Call Equiname (foaled 28 May 1990) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse who competed under National Hunt rules. In a racing career frequently interrupted by injury he raced twenty-one times in eight seasons, winning eleven races. Despite an undistinguished pedigree, he showed promise in his early career, winning the Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle in 1995. He reached his peak in the spring of 1999 when he won the Victor Chandler Chase and the Queen Mother Champion Chase. He was retired from racing in January 2001.
Background
Call Equiname was a grey gelding bred in the United Kingdom by Mrs L Steele. He was by far the most notable horse sired by Belfort, a moderate racehorse and an obscure breeding stallion. Call Equinames dam, Cherry Season, won one minor race from fifteen starts in 1982 and 1983.
As a yearling, Call Equiname was sent to the Doncaster bloodstock sale in September 1991 and bought for 1,500 guineas by Don Eddy acting on behalf of Karen McLintock. Although it was originally intended to use the horse for dressage, he was trained for racing by Eddy at his stable at Black Heddon, Northumberland. According to the Encyclopedia of British Horse Racing, Equiname was a company set up to allow advertisers to name a horse without actually buying one and Call Equiname was intended to act as their "mobile advertisement".
Throughout his racing career, Call Equiname's efforts were compromised by a series of injury problems: the Racing Post described him as having "legs like glass and a heart of oak".
Racing career
1993/1994 season: National Hunt flat races
Call Equiname made his racecourse debut in a National Hunt Flat race at Musselburgh Racecourse on 7 January 1994. Starting at odds of 5/1 in a fourteen-runner field he accelerated clear of his opponents in the last three furlongs to win by fifteen lengths from Benbeath. After finishing second when favourite for a similar event at Doncaster Racecourse three weeks later he ended his first season in a National Hunt flat race at Ayr Racecourse in April. Starting the 7/4 favourite, he led from the start and won by six lengths from Sparky Gayle.
In May 1994 Call Equiname was sent back to the Doncaster sales and was bought for 64,000 guineas by Paul Nicholls who moved the gelding to his stable in Somerset. For the remainder of his racing career, Call Equiname was owned by Paul Barber in a variety of partnerships. In his early days at Nicholls's yard Call Equiname was extremely aggressive: according to Robin Oakley he was "almost certainly responsible" for the death of the highly promising chaser See More Indians (winner of the Feltham Novices' Chase) who was euthanised after his leg was "shattered" by a kick from Call Equiname.
1994/1995 & 1995/1996 seasons: Novice hurdles
On 28 October 1994, Call Equiname made his first appearance as a hurdler in a novice event at Wetherby Racecourse. He jumped poorly and finished fourth of the nineteen runners behind Callisoe Bay. On his only other appearance of the season, he started favourite for a similar even at Newbury Racecourse in March but was beaten four lengths by the 66/1 outsider Raqib.
Having failed to win in the previous season, Call Equiname was still eligible to compete in novice hurdle events in the 1995/1996 campaign and had his most active season, racing seven times and ridden in all of his races by Tony McCoy. On 30 September 1995, he recorded his first win over obstacles when winning at Chepstow Racecourse, beating Speedwell Prince by half a length. He was then matched against more experienced hurdlers in a handicap race at the same course in November and finished unplaced behind Lightening Lad under top weight of 167 pounds. A week later, the gelding was then moved up in class for the Grade 2 Flowers Fine Ales Novices' Hurdle and finished second of the twelve runners behind the Josh Gifford-trained Mandy's Mantino. On 1 December, Call Equiname conceded ten pounds to nine opponents in a novices' event at Sandown Park Racecourse and won by four lengths from Crack On. Two weeks later Call Equiname started the 7/4 favourite for the Kennel Gate Novices' Hurdle at Ascot Racecourse. McCoy sent the favourite into the lead at the second last flight of hurdles and Call Equiname prevailed in a closely contested finish, winning by a neck and a short head from Speedwell Prince and Strong Promise.