October
AprilThe original Upset?
It is interesting to note that the use of the term "upset’ in the context of horse racing may have had its origin in a US racehorse of the same name. For it was the US galloper Upset who beat the mighty champion Man o’ War at Saratoga racecourse in 1919.
Man o’ War reportedly had his back to the field when the starter lifted the canvas behind which the horses assembled. There were no mechanised starting stalls in operation at the time.
Despite having to make up an enormous amount of ground, Man o’ War flew home to run a half-length second in the feature race.
Newspaper reports of the day said that his jockey did the horse no favours in the running and that it finished much faster than any horse in the race. A certainty beaten, in any language.
It was the only race he was to lose in 21 starts!
Is it any wonder that the noun "upset" is used to describe those situations when a top horse or certainty is beaten through sheer bad luck by an often vastly inferior one?
Belmont (Vic)