Abernant (horse)

Abernant was a dark-grey, 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.[1] Abernant was a half brother to Kurdistan (by Tehran) who was a successful sire in New Zealand, siring among others, Baghdad Note, a winner of the Melbourne Cup.[3][4] 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.

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."[12] 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.[2]

In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Abernant the best British sprinter of the century and the no. 20 horse in their global ranking, one place ahead of Man o' War.[13]

Gordon Richards described Abernant as the fastest horse he ever rode.[11]

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).[14]

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.[15]