Page 3 - May 2019 Thoroughbred Highlight

Owner Frank Di Giulio Jr. is well known within the industry for breeding and purchasing successful, quality horses and he is also quite well known for the skill and imagination he uses when naming his horses.
Whether it’s a play on words or a song title, Frank’s horses have carried their names successfully throughout the years. His horses have won more than 311 races (not including horses, such as Pink Lloyd, that he owns in partnerships) with a few becoming millionaire earners and champions under the guidance of hall of fame trainer Robert Tiller.
Some of the catchy names include: Indian
Apple Is, Maythefourthbwithu, Dejavualloveragain, Tequilamockingbird, and Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk. While horses with names of song titles include Brass In Pocket (Pretenders); Ahead by a Century (Tragically HIp); Whispertoascream (The Icicle Works) and Careless Whisper (Geroge Michael).
For the younger generation who may not remember these horses at the track or these songs on the “radio” you can take heart because Frank’s son Luke has his father’s knack for thinking up quirky names for horses.
While the 22 year-old has helped with the naming of some of his father’s horses throughout the years, the name of one recent runner, H Is Just a Number, can be solely attributed to Luke.
The name is an obvious play on the saying “age
is just a number” which Luke, being a mathematical minded individual, will lightheartedly argue is not true. Noting that your age is in fact a number, this lly’s name was a whimsical way for Luke to exemplify that truth because H is clearly not a number.
The popularity of the name became apparent after the Frank Di Giulio Jr. homebred lly by Can the
Man - Stormy Adieu won rst time out last November. Frank mentioned that he has had a lot of comments on the name that he can’t take credit for. H Is Just a Number was a closing second in her rst start of her three-year-old season on Woodbine’s opening day April 20.
Some of the other names Luke can boast credit for include Smart Brass, a Smart Strike lly out of the above mentioned Brass In Pocket, a name which not only plays to both sire and dam but can bring to mind a naughty connotation; and iatesomuchi’mphil, which is a play on the name of his sire, Philanthropist.
With his late grandfather Frank Sr. and his father both breeding and racing thoroughbreds, horseracing has always been a part of Luke’s life growing up.
Luke is currently in the nal stages of completing a Bachelor of Business Administration at Wilfred Laurier University, with a minor in economics and says that he
plans to start owning horses himself in the near future. Luke mentioned that the breeding and pedigree
aspect of the sport is what intrigues him most
and says he and his father liken the breeding of racehorses to that of building your own sports team.... you need to have a strategy. “You can have the best bred horses in the world but you can never win if you run them in the wrong races.”
“I love going to the track. I love the atmosphere and being with my Dad.” noted Luke, “It has been easy for us to keep interested especially with the horses we have had.”
So with Luke planning to own horses himself, you can expect to see a new generation of cleverly named horses racing in the near future.
H Is Just a Number, with Sheena Ryan aboard, on their way to the track for race 4 on opneing day at Woodbine, April 20, 2019
Luke Di Giulio bringing a new generation of clever names to the races
H is Clearly Not a Number
Thoroughbred Highlight - Page 3 - May 2019