Lunchwithgodzilla Breathes Fire in Drill

Owner Al Gold has shown flair and inspiration over the years in naming his race horses. He had Handleman, named for Bill Handleman, the late racing writer and columnist for the Asbury Park Press; Spanky Fischbein, who was the first winner for New York-based stallion Hook and Ladder; and Mr. Shortcake, named for a racetrack character he knew.

Now, however, Gold is upping the stakes with his unraced 2-year-old bay filly Lunchwithgodzilla.

“She was bred by my friend, Lou Smith, and me; it’s named after one of my wife’s friends who is overbearing and dominating,” Gold said.

Gold, who works in real estate management in New Jersey , has been an owner since 2004. “I’m in the game to enjoy it,” he said. “Part of it is naming the horses.”

When Gold’s wife said one day she was going to have lunch again with the woman, he said, “Oh, lunch with Godzilla.”

The Jockey Club Incompass database lists three horses named Godzilla and others such as Godzilla Cat, Air Godzilla and Go Go Godzilla. Of the 14 horses with Godzilla in their name, seven were bred in Japan . None but Lunchwithgodzilla, however, appear named after a person.

Trainer Steve Margolis said Lunchwithgodzilla, by Hook and Ladder, probably wouldn’t be ready to race until the Belmont Park fall meet. But the smallish bay has shown she might have a little fire to breathe, working a bullet 36.21 seconds for three furlongs on Monday at Saratoga on the main track.

Asked if he was worried about the horse getting good and the woman discovering she provided the inspiration for its unusual name, Gold said he was not worried.

“They’re not horse people, so they’ll never know,” he said.