Owner Al Gold has shown flair and
inspiration over the years in naming his race horses. He had Handleman, named
for Bill Handleman, the late racing writer and columnist for the Asbury Park Press; Spanky Fischbein, who
was the first winner for New York-based stallion Hook and Ladder; and Mr.
Shortcake, named for a racetrack character he knew.
Now, however, Gold is upping the
stakes with his unraced 2-year-old bay filly Lunchwithgodzilla.
“She was bred by my friend, Lou
Smith, and me; it’s named after one of my wife’s friends who is overbearing and
dominating,” Gold said.
Gold, who works in real estate
management in New
Jersey , has been an owner since 2004. “I’m in the game
to enjoy it,” he said. “Part of it is naming the horses.”
When Gold’s wife said one day she
was going to have lunch again with the woman, he said, “Oh, lunch with
Godzilla.”
The Jockey Club Incompass
database lists three horses named Godzilla and others such as Godzilla Cat, Air
Godzilla and Go Go Godzilla. Of the 14 horses with Godzilla in their name, seven
were bred in Japan . None but Lunchwithgodzilla,
however, appear named after a person.
Trainer Steve Margolis said
Lunchwithgodzilla, by Hook and Ladder, probably wouldn’t be ready to race until
the Belmont
Park fall meet. But the
smallish bay has shown she might have a little fire to breathe, working a bullet
36.21 seconds for three furlongs on Monday at Saratoga on the main track.
Asked if he was worried about the
horse getting good and the woman discovering she provided the inspiration for
its unusual name, Gold said he was not worried.
“They’re not horse people, so
they’ll never know,” he said.