When Frank Di Giulio, Jr. saw the date of Thorncliffe's challenges, he knew that the force would be with Ontario O'Houlihan breed plates.
“When I saw that this race was scheduled for May the fourth, I said:” It's too good “, said Di Giulio, Jr.” I was looking forward to, but I did not expect him to break the record. I was just thinking: “Okay, it must be his day”. ” “”
Patches O'Houlihan, a Di Giulio, Jr. Homebred who came out of the maly maythef tenthbwithu, broke the Woodbine track for 5½ furlongs on the tapeta the day of Star Wars with a dominant performance of 1: 02.28 for the jockey Sofia Vives and the Bob trait.
Di Giulio, Jr., who believes in power of names and pop culture, does not think that it is a complete coincidence, although it is more amused than anything.
Horse races, after all, are a sport built on luck and karma.
For decades, the Torontonian – who has three Canadian horses of the year to his credit: Patches O'Houlihan (2024), Pink Lloyd (2017) and Win City (2001) – had an explosion in Easter Easter eggs all over the horse and television film race. It is delighted when other fans of pop culture obtain references.
“You don't want it to be too obvious, but you don't want it to be too obscure either,” said Di Giulio, Jr.
Take Patches O'Houlihan, named after the character of Rip Torn in the favorite of the cult comedy of 2004 Dodgeball: a real story of the oppressed. The character is famous for having said: “If you can dodge a key, you can dodge a bullet” and “if you are going to become real dodgeballers, then you have to learn the five Dgeball: Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge!”
“I like stupid films, this one and Happy Gilmore and Zoolander and Old School,” said Di Giulio, Jr. “I like Will Ferrell, I like Vince Vaughan, I like Ben Stiller and Adam Sandler. I should probably not love them because of my age, but I do it. My children also love them, which is cool. So it's good. They no longer make (movies) like that.
“Patches O'Houlihan is a cool name, but it's much better because it's a good horse.”
Di Giulio, Jr. also appointed Maythefourthbwithu after buying it as a year and noticing that she was complimentary on May 4. Although it is not a big fan of Star Wars, Di Giulio Jr. said that the name, “was too obvious to transmit.”
By Giulio, the equine playlist of Jr.
Especially Di Giulio, JR, an “self -proclaimed child from the 80s,” said that he liked to name horses after music.
“A higher percentage of names comes from music, either songs of songs or lines of songs,” said Di Giulio, “I like music, and if the song means something for me, or if the line of the song means something for me, or I think it's catchy, then I will go with something like that. Author, or they will not allow you to use them.
There are many Canadian groups in the mix. Di Giulio, Jr. is a big fan of the hip tragically and named horses after hip songs Fifty Mission Cap,, Hundreth MeridianPhilly completely (after the album and the song completely completely), The news maybe And more. His horse Drop a Caribou is a word of the trendy song Long -standing current.
There are also two horses Di Giulio, Jr. named after a song: At home to rest by the Canadian Spirt of the Western group. He named a horse house to rest and another so-called vacation, which is a word of this song.
“It's such a great song,” said Di Giulio, Jr. “This is something that you just type your foot for certainly and the lyrics are good too.”
There was also an echo with laughter, a horse named for a word of the classic Led Zeppelin Staircase to the sky.
“He was by Old Forester and there is a line (on the stairs to the sky)” and the forests resonate with laughter, “said Di Giulio, Jr.
He also appointed Horse Go Kart Mozart, who is a word in the song blinded by the light written by Bruce Springsteen and better known for the version Saved by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. On April 26, when Go Kart Mozart broke his young daughter, the appellant of the Woodbine race, Robert Geller, equalized the name of horse in a big call By referring to the song saying: “Go Kart Mozart was more than checking the weather graph to see if he was sure outside. And shortly came early in his finish. And asked me if I needed a trip. ”
Di Giulio, Jr. said that that was what he hopes that all racing appeals do if they catch the reference behind the name of a horse.
If nothing else, the names of his horses will be used for an instantaneous of his life.
The other horses of Di Giulio, Jr. with music names include:
- Brass in pocket,, BackonthechaingangAnd Hymn to her (All the songs of the contenders).
- Whispertoascream (after the only blow by the ice: Birds fly (whisper with a cry)).
- Goodoldhockeygame (after the Canadian classic Hockey song By stompin 'Tom Connors).
- Guitar George (a word from saying classic Swing sultans).
- New feeling (after the stroke of Inxs).
- Five days in May (A song by Blue Rodeo).
- Fascinating street (A song by The Cure).
- Mountain sound (A song by monsters and men).
- Genius of love (A song by Tom Tom Club).
- People are people (A song by Depeche Mode).
Di Giulio, Jr. is also a fan of the 1960s television show Get Get Smart and appointed HIGHTY SIX HIICE agent, CONE OF SILENCE and MANGETYTHATMUCH.
There have been several horses named for the three Stooges, as well as names of Bunny de Bugs and other pieces on words such as I scream on Sunday and Tequillamockingbird.
But perhaps, no Top Pink Lloyd.
Entourage of Pink Lloyd
Ontario Lloyd's pink pink is so loved and was so successful in Canada that he has a stake race named after him – a race, moreover, the O'Houlihan patches won in 2024.
More than a decade ago, Di Giulio, Jr. – who normally reproduces his solo horses – teams up with his cousin, Victor Mele and his friends Ed Longo, John Peri and John Lucato to form stable entourage. The group bought Pink Lloyd as a Yearling and named it from the character Lloyd Lee in the HBO Show entourage.
The stable had some other names connected to the series – Chasing Vinny, Ari Gold Speedwagn, etc. – But none of the horses got closer to the Queen of Assorted Rose Queen, by John Carey and bought by the stable entourage for $ 30,000 for the sale of one year of the 2012 Canadian Plan CTHS 2013. Pink Lloyd won 29 of the 38 career departures, won more than 1.8 million dollars and collected eight sovereign rewards (including the aforementioned title of the year 2017) during a six -year race career which ended in 2021.
Is Patches O'Houlihan a version of Pink Lloyd Reloaded? The patches certainly gain with a pink frequency of the Lloyd type. The first, a 5 -year -old son of northern Dawn Stallion Reload, already has 12 career victories, three sovereign prizes and nearly $ 750,000 in the bank. It is now in its fourth racing season and the victory in the Thorncliffe in Di Giulio, Jr. breathing easier, especially after having passed the fastest 5 ½ furlongs in the history of Woodbine Tapeta.
“I said to Bob (Tiller):” Not that he needs to justify him, but at least it shows that people were right to vote for him (for the horse of the year). It put a little exclamation point, “said Di Giulio, Jr.
It also provides good karma to start the season.
“Whenever you put them, you wonder if they will come back as they were before,” said Di Giulio, Jr. “But Bob was really confident in the way he trained.
Patches O'Houlan is also decisive in Giulio, Jr. Second ranking in 2024 Ontario Breeders' Awards With $ 177,604.
“I take 100% of the money and put it back in the business,” said Di Giulio, Jr. “I have already spent the money. So, it is a question of trying to reimburse a line of credit which was used to pay the expenses. I invested it before even winning it, to be honest. ”
He also told Ontario Racing that bonus money for Maythefourthbwithu farming at an Ontario stallion was a great incentive to keep everything in the province.
Racing horses are supposed to be funny
Now Di Giulio, Jr. savor the possibility of having another talented horse, especially given the boost that she brought to Tiller.
“(Tiller) does not have a ton of good horses … so it's good for him. I think he picks up his head and it is more pleasant for him to do his job for sure,” said Di Giulio, Jr.
“I have a lot of fun with (O'Houlihan patches). Pink Lloyd was wonderful, and it was great to have partners, but to be able to say: “ I have raised (O'Houlihan patches) “and just the financial part of this, because he helps me pay the bills for all the others, which is important in my position. He helps me do business. »»
While he stays in the company, Di Giulio, Jr. will have fun doing it.
“When I was a child, I always dreamed of (naming horses),” he said. “I had a lot of fun doing it. Many of these names are not original. I did not think them. Obviously, someone else wrote the song or wrote the lyrics, but it means something for me. It must be a group that I like, and it must be something that makes a little sense, or the sentence is catchy, this type of thing.”
It is also exactly the kind of silly little thing that can attract fans to the game.
“I'm sure most people like songs or movies or books or something else, and I think it's just a cool way to express your personality with your horses,” said Di Giulio, Jr.
“We were on the races yesterday, sitting at a table, and there was a group celebrating a birthday, and my daughter listened to them to talk about choosing horses. And she says, “The people who come to the races choose horses according to the names. My daughter does that.
