What’s In A Name? Hollywoodbets

The names of the Hollywoodbets Syndicate’s horses certainly have been rolling off the tongues of the commentators around South Africa, and thanks to the exploits of Isivunguvungu, have even reached American shores.

Hollywoodbets’ innovative naming has been as eye-catching as they have been captivating when listening to the reasons behind them. So, far the Syndicate has totalled 592 winners and are closing on on the magical 600-winners mark, with intense interest in the racing community to see who the landmark winner will be.

Isivunguvungu is the now exported Equus Champion Sprinter who made a winning USA debut in September and the most successful of all Hollywoodbets’ winners. Hollywoodbets asked brand ambassador Odwa Ndungane, former Sharks rugby wing, for name ideas and opted for his suggestion of “Isivunguvungu” which is the Zulu word for “storm”. 

The Brand and Communication Manager for Hollywoodbets, Devin Heffer, takes up the story. “We approach our Hollywoodbets brand ambassadors, Hollywoodbets sponsored entities, our business partners, and even our own team members to get name suggestions for our horses. We then look at which horses the names would be best suited to, as well as where the horses will be running. For example Blackandwhitedynamite was named by the Hollywoodbets Sharks Rugby team, so we had him trained by Peter Muscutt in Durban. Once we have our list of names, the team will approve or dismiss a name, and then we allocate it.”

According to Heffer the concept originated as a bit of fun and to generate more interest from our team in horse racing. We had different departments submit names, and then they got to follow them during the racing season. They also got to visit them at their training centres, and learn more about the sport. We then found this to be a lot more fun than we anticipated, and the names of the horses gave a whole another facet to racing. A name wasn’t just a name. It was a story.”

One of the horses to look out for in the upcoming Cape Racing season is Elizabedi Gold. He is named after Springbok rugby hero Eben Etzebeth. Etzebeth received the nickname “Elizabedi” after a video went viral on social media of a young Springbok fan Siya Dlamini celebrating Eben’s try against France in the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. The “Gold” part of the name relates to the sire being Gold Standard, but also to signify the two Rugby World Cup titles Etzebeth won with the Springboks in 2019 and 2023.

Some other names created by personalities in the Western Cape are Asinantanga, which means “we have no peers” in isiXhosa, Ingqwele (“champion” in isiZulu), Kaapse Klopse, Qondanekukhanyeni, (“walk towards the light” in isiZulu), Stroopsoet, Vernon The Surgeon (named by ex-cricketer Vernon Philander) and Voorloopertjie.

For a full list of Hollywoodbets Syndicate names, see below: