Fallenleaf

Fallenleaf

Naming horses is a bit of fun.
Since the days of breeding mares to War Hawk II I've taken to searching out good sounding North American Indian names.
Here's the latest, Fallenleaf, (Maltese Century - Ravenquiver), to join the racing team, a rising 5yo full sister of Four Swords.
She's only been doing pre-training work up at Dean Cunningham's so far, with a view to getting serious for winter 2012.

Understandably, the Indians dont like ancestor's names being taken in vain any more than Maori do, but I use the anglicised versions, with all due respect accorded. Big attraction for me is, in their language, they have a beautifully unique and descriptive way of putting words together.
Fallenleaf was a member of the Lakota Sioux nation who ranged west of the Missouri into Dakota.
Living around the late 1800's, she was described as "...... one of those individuals found in all lands, at all places, among all people...... misplaced", apparently not in harmony with her own people.
This may have been partly a result of her father, Spotted Tail, not being in synch with his fellow chief peers in seeing futility in warring with the encroaching whites, instead preferring to parley.
He was well rewarded by whites for this stance, even said this went to his head, and was eventually murdered by his own people.
Fallenleaf was thought to have had a long standing love affair with a long-knife officer, and on her death asked to be buried on a hill overlooking Fort Laramie.
Nice story, and in the naming, engenders a mindfulness in the way you look at and treat your horses.

The mare herself, by Maltese Century, a son of the excellent racehorse Century, (5 wins at 2 incl VRC Sires Produce S. and chart topping sire in Aus), and out of Love a Kiss, who was rated 2nd on the 2yo free handicap of her year. Century was also the sire of one of NZ's greats, Centaine.
Her dam Ravenquiver, a daughter of home-bred sire Siege Perilous, (Sir Tristram - Waione Girl), out of stakes placed Never Winter, (War Hawk - Prairie Flower), therefore double-bred with the studs own 22 family blood, with Sir Tristram and War Hawk chucked in.