What’s in a name? Well in the horse racing world that’s certainly a valid question to ask, as the sport is no stranger to horse names that range from mad to marvelous. Who can forget the likes of Passing Wind and Hoof Hearted, or names designed to give the commentators a hard time, like Wear the Fox Hat (careful!) and AARRRRRRR.
It’s pleasing to know that the art of giving horses wacky names isn’t something that started in the more recent history of racing. Wikipedia informs us that as far back as the 18th century unusual horse names were making an appearance. One of the most amusing ones is none other than a horse named Potoooooooo.
This thoroughbred race horse foaled all the way back in 1773 actually gained his unusual name as result of a misunderstanding. He was initially called Potatoes (which isn’t much better to be honest!), but in a ‘lost in translation’ moment, a stable lad thought his name was pot-eight-o’s, as in literally the word Pot followed by eight o’s. The owner, Willoughby Bertie, found the mix up so funny that he kept the name. Consequently, we’re still talking about the humour of the moment and the amusing story of Potoooooooo in 2019!