral, the National Horseracing Authority decided it should act and demand the name be changed, with connections seizing the opportunity to rename him Fake News.

George Washington
Victory for Churchill in Saturday's 2,000 Guineas emulated another Ballydoyle big-gun in the shape of 2006 Classic scorer George Washington.

Named after first president of the United States and one of the Founding Fathers of the country, his equine namesake had much to live up to but did not disappoint.

Often referred to as Gorgeous George, the son of Danehill was a four-time Group 1 winner in all, including his two-and-a-half-length success at Newmarket.

His life was cruelly cut short when suffering a fatal injury in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Classic.

Published on 10 May 2017inNews

Last updated 20:10, 10 May 2017

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