Racing boss' baffling explanation for sexually explicit horse names

Eagle-eyed punters have found plenty to laugh about online after one racing fan spotted two horses carrying less than family friendly names running in Brisbane on Tuesday.

The mid-week meet at Daegon would have otherwise flown under the radar were it not for two Darryl Ward-trained runners who had racing fans doing a double-take.

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Their performance on track may not have been much to wrote home about, but Ward’s runners ‘Lovin’ Deqoque’ and ‘Get On Deqoque’ certainly got plenty of attention for their risque names.

First noticed by Twitter user StevoRidge1, the two horses finished fourth and second in races eight and nine on Tuesday.

The names of both horses prompted several other users to question how two decidedly immature names were able to be passed through Racing Australia’s filters.

Several others on Twitter suggested the names would be changed once the governing body caught wind of the joke, but Racing Australia’s CEO Myles Forman insisted to Channel 7 that the names weren’t pronounced the way punters online believed they were.

He added there was ‘nothing here that prompts concern’.

“We contact the owners when they lodge the names to make sure we know how the horse names are pronounced and what the meaning of the name is,” Forman said.

“And in this case it’s De-quo.

“Look, a combination of letters and words can mean different things to different people.

“In this case we were confident it should be pronounced De-quo.

“Therefore there’s nothing here that prompts concern for Racing Australia.”

Baker's luminaries chase hat-trick of wins

Warwick Farm trainer Bjorn Baker is in the rare position of having two of his runners at Kensington on Saturday aiming to make it a hat-trick of wins.

The pair are Harpo Marx and Edison, and they are part of Baker's quintet of starters at Randwick Kensington.

Baker gets the ball rolling with his five-year-old Harpo Marx for Darby Racing in the Heineken Handicap over 2400m and is aiming for three wins on the bounce following dominant wins at Wyong and Warwick Farm.

The Galileo gelding stays at the 2400m, and with Rachel King on board again, Baker is confident of another strong showing.

"He's fit and can go on a wet track," Baker said.

"He's a big strong boy and he's come through that last win really well.

"I think with Rachel back on, and he's drawn what is probably going to be a good gate for him.

“He tends to get back and run on so he certainly won't be out of it.”

Edison is another Baker hopeful looking to post three wins in a row in the Maroubra Handicap over 1500m.

The Fastnet Rock gelding has been a model of consistency of late with four wins and two seconds from his past six outings and Baker sees this race as a good lead in before heading towards the Magic Millions next month.

With AAP

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