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Agree (as a fellow old timer!) Coolmore do this all the time – I could never understand how they are allowed to use names such as Cherry Hinton. What if Cherry Hinton had won the Cherry Hinton (which it was still called at the time)? Bizarre.
I assumed that the Cherry Hinton Stakes was named after the place Cherry Hinton in Cambridgeshire rather than a racehorse.
It was named after the place and first run in 1947 (thanks WikiP). Older viewers may remember the ‘original’ horse named Cherry Hinton who was a good 2yo filly in the late ’70s and winter fav for the Guineas. Cherry Hinton would have qualified I think but rather sadly didn’t run in the Cherry Hinton as she was a late starter who didn’t race before August (thanks again WikiP)
The worst example of a name being allowed is surely Percy’s Lass. She is by Sir Percy, whose dam was also called Percy’s Lass!!
On that note, I had to blink a bit when I saw a report about Tanino Urban Sea, who’s by Sea The Stars, whose dam was… Urban Sea. This filly is running in Japan though so not sure if it counts as a “what were they thinking” moment.
I’ve noticed quite a few horses currently in training in the UK who bear the same or very similar names as former well known horses of the past four or five decades. In the past week alone, two winners in particular of minor races have caught my eye – Grand Canyon and Popsies Joy. A blast from the past, I thought. For their more illustrious counterparts, Grand Canyon was a grand ‘chaser of the late 1970’s who famously won the Colonial Cup in the States in 1978; and Popsi’s Joy – albeit spelt slightly differently but sound the same – was a popular staying handicapper on the level who won the Cesarewitch in 1980, with a certain L Piggott, no less, on board.
The first UK import I came across who plied his trade in HK was (I think) the former inmate of John Dunlop’s, Shining Finish, whilst on holiday there in the early eighties. As I recall, he was given a Chinese name which was loosely translated as ‘Brilliant Victory’ or ‘Famous Victory’. Quite a good translation, I thought at the time. Well, I do remember wondering way back then what’d happened to that horse, whom I liked following back in the UK. Small world and all that!
And, of course, there was no Google to google, back then……….. 
Acknowledged on the origins of ‘Cherry Hinton’, thank you. I had assumed that it was named after the original filly (who obviously grew in stature in my memory).
Not really on topic, but you might like to know that the Triple Crown winner, Gainsborough, was named not after the artist, but after Gainsborough railway station by his owner-breeder, Lady Douglas, after she browsed through a copy of Bradshaw’s while searching for a name for her colt.
And, of course, there was no Google to google, back then……….. 
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