Here's a double riddle- two horses from a big race long ago (one from each verse). Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Some say the reason he had a great fall, Suffix to follow why all the kingâs men, Endlessly glutted and gorged, they couldnât get him up again! I got there first- not that nag above, The stewards spat me out and showed me no love, Iâd like to get them in my namesakeâs grip, To cut off their balls- and throw âem on the tip!
Is this a riddle about the 1980 Guineas with Nureyev being dq'd and Known Fact getting the result in the stewards.
There was a disqualification in the Derby where the king's horse was brought down by a suffragette. But I'm blowed if I can link it in with the riddle!
I think Aboyeur won that race at 100/1. I remember writing an essay at school on the Suffragettes and I seem to recall reporting that Aboyeur went on to win by a sh hd at 100/1. Craganour was the disqualified horse. No, I can't see the connection either.
Ron, the 1913 Derby was run on 4th June and the Suffragette Emily Davison threw herself under the King’s horse Anmer, an action that caused her to sustain fatal injuries. Craganour, the favourite, crossed the line in front but became the first Derby winner to be disqualified for a race infraction even though connections of the runner-up Aboyeur made no objection. (I wonder if the stewards had some wagering liabilities on the favourite) The only previous disqualification had been ‘Running Rein’ (1844), who was subsequently found to be the four year old Maccabeus.
QM.....That would be a good question in a quiz, who was the only 4 year old to run in the Derby, I had never heard of that story. I bet no one knows this one though! Who was the only 14 stone man to ride a Derby winner?
It's all in my school essay QM. Except I didn't mention the wagering liabilities. Being 13 yrs old at the time that sort of thing was beyond me. That was in a Quiz on 606.
Ron, I do not remember that 606 Quiz. Just like the other facts, these are those sorts of old chestnuts that get trotted out every year at around Derby time when you work for a bookie (as I did twenty years ago). The bit about the stewards being bent was just a personal thought since they have got to all be dead by now so they cannot sue me! They did not have head-on cameras or any replay technology in those days so quite how they held an enquiry without an objection being lodged I do not know. Curiously there is film footage of the unfortunate Ms Davison but as might be expected it is very poor quality. There has been some debate about her intentions that day as some eye witnesses claimed that she was just trying to cross the course and did not realise there were horses still to come; others claimed that she was trying to pin a Suffragette notice to the horse; whilst the most plausible and credible offering is that she was trying to grab the horse’s tack to pull the jockey off. Tamerlo’s original question is winding me up. How historical is “long ago”? The riddle definitely suggests that we are looking for a big race disqualification. Somebody that was not reputedly slim finished second and got promoted. I can see how some of us easily got side-tracked onto the idea of “King’s horse” and the second horse is possibly a gelding. Sadeem (Greville Starkey) got the 1988 Ascot Gold Cup in the stewards’ room when ten-length victor Royal Gait was placed last. Shady Heights (Willie Carson) was awarded the 1988 Juddmonte International when Persian Heights was demoted. The Arc is not open to geldings, so Rainbow Quest getting the 1985 race on the demotion of Sagace does not seem to fit either. I might even be thinking of the wrong code. Is this some famous pair of jumpers from the sixties? Let’s not go there...
Royal Gait/Sadeem seems a possibility. I'm sure Tam will put us out of our misery soon. The Running Rein incident is interesting. It was easier to switch horses in those days but often it happened by accident. In the 1927 season two horses changed yards at the start of the season and new trainer mixed them up. One was a three year old and the other four. Obviously the four year old was greatly favoured by running against younger horses at level weights and won at least three races. The mix-up was discovered before the end of the season and the connections owned up to the error. The stewards took a refeshingly sensible view and - after disqualifying the horses from their races - arranged for the prize money to be redistributed without imposing any further punishment on the trainer.
As i said to Nass, look to the riddle- you may not remember the particular race, even though it was, in my opinion, a very unfair disqualification; and it caused a lot of controversy at the time. When you get one horse, you'll almost certainly get the other. The first verse has two clues to the horse, and the second verse has one big clue to the other horse. I'm pretty sure you've had enough of it, so here's one clue to one part of the answer from the first verse... The Humpty Dumpty nursery rhyme doesn't tell you how he came to "have a great fall." "Some say the reason.........." (from the riddle). So tell me, if Humpty Dumpty had a ........., that could been the reason he had " a great fall," couldn't it? Another clue.. Actress Diane Keaton played the mother of the owner of the second horse- in the film "Reds."
Ron, there used to be a saying knocking about- and I thought everyone knew it..... Humpty Dumpty didn't fall. He was..........!!!
No, Ron, Bryant was the mother of the owner- but she wasn't called Bryant when she remarried the owner's father.
Ron, the first verse.. First part of horse's name....Humpty had a great fall because he was given a .........! Second part....."endlessly" a synonym of glutted and gorged ie. take off the end of this word. Second verse..."my namesake's grip"......what kind of "grips" are there?
