Bernborough (1939–1960) was an outstanding

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n-bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

who competed from 1941 to 1946. He carried heavy weights in 15 consecutive wins that included the

Doomben 10,000 The Doomben 10,000 is a Brisbane Racing Club Group 1 Thoroughbred Weight for Age horse race, run over a distance of 1200 metres at Doomben Racecourse, Brisbane, Australia during the Queensland Winter Racing Carnival. Total prize money is A$ ...

while carrying 10 stone 5 pounds. Bernborough was foaled at Rosalie Plains near the township of

Oakey Oakey is a rural town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. The Oakey Army Aviation Centre, Museum of Army Aviation is located at Oakey Airport. In the , the locality of Oakey had a pop ...

in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. The

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

colt was by the good sire Emborough (GB) from Bern Maid by Bernard (GB), who was the paternal grandson of

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, Saskatchewan, Ca ...

, winner of the English Triple Crown in 1918.

Racing record

Bernborough 1946 Tatts Chelmsford Stakes Randwick Racecourse Jockey Athol Mulley Trainer Harry Plant

Bernborough first raced under the ownership of A.E.Hadwin. A Queensland trainer, J. Roberts, then leased the horse. He came to prominence racing at Toowoomba's Clifford Park when ridden to his first six wins by Les Watterson. Bernborough only raced at

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

in Queensland as he was barred from racing at metropolitan tracks because of ownership doubts.Ahnert, Rainer L. (Ed. in Chief), “Thoroughbred Breeding of the World”, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970 His racing colours were orange, purple sleeves, and black cap. His trainer was Harry Plant. When he was six years old, he was moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and following his sale to A.O. Romano for 2,600 guineas, his nominations were accepted. Then he began a winning streak of 15 races. His wins included the

Newmarket Handicap The Newmarket Handicap is a Victoria Racing Club Group One, Group 1 Thoroughbred open handicap horse race over a distance of 1200 metres, at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on Super Saturday in March during the VRC Autumn Racing Carn ...

at Flemington carrying 9 st 13 lb (63 kg) and the Doomben Cup under 10 st 11 lb (68 kg). He started 37 times for 26 wins, 2 seconds, and 1 third. On 2 November 1946, Bernborough had his last race in the LKS MacKinnon Stakes. Challenging for the lead just after entering the home straight, he suffered torn sesamoid ligaments and had to be pulled up. The great mare

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

, who had finished second to Bernborough on many occasions, went on to win.

1946 racebook

Image:1946 AJC Warwick Stakes Racebook P1.jpg, 1946 AJC Warwick Stakes racebook front cover Image:1946 AJC Warwick Stakes Racebook P2.jpg, 1946 AJC Warwick Stakes page showing raceday officials Image:1946 AJC Warwick Stakes Racebook P3.jpg, 1946 AJC Warwick Stakes starters and results showing the winner, Bernborough Image:1946 AJC Warwick Stakes Racebook P4.jpg, Back cover showing charges at the entrance gates

Stud record

After recovering from his injuries, Bernborough was sold in 1946 for a record £93,000 to movie producer

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1884Mayer maintained that he was born in Minsk on July 4, 1885. According to Scott Eyman, the reasons may have been: * Mayer's father gave different dates for his birthplace at different times, so ...

for stud duties in the USA, where he went on to moderate success as a stallion at Spendthrift Farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

. Here he sired the winners of more than $4,500,000 in prize money and was placed high on the

Leading sire in North America The list below shows the leading Father, sire of Thoroughbred Horse racing, racehorses in North America for each year since 1830. This is determined by the amount of prize money won by the sire's progeny during the year. It is restricted to Stallio ...

list. Bernborough's progeny included: * Berseem, champion American sprinter * Bernwood, established a new world record, 1 min. 33.8 seconds, for a mile.Pring, Peter; "Analysis of Champion Racehorses", The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, * First Aid, won the

Whitney Handicap The Whitney Stakes (run as the Whitney Handicap through 2013 and still sometimes referred to as such) is an American Grade 1 stakes race for Thoroughbred racehorses four years of age and older run at a distance of miles. The current purse is $1, ...

and $223,527 * Hook Money, sire of Shandon Belle (won

Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is sched ...

)

Honours

Bernborough was one of the five inaugural inductees into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, alongside other turf notables

Carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and ligh ...

Phar Lap Phar Lap (4 October 1926 – 5 April 1932) was a New Zealand-born champion Australian Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse. Achieving great success during his distinguished career, his initial underdog status gave people hope during the ear ...

, Kingston Town, and Tulloch. He is commemorated in the township of Oakey with a life-size bronze statue located outside the Jondaryan Council chambers. In 1978, he was honoured on a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

issued by

Australia Post Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-State-owned enterprise, owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is loca ...

.Image of stamp
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References

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External links