{{Short description|Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse}}

{{Infobox racehorse | horsename = Bernborough | image = 250px|centre | caption = Bernborough and Athol Mulley<br> Flemington Racecourse | sire = Emborough (GB) | grandsire = Gainsborough | dam = Bern Maid | damsire = Bernard (GB) | sex = Stallion | foaled = 1939 | country = Australia | colour = Bay | breeder = Estate of Harry J. Winten | owner = Frank and John R. Bach<br> A.E.Hadwin<ref name="Barrie">Barrie, Douglas M., The Australian Bloodhorse, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1956</ref><br>Azzalin O. Romano (at age 6) | trainer = Gordon Neale<br>Bobby Mitchell<br>Dinny Callinan<br>Francis Roberts<br>Harry Plant<ref>[http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/p_Bernborough.aspx Australian Hall of Fame: Bernborough] Retrieved 2010-4-17</ref> | record = 37: 26-2-1 | earnings = £25,504<ref name="Barrie"/> | race = Villiers Stakes (1945)<br>All Aged Stakes (1946)<br>Hill Stakes (1946)<br>Warwick Stakes (1946)<br>Rawson Stakes (1946)<br>Caulfield Stakes (1946)<br>Chelmsford Stakes (1946)<br>Chipping Norton Stakes (1946)<br>Melbourne Stakes (1946)<br>Futurity Stakes (1946)<br>Newmarket Handicap (1946)<br>Doomben 10,000 (1946)<br>Doomben Cup (1946) | awards= | honours = Australian Racing Hall of Fame | updated= 13 June 2011}}

'''Bernborough''' (1939–1960) was an outstanding Australian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse who competed from 1941 to 1946. He carried heavy weights in 15 consecutive wins that included the Doomben 10,000 while carrying 10 stone 5 pounds.

Bernborough was foaled at Rosalie Plains near the township of Oakey in the Darling Downs in Queensland. The bay colt was by the good sire Emborough (GB) from Bern Maid by Bernard (GB), who was the paternal grandson of Gainsborough, winner of the English Triple Crown in 1918.

==Racing record== thumb|left|upright| Bernborough after the 1946 Chelmsford Stakes Randwick Racecourse Bernborough first raced under the ownership of A.E.Hadwin. A Queensland trainer, J. Roberts, then leased the horse.<ref name="Barrie"/> 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 in Queensland as he was barred from racing at metropolitan tracks because of ownership doubts.<ref name="Ahnert">Ahnert, Rainer L. (Ed. in Chief), “Thoroughbred Breeding of the World”, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970</ref> His racing colours were orange, purple sleeves, and black cap. His trainer was Harry Plant.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42525183 |title=U S. OWNERS WANT BERNBOROUGH |newspaper=Cairns Post |issue=13,939 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=5 November 1946 |access-date=20 February 2019 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}} .</ref> When he was six years old, he was moved to Sydney and following his sale to A.O. Romano for 2,600 guineas, his nominations were accepted.<ref name="Ahnert"/> Then he began a winning streak of 15 races. His wins included the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington carrying 9 st 13&nbsp;lb (63&nbsp;kg) and the Doomben Cup under 10 st 11&nbsp;lb (68&nbsp;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, who had finished second to Bernborough on many occasions, went on to win.

==1946 racebook== <gallery> 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 </gallery>

==Stud record== [[File:Bernborough (AUS) meets Shannon II.jpg|thumb|left|Bernborough meets Shannon in America.]]

After recovering from his injuries, Bernborough was sold in 1946 for a record £93,000<ref>{{cite news|url=http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/trophy-estate-with-trimmings-20100906-14xdx.html|title=Trophy estate with trimmings|first=Jonathan|last=Chancellor|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=5 September 2010|publisher=Fairfax Media|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429051015/http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/trophy-estate-with-trimmings-20100906-14xdx.html|archivedate=29 April 2014}}</ref> to movie producer Louis B. Mayer for stud duties in the USA, where he went on to moderate success as a stallion at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. 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 list.<ref name="Barrie"/>

Bernborough's progeny included: * Berseem, champion American sprinter * Bernwood, established a new world record, 1 min. 33.8 seconds, for a mile.<ref name="Pring">Pring, Peter; "Analysis of Champion Racehorses", The Thoroughbred Press, Sydney, 1977, {{ISBN|0-908133-00-6}}</ref> * First Aid, won the Whitney Handicap and $223,527 * Hook Money, sire of Shandon Belle (won Irish 1,000 Guineas)

==Honours== Bernborough was one of the five inaugural inductees into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame, alongside other turf notables Carbine, Phar Lap, 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 issued by Australia Post.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0012450.jpg |title=Image of stamp |access-date=2009-07-10 |archive-date=2012-02-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219170718/http://www.australianstamp.com/images/large/0012450.jpg |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== In culture == In his 2015 memoir ''Something for the Pain: A Memoir of the Turf'', Gerald Murnane makes Bernborough the subject of his third chapter. He names it as a personal favorite and claims that it is for him the greatest racing horse ever "bred in Australia".<ref>{{Cite web |author=Paul Genoni |url=https://westerlymag.com.au/a-review-of-gerald-murnanes-something-for-the-pain-a-memoir-of-the-turf/ |title=A Review of Gerald Murnane's 'Something for the Pain: A Memoir of the Turf' |work=Westerly |date=18 January 2016 |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref><ref>Gerald Murnane: ''Something for the Pain: A Memoir of the Turf'', 2015, p. 17-27.</ref>

==See also== *List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses *List of racehorses

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.pedigreequery.com/bernborough Bernborough's pedigree and racing stats] * [http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/p_Bernborough.aspx Australian Museum and Racing Hall of Fame] * [http://www.horsedirectory.com.au/racinghistory/horse_profiles/hpro.Bernb.html Horse Profile - Bernborough] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080721205556/http://www.horsedirectory.com.au/racinghistory/horse_profiles/hpro.Bernb.html |date=2008-07-21 }}

Category:1939 racehorse births Category:1960 racehorse deaths Category:Racehorses bred in Australia Category:Racehorses trained in Australia Category:Australian Racing Hall of Fame horses Category:Thoroughbred family 1-u