Robert "Choc" Thornton (born 14 July 1978 in Darlington) is a retired

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

jockey. Robert "Chocolate" Thornton (known as Choc) was one of the United Kingdom's leading National Hunt jockeys. After growing up riding hunters with his father (a noted professional Huntsman) he started working for trainer David Nicholson in 1997 as an amateur and after immediate success became a

Conditional jockey A conditional jockey is an apprentice National Hunt racing jockey in Great Britain or Ireland under the age of 26 who has not won more than seventy-five races under rules or had not won that many races within the last six months. A conditional joc ...

riding 71 winners during his first season in the sport. He won the Conditional Jockey's title the following year. After making his professional debut, Thornton’s performance was consistent, if unspectacular, and he consistently featured in the top 10 of the British Jumps Jockey Championship. Thornton’s most successful season was the 2007/2008-season, during which he broke the 100-winner barrier for the first time, by winning 105 of his 597 races. Robert Thornton shies away from the spotlight and he did not talk to the television cameras until he spoke to his owners and trainer. Robert Thornton’s greatest achievements are all linked to the

Cheltenham Festival The Cheltenham Festival is a horse racing-based meeting in the National Hunt racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with race prize money second only to the Grand National. The four-day festival takes place annually in March at Cheltenham Ra ...

, at which he showed a knack for riding winners in major hurdles races. Thornton won his first Cheltenham Festival feature race in 2006, when he rode My Way de Solzen to victory in the

World Hurdle The Stayers' Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain. It is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 3 mil ...

. Thornton has since won the Champion Hurdle and

Triumph Hurdle The Triumph Hurdle is a Grade 1 National Hunt hurdle race in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years. It is run on the New Course at Cheltenham over a distance of about 2 miles and 1 f ...

. He also achieved good results in some of the Cheltenham Festival’s most prestigious chases, winning the

Queen Mother Champion Chase The Queen Mother Champion Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. As part of a sponsorship agreement with the onl ...

Voy Por Ustedes Voy Por Ustedes (foaled 26 April 2001) is a French-bred chaser. Background Voy Por Ustedes is owned by Sir Robert Ogden and trained by Nicky Henderson. He was originally trained by Guillaume Macaire in France and was subsequently sold to the M ...

in 2007, and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in the same year. Thornton won the Top Jockey title at the Cheltenham Festival in 2007, by riding 4 winners during the meeting. In 2008 he rode three winners including a notable 1st day double. Thornton rode his 1,000th career winner on Araldur at

Towcester Towcester ( ) is an affluent market town in Northamptonshire, England. It currently lies in West Northamptonshire but was the former administrative headquarters of the South Northamptonshire district council. Towcester is one of the olde ...

on 28 March 2011. He is unrelated to the jockey

Andrew Thornton Andrew Thornton is a retired National Hunt jockey. Early life He was born on 28 October 1972 in Cleveland and schooled at Barnard Castle School in County Durham. He is not related to another English jockey, Robert Thornton. Riding career He ro ...

. His worst moment in racing was when Strong Promise died in the 2000 Martel Cup at Liverpool.

Cheltenham Festival Winners

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Robert 1978 births English jockeys Lester Award winners Living people

Cheltenham Festival Winners

See also

References