Abingworth

A recent recruit to the Deva Racing lineup, talented seven-year-old chaser Abingworth is based with James Owen in Newmarket.

Owned and bred 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, we fully expect Abingworth to continue where he left off for previous connections. His chase rating of 110 might be a career high, but he doesn’t have too many miles on the clock and could still be improving as a seven-year-old. He has won right-handed and left-handed, and is versatile with regards to underfoot conditions. Both of his wins towards the end of last season have worked out nicely and he could not be joining a trainer in better form.

James has sent out more than 100 winners over jumps at a strike-rate in excess of 20% over the past couple of years and has made a lightning start to the new season. He is a dab hand at improving horses received from other stables and Abingworth looks just the type he might be able to coax a sequence of wins from in the months ahead.