Robert Thornton (jockey)
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Robert "Choc" Thornton (born 14 July 1978 in Darlington)<ref name="choc">Template:Cite news</ref> is a retired English National Hunt jockey.
Career
Robert "Chocolate" Thornton (known as Choc)<ref name="choc"/> was one of the United Kingdom's leading National Hunt jockeys. After growing up riding hunters with his father, a professional Huntsman, he started working for trainer David Nicholson in 1997 as an amateur.<ref name="thornton"/> After immediate success, he became a Conditional jockey, riding 71 winners during his first season in the sport. He won the Conditional Jockey's title the following year.<ref name="thornton"/>
After making his professional debut in the 1994-95 season,<ref name="BBC1000">Template:Cite news</ref> his performance was consistent, if unspectacular, featuring 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. After Nicholson retired in 1999, Thorton joined up with trainer Alan King.<ref name="thornton"/> 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 with Alan King were mostly linked to the Cheltenham Festival, where he won his first feature race in 2006, when he rode My Way de Solzen to victory in the World Hurdle.<ref name="thornton"/> He won the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Voy Por Ustedes in 2007,<ref name="thornton"/> and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in the same year.<ref name="thornton"/> 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.<ref name="double">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Thornton rode his 1,000th career winner on Araldur at Towcester on 28 March 2011.<ref name="BBC1000"/>
He is unrelated to the jockey Andrew Thornton. His worst moment in racing was when Strong Promise died in the 2000 Martel Cup at Liverpool.Thornton was forced into early retirement in 2015, after being unable to recover from a fall at Chepstow in 2014, where he sustained a fractured vertebrae with further complications to the neck and arms.<ref name="thornton">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ip">Template:Cite news</ref>
Cheltenham Festival Winners
| Year | Race | Mount |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup | King Lucifer |
| Pertemps Final | Pharanear | |
| 2004 | Festival Trophy Handicap Chase | Fork Lightning |
| 2005 | Festival Trophy Handicap Chase | Kelami |
| Triumph Hurdle | Penzance | |
| 2006 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | Voy Por Ustedes<ref name="thornton"/> |
| World Hurdle | My Way de Solzen<ref name="thornton"/> | |
| 2007 | Arkle Challenge Trophy | My Way de Solzen<ref name="thornton"/> |
| Queen Mother Champion Chase | Voy Por Ustedes <ref name="thornton"/> | |
| Triumph Hurdle | Katchit<ref name="choc"/> | |
| Johnny Henderson Grand Annual Chase | Andreas | |
| 2008 | Supreme Novices' Hurdle | Captain Cee Bee |
| Champion Hurdle | Katchit <ref name="thornton"/> | |
| Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle | Nenuphar Collonges | |
| 2011 | Festival Trophy Handicap Chase | Bensalem |