Abingworth

The seven-year-old Kapgarde gelding Abingworth is trained by James Owen in Newmarket. He has won over hurdles and fences and is also effective on the Flat.

Bred and originally owned by Chris Stedman and previously trained by Gary and Josh Moore, Abingworth is out of the Listed-winning hurdler Flute Bowl and made an immediate impression when second in a Huntingdon bumper on his racecourse debut in November 2021. Switched to hurdles the following season, he proved to be a progressive handicapper and opened his account with a gutsy win in a 2m4½f handicap hurdle at Plumpton in April 2023.

Sent chasing at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, he was off the mark at the third attempt over fences when winning a 2m2f Taunton handicap. That victory sparked an excellent run of form, with runner-up finishes at Ludlow and Hereford following, before he won again over 2m4f at Wincanton in March 2024 from a rating of 107.

Although Abingworth didn’t start the 2024/25 season in quite the same form, he was eased in the weights as a result, and the second half of the campaign turned into a roaring success. He was the seven-and-a-half length winner of a 2m4f Wincanton handicap chase in March and doubled his tally over the same trip at Warwick the following month. In fact, he might well have made it a hat-trick but for unseating when leading two out at Worcester in the middle of May.

Having made the move to James Owen’s thriving Newmarket yard following that Worcester run, we fully expected Abingworth to continue where he left off for previous connections, and so it proved. He finished second at Fakenham on his debut for us in a Class 3 handicap chase over 2m5f and then won by 4.25L at Market Rasen on his next start, keeping on strongly to score in a first-time hood under champion jockey Sean Bowen.

Abingworth then made a belated debut on the Flat a week after his Market Rasen victory. He ran well to finish fourth in a 1m6f Goodwood maiden behind the Andrew Balding-trained Way Of Stars, who has since franked the form in a valuable handicap at Haydock, and then finished an excellent fifth in the Listed Charlie Wood Stakes over 1m4f at Beverley. Both of these efforts suggest he has plenty to offer on the level, while his hurdles rating of 105 and chase rating of 113 also look within reach.

An extremely tough and versatile horse, Abingworth has made a great start to life in Deva Racing colours, and he has a huge amount more to offer. We look forward to seeing where his exciting journey takes him next.