Goddess of the Norse, Goddess of the Horse

INTRODUCTION

1590s, “a Norwegian,” from obsolete Dutch Noorsch (adj.), noordsch “northern, nordic,” from noord “north”
Old Norse was the North Germanic language spoken by the peoples of ancient Scandinavia.
Hel, NORSE QUEEN of the Underworld. Hel was the Goddess of death and the Underworld in Norse mythology.
Her namesake comes from the realm she ruled which was Helheim, one of the nine worlds of Norse mythology.
It was thought that those who died of disease or old age, went to Helheim.

BACKGROUND

NORSE QUEEN (M069) was an Australia pony of subscription.
Chinese names for horses were officially interpreted for horse such as NORSE QUEEN.
However, names might still have different Chinese characters for depiction.
Mr R. Johannessen, the owner, was said to be a gentleman from Northern Europe.

HIGHLIGHTS

SUMMARY

1947 In Grand Style
Pick of the new Walers was Mr R. Johannesen’s NORSE QUEEN.

1947-01-14, it won the 70th Derby by Mr Ostroumoff, Race 3, Tuesday, the first day of Annual Race Meeting.

1947-12-06, it won the Champions (Mr Donald Black).
With the increased prize-money, winnings were almost double the pre-War totals.

1947, NORSE QUEEN was the winner of that Derby and also crowned as Horse of the Year.
But the Horse King of the Year, called by the Chinese, was actually a filly.

NORSE QUEEN won in her first year $19,229 in stake money.

1948 The Classic Events Winner
NORSE QUEEN shown her power in 5 battles for supremacy.

1949 Race Of Giants
Over a 2-1/4 miles with only 2 starters.
NORSE QUEEN won against her only contender FIFTH ALARM (Needa).

1950 A Sensational Melo-drama
1950-11-18 race 3, the final victory was a dramatic comeback of NORSE QUEEN.
She finished 1-1/5 under and nearly broke the record established by NATIONAL COURAGE in November 1941.

REFERENCE

For NORSE QUEEN, there was a comment by Shen Kut-Shing (Lo Kut) in his book《30 Year In Racecourse》:
In that era, whenever griffins arrived and started racing in Hong Kong, none of them could score five wins in a racing season.
Among the five winners, they were not a record of four times in a roll.
NORSE QUEEN set such a record.
Until the 1970s, such record still could not be broken.
960 meters = 1/2 mile 170 yards, 1207 meters = 6 Furlong, 1609 meters = 1 mile,, 1766 meters = 1 mile 171 yards, 2012 meters = 1-1/4miles, 2861 meters = 1-3/4 miles.

RELATED LINK

Photo Gallery

Video Showcase

ELEGANT FASHION (C190) – 《RacingMemories.HK》
Derby, The Hong Kong Racing Tradition – 《RacingMemories.HK》
Derby 1947-01-14 NORSE QUEEN – 《RacingMemories.HK》

Acknowledgement to Mr Peter YUEN for rectifying record data.

Acknowledgement to HKJC Racing Registry for offering record data.