I don't dispute that Thetis (3.25 Carl) is the likeliest winner of an apparently shallow maiden fillies' race, but I know that many of you on here are deeply superstitious, and I'd be failing in my duty as resident know-all if I didn't point out some of the negative vibes around the name.
The original Thetis was a sea-nymph, and the mother of the great warrior Achilles. Given the opportunity to make him invulnerable by immersing him in the River Styx, she inexplicably held him by the heel-tendon as she dipped him, thereby leaving unprotected the site of his subsequent death-wound. (Women, eh? I mean, it's not difficult to dip someone, is it ? John the Baptist had it right: stand them about chest-high in the river, firm downward pressure on the head, pull them up, job done).
In 1939, just before the start of WW2, the submarine Thetis sank during diving trials off Liverpool, with the loss of almost all hands and a fair number of civilians, mostly employees of Cammell Laird. The disaster was clearly culpable and avoidable (one or more of the diving-hatch covers had been clogged with excess paint) but the Admiralty wouldn't put their hands up. Amazingly, she was raised, recommissioned under a different name, and was again sunk in action off Italy in 1943 with no survivors. So far as I know, she is the only RN ship ever to be sunk twice.
Even on screen, the name doesn't attract much in the way of luck. In Clash of the Titans (possibly the greatest film ever made, and you get to see Judy Bowker's uncovered bum) Thetis is played by Maggie Smith. She makes the great mistake of opposing Perseus (who's supported by Zeus) and as a result her son gets killed - not Achilles, another one - and she inevitably gets seriously ticked off when Perseus and Andromeda marry and live happily for all eternity.
None of the above may stop SMS's little girl from winning today (though you might worry about the booking of Ted Durcan), but I thought it right to give you all the opportunity to reconsider. That said, I've backed her myself, and I make her something of a shoo-in. Good luck either way
The original Thetis was a sea-nymph, and the mother of the great warrior Achilles. Given the opportunity to make him invulnerable by immersing him in the River Styx, she inexplicably held him by the heel-tendon as she dipped him, thereby leaving unprotected the site of his subsequent death-wound. (Women, eh? I mean, it's not difficult to dip someone, is it ? John the Baptist had it right: stand them about chest-high in the river, firm downward pressure on the head, pull them up, job done).
In 1939, just before the start of WW2, the submarine Thetis sank during diving trials off Liverpool, with the loss of almost all hands and a fair number of civilians, mostly employees of Cammell Laird. The disaster was clearly culpable and avoidable (one or more of the diving-hatch covers had been clogged with excess paint) but the Admiralty wouldn't put their hands up. Amazingly, she was raised, recommissioned under a different name, and was again sunk in action off Italy in 1943 with no survivors. So far as I know, she is the only RN ship ever to be sunk twice.
Even on screen, the name doesn't attract much in the way of luck. In Clash of the Titans (possibly the greatest film ever made, and you get to see Judy Bowker's uncovered bum) Thetis is played by Maggie Smith. She makes the great mistake of opposing Perseus (who's supported by Zeus) and as a result her son gets killed - not Achilles, another one - and she inevitably gets seriously ticked off when Perseus and Andromeda marry and live happily for all eternity.
None of the above may stop SMS's little girl from winning today (though you might worry about the booking of Ted Durcan), but I thought it right to give you all the opportunity to reconsider. That said, I've backed her myself, and I make her something of a shoo-in. Good luck either way
