Andrew Thornton
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Andrew Thornton
Andrew Thornton is a retired National Hunt racing, National Hunt jockey. Early life He was born on 28 October 1972 in Cleveland, England, Cleveland and schooled at Barnard Castle School in County Durham. He is not related to another English jockey, Robert Thornton (jockey), Robert Thornton. Riding career He rode mainly for Caroline Bailey and Seamus Mullins, he was stable jockey for Robert Alner for many years as well as riding for plenty of other trainers over the years. Thornton was one of the very few National Hunt jockeys who wore contact lenses while riding and it is for this reason that he acquired the nicknames "Lensio" and "Blindman". Thornton rode his 1000th winner on Kentford Myth at Wincanton Racecourse, Wincanton on 26 December 2016. Despite having to endure many setbacks and injuries throughout his career, by 2012 Thornton was widely regarded as one of the best jumps jockeys around. He was also very highly respected among his weighing room colleagues. Because Thornt ...
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Andrew Thornton
Andrew Thornton is a retired National Hunt racing, National Hunt jockey. Early life He was born on 28 October 1972 in Cleveland, England, Cleveland and schooled at Barnard Castle School in County Durham. He is not related to another English jockey, Robert Thornton (jockey), Robert Thornton. Riding career He rode mainly for Caroline Bailey and Seamus Mullins, he was stable jockey for Robert Alner for many years as well as riding for plenty of other trainers over the years. Thornton was one of the very few National Hunt jockeys who wore contact lenses while riding and it is for this reason that he acquired the nicknames "Lensio" and "Blindman". Thornton rode his 1000th winner on Kentford Myth at Wincanton Racecourse, Wincanton on 26 December 2016. Despite having to endure many setbacks and injuries throughout his career, by 2012 Thornton was widely regarded as one of the best jumps jockeys around. He was also very highly respected among his weighing room colleagues. Because Thornt ...
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William Hill Trophy Handicap Chase
The Festival Trophy is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 1 furlong (), and during its running there are twenty fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival in March. The event was originally known as the National Hunt Handicap Chase, but its title has included the name of a sponsor from the early 1980s. It was backed by Ritz Club from 1981 until 1996, Astec Buzz Shop in 1997 and William Hill between 1998 and 2010. In 2011 the race was run as the Stewart Family Spinal Research Handicap Chase and sponsored by the Stewart family, headed by businessman and racehorse owner Andy Stewart to raise awareness of, and highlight the work done by, the charity Spinal Research. In 2012 and 2013 the race was sponso ...
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Cotswold Chase
The Cotswold Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 miles and 1½ furlongs (3 miles 1 furlong and 156 yards, or 5,172 metres), and during its running there are twenty-one fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in January. The race was first run in 1980 as the Tote Double Chase, later the Timeform Hall of Fame Chase. The event serves as a trial for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, which takes place at the same venue in March. It is held during Festival Trials Day, which features several other trials for races at the Cheltenham Festival. The event is registered as the Cotswold Chase, but it has usually been known by a sponsored title. The wine merchant Bibendum supported the race from 2010 to 2014, and its 2014 title promoted Argento, an Argentinian wine brand. From 2015 to 201 ...
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Reynoldstown Novices' Chase
The Reynoldstown Novices' Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of about 3 miles (2 miles, 7 furlongs and 180 yards, or ), and during its running there are twenty fences to be jumped. The race is for novice chasers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in February. The event is named in honour of the racehorse Reynoldstown, a dual winner of the Grand National in the 1930s. The Reynoldstown Novices' Chase serves as a trial for the RSA Insurance Novices' Chase in March. The last horse to win both races in the same year was O'Faolains Boy in 2014. The race is currently sponsored by Sodexo. Winners See also * Horse racing in Great Britain * List of British National Hunt races References * Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is publishe ...
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Hennessy Gold Cup
/Ladbrokes Trophy The Coral Gold Cup is a Premier Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 3 miles and 2 furlongs (3 miles, 1 furlong and 214 yards, or 5,225 metres), and during its running there are twenty-one fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late November or early December. History The event was established in 1957 as the Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup, and it was initially staged at Cheltenham. The winner of the inaugural running, Mandarin, was owned by Peggy Hennessy, a member of the family which founded Hennessy, the race's sponsoring company. It was transferred to Newbury in 1960, and it was won by Mandarin for a second time in 1961. The race's second running was won by Taxidermist, ridden by the amateur rider John Lawrence, later Lo ...
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Scottish Grand National
The Scottish Grand National is a Grade 3 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Ayr, Scotland, over a distance of about 4 miles (3 miles 7 furlongs and 176 yards, or 6,397 metres) and during its running there are 27 fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and takes place each year in April. It is Scotland's equivalent of the Grand National, and is held during Ayr's two-day Scottish Grand National Festival meeting. History The race, then known as the "West of Scotland Grand National", was first run at a course near Houston, Renfrewshire in 1858. It consisted of 32 jumps, mainly stone walls. In 1867, after objections by the leader of the Free Kirk in Houston, the race moved to Bogside Racecourse, near Irvine. The inaugural winner at Bogside, The Elk, was owned by the Duke of Hamilton. During the early part of its history the race's distance was about three mile ...
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National Spirit Hurdle
The National Spirit Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Fontwell Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 3 furlongs (2 miles, 3 furlongs and 33 yards or ), and during its running there are ten hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in late February or early March. The event is named after National Spirit, a dual winner of the Champion Hurdle in the 1940s. National Spirit won five times at Fontwell Park, including three successive victories in the Rank Challenge Cup. The National Spirit Hurdle was established in 1965, and the inaugural running was won by Salmon Spray. During its early years it was also won by Comedy of Errors. For a period the race was run over 2¼ miles, and it served as a trial for the Champion Hurdle (Beech Road won both events in 1989). It was discontinued in 1994, but its title was revived f ...
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Racing Post Chase
The Coral Trophy is a Grade 3 Handicap National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles (), and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. It is a handicap race, and it is scheduled to take place each year in late February. The race was first run in 1949, but in 1988 it was rebranded as the Racing Post Chase and increased in value. The sponsorship by the Racing Post continued until 2011. In the 2012 the sponsorship was taken over by rival weekend newspaper Racing Plus who backed the race until 2013, and in 2014 the sponsorship passed to BetBright. It was sponsored by Betdaq in 2018, 888sport in 2019, Betway in 2020 and Close Brothers Group in 2021. In 2022 Ladbrokes Coral took over the sponsorship. The race often serves as a trial for the Grand National, and two horses have won both races in the same year. B ...
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Rendlesham Hurdle
The Rendlesham Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of about 3 miles and ½ a furlong (3 miles and 58 yards, or ), and during its running there are twelve hurdles to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in February. The race was first run in 1980 and was initially held at Kempton Park. It was a limited handicap from 1995 to 2001. The race was transferred to Haydock in 2006, and its distance here was initially 2 miles and 7½ furlongs. It was extended to 3 miles in 2008, and then to 3 miles and 1 furlong for 2009 and 2010 before reverting to 3 miles in 2011 and being cut to 2 miles and 7 furlongs in 2012. It has been run at its present distance since 2019. The race is currently sponsored by William Hill and was run under various sponsored titles between 2010 and 2016. The Rendlesham Hurdle serves a ...
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Finale Juvenile Hurdle
The Finale Juvenile Hurdle is a Grade 2 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged three years. It is run at Chepstow over a distance of about 2 miles (2 miles and 11 yards, or 3,228 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year during the Welsh Grand National meeting in late December. On occasions when the race has been postponed to January of the following year, the runners are aged four years. The race carried Grade 1 status until the 2021 running. It was downgraded to Grade 2 by the British Horseracing Authority in 2022. Records Leading jockey since 1971 (3 wins): * Mick Fitzgerald – ''Mister Banjo (1999), Blue Shark (2005), Good Bye Simon (2006) '' * Richard Johnson – ''Franchoek (2007), Le Rocher (2013), Defi Du Seuil (2016)'' * Daryl Jacob – '' Me Voici (2009), Bristol De Mai (2014), We Have A ...
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Christmas Hurdle
The Christmas Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 2 miles (3,219 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is the second leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling and is scheduled to take place each year during the King George VI Chase meeting on Boxing Day. History During the 1960s Kempton staged a 2-mile handicap race on Boxing Day called the Kempton Park Handicap Hurdle. Its winners included Salmon Spray and Saucy Kit – both subsequent winners of the Champion Hurdle. The race was abandoned in 1967 and 1968, and it returned in the guise of the Christmas Hurdle in 1969. Five winners of the race in its present format have gone on to victory in the Champion Hurdle. The first was Lanzarote, the winner of the latter event in 1974, and the others are Dawn Run (1983–84), Kribe ...
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Tolworth Hurdle
The Tolworth Novices' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mile 7 furlongs and 216 yards, or 3,215 metres), and during its running there are eight hurdles to be jumped. The race is for novice hurdlers, and it is scheduled to take place each year in January. From 2011 to 2018 the race was sponsored by online casino 32Red and was run as the 32Red Hurdle between 2011 and 2013. Since 2019 it has been sponsored by Unibet The race was first run in 1976. Records Leading jockey (3 wins): * Norman Williamson – ''Silver Wedge (1995), Monsignor (2000), Miros (2002)'' * Ruby Walsh - ''Silverburn (2007), Breedsbreeze (2008), Yorkhill (2016)'' * Barry Geraghty - ''Minella Class (2011), Captain Conan (2012), L'ami Serge (2015)'' Leading trainer (6 wins): * Nicky Henderson – ''New York Rainbow (1992), Minell ...
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