After the recent debacle(fancy word for storm in a tea cup) around the naming of the recent Metropolitan winner, this amateur persona non grata nom de plume amateur journalist decided to get to the bottom of this new comer to racing in South Africa.
The journey started by looking at the horses breeding Rafeef - Fresh by Querari. So no apparent link there
Next a look at the stud farm Millstream stud outside Robertson owned by Jan Mantel. so nothing apparent at first glance.
A look at the owners names brought the writer no closer to an answer.
A google search showed a Plumbago office Park in Gauteng and a further search found a link to Latin word Plumbum ( very fancy) meaning lead or to do. or to convey. The plumbago flower is lovely purple flower with grey roots. And as such been given the local name Cape leadwart.
and finally in afrikaans a plumbago is a blue rye bread bush. ( go figure)
Having come nowhere with the above search a quick word with the local grooms at the Noordhoek shebeen finally cleared up the name.
The horse Plumbago Park was named after the owner hit his golf ball out of bounds at the 18th hole while playing Avion club golf course near the Jan Smuts airport outside Kempton Park which resulted in the ball landing on the roof of the Plumbago Logistics Park nearby, resulting in the owner having to take an 18 on the hole. which till today is still the worst score ever at that hole.( This amateur jouralist knows nothing about Golf)
I think Golf scores might be a bad way to name a horse for some race horse owners.
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