Hugh Lupus, who was inbred 2 × 3 to the stallion Tourbillon, suffered from low fertility at stud but sired several other good horses including the 1,000 Guineas winner Pourparler.
Hugh Lupus and Hethersett were representatives of the Byerley Turk sire line,[4] unlike more than 95% of modern thoroughbreds, who descend directly from the Darley Arabian.
[5] Hethersett's dam, Bride Elect (by Big Game) was a fast filly who won the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot for Holliday in 1954.
[6] Hethersett did not appear as a two-year-old until the autumn when he made a successful debut in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes over six furlongs (not the modern race of the same name) at Ascot Racecourse.
[9] Hethersett ran poorly on firm ground at Goodwood Racecourse in July, finishing seventh behind Gay Challenger in the Gordon Stakes but returned to form in August at York.
[10] In the St Leger Stakes at Doncaster on 12 September, Hethersett started at odds of 100/8 (12.5/1) with some doubting that he would be effective over the distance of fourteen and a half furlongs on soft ground.
[13] On his final appearance of the season, Hethersett was brought back in distance for the Champion Stakes over one and a quarter miles at Newmarket and finished second to the Irish 2000 Guineas winner Arctic Storm.
[15] Hethersett was given a rating of 134 by the independent Timeform organisation, placing him equal with Arctic Storm as the best three-year-old in Europe, a pound below the top-rated four-year-old Match.