Abernant (horse)

Abernant was a dark-grey horse bred by Catherine Macdonald-Buchanan and raced in the colours of her husband Reginald Macdonald-Buchanan. He was sired by the Epsom Derby winner Owen Tudor, by Hyperion, a son of the English Triple Crown winner, Gainsborough. Abernant's dam, Rustam Mahal, was a non-winning daughter of Rustom Pasha and the very important broodmare Mumtaz Mahal who in turn was sired by The Tetrarch. horse during his racing career although like all grey horses, his coat lightened as he aged. Abernant was sent into training with Noel Murless at Beckhampton in Wiltshire. ==Racing record==

1948: two-year-old season Abernant was beaten on his debut in a race at Lingfield, but won his remaining five races in 1948. He won the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot, the National Breeders' Produce Stakes at Sandown, the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster (beating Nimbus by six lengths) and the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket. His only serious challenge came in the National Stakes in which he had to be ridden out by Richards to beat Star King. At the end of the year, he was rated the best British two-year-old in the Free Handicap. 1949: three-year-old season On his first appearance as a three-year-old, Abernant won over seven furlongs at Bath and was then moved up to one mile to contest the one mile 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He started favourite at odds of 5/9 and led from the start under Gordon Richards. In the closing stages his stamina failed and he was caught and beaten a short head by Nimbus in the closest finish in the race's history. Following his defeat at Newmarket, Abernant reverted to sprint distances and went through the rest of the season unbeaten. His wins included the King's Stand Stakes, the July Cup, the King George Stakes and the Nunthorpe Stakes. In the Nunthorpe he won by five lengths despite only taking the lead inside the final furlong. 1950: four-year-old season At age four in 1950, he was beaten in the King's Stand Stakes, when he failed to concede twenty-three pounds to the three-year-old Tangle. He won the Lubbock Sprint Stakes at Sandown Park Racecourse, to give Richards his 4000th winner. ==Assessment==

Abernant's Timeform rating of 142 equals that of Ribot as the fourth-best ever awarded. In the years that followed his retirement, among the many accolades, The Independent newspaper wrote that Abernant "was the best sprinter ever to grace a racecourse." Timeform rated Abernant the best horse of his generation in Europe at ages two, three and four. He was the joint-highest rated horse of 1949 (with the stayer Alycidon) and the highest-rated horse of 1950. Gordon Richards described Abernant as the fastest horse he ever rode. ==Stud record==

Abernant sired the winners of over 1,000 races, including Abermaid (1962 1,000 Guineas Stakes), Even Star (Irish 1,000 Guineas), Welsh Rake (1963 Queen Anne Stakes), Zahedan (1965 National Stakes) and Thin Ice (Sanford Stakes). He died in 1970 at age twenty-four and is buried at Egerton Stud in Newmarket. In an interview with trainer Mark Tompkins, Julie Murless, the daughter of Abernant's trainer, recalled that the gentle horse loved children and as a child of five she would sit on his back. ==Pedigree==

{{Pedigree Abernant is inbred 4S x 5S to the stallion Chaucer, meaning that he appears fourth generation and fifth generation (via Scapa Flow) on the sire side of his pedigree. ==References==