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 Chris Thornton
is a Racehorse Trainer.
Behind
that simple fact is a lifetime of working with Thoroughbred Racehorses
and a wealth of experience in the care and training of these
magnificent animals.
Chris
admits he's been "racing mad" since he was a child of ten at
which time his father had racehorses with trainer Joe Mulhall at York.
In 1967, mid-way through his
A-Level studies, Chris left school and went to Newmarket to work as a Pupil
Trainer to
Sam Armstrong. Six
years later, he progressed to become Assistant
Trainer to Theo Grieper in Germany and among the horses they trained
was the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner, Star Appeal.
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His
time in Germany helped Chris develop his natural talent with
Thoroughbreds and gave him invaluable experience. He
spent eighteen months in Germany before gaining the post of Assistant Trainer to Sam
Hall at the historic Spigot Lodge yard in Middleham.
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This was in 1973
when Sam's health was beginning to fail so Chris arrived to share some
of Sam's workload . They formed a
formidable team and the many winners they sent out helped maintain and
strengthen Spigot's reputation as a training yard.
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| After
Sam's death in July 1977, Chris became the Master of Spigot Lodge and began
training in his own right. His first winner soon came along - Sioux
And Sioux ridden by Stable Jockey Jimmy Bleasdale and owned by
Spigot's long-time patron and owner, Mr Guy Reed. |
In
his second Flat season in charge, Chris had 35 winners and built up
his string to about 70 horses by 1979. Then, in 1981, he had a serious
Derby contender in Shotgun who was ridden in the race by none other
than Lester Piggott. Shotgun finished a fantastic fourth in the big
race.
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 Other
high points around that time were Path Of Peace, a small horse with an
abundance of ability who became a living advertisement for the
Thornton method of training racehorses. Path Of Peace won twelve Flat
races and three hurdles, including the County Hurdle at Cheltenham
(1982), the Bogside Cup at Ayr, November Handicap at Doncaster and the
Great Yorkshire Handicap at York.
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| At
the age of nine, Path Of Peace retired to Newmarket School of Racing
to assist in the training and education of apprentice jockeys.
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As
in all walks of life, there's always rain amongst the sunshine and one
of the darkest days in the career of Chris Thornton came in 1981. In a
race at Haydock, Chris ran a horse called Maple Queen ridden, as
you'd expect, by Stable Jockey, Jimmy Bleasdale.
As the field passed the stands, Maple Queen was brought down and
suffered an injury to her shoulder that necessitated her being
destroyed. Not only that but Jimmy was flung, head first, into one of
the concrete posts supporting the running rail.
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Jimmy
suffered a serious head injury that could easily have been fatal and
he didn't ride again for almost a year. Despite returning to the
saddle, the long-term after effects of his injury forced Jimmy to
retire.
Now, apart from riding out occasionally, Jimmy and his wife run a
successful Bed & Breakfast business (Tatton
Lodge) in Bedale ,about 20 minutes
drive from Middleham. |
 Since he began training
in his own right, Chris has sent out over 600
winners of all types of race, Flat and National Hunt.
The
statistics detailing his 'track record' are on view on another page of
this site and they make impressive reading - almost 56% of all Chris
Thornton-trained National Hunt runners have finished in the first four
while 38% of all Flat race runners have achieved this same feat.
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Having
lived and worked at Spigot Lodge for more than twenty years, Chris was informed by the yard's owner, Mr Guy Reed, that it was to be
put up for sale. This meant Chris had to move out and move on and
that's just what he did!
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The Chris Thornton team took up
temporary residence at Ashgill Stables on the Tupgill Estate while building work
was carried out on a
new, modern yard at Sharp Hill Farm in Middleham. Chris was
instrumental in developing the new yard and it was built to his own
specification.
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 Not
one to rest on his laurels, Chris . He stated "This new venture will be my own business and
I can offer any owner a Top Class facility with Top Class staff.
We have proved in the past that, despite limited resources, we can
produce high quality performances at the highest level."
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The
motto of the Thornton team is "Owners Come First" and this
is obvious to any visitors - the relaxed atmosphere, the warm welcome
and the approachable & friendly attitude of the staff ensures you
of an enjoyable experience and will hasten your return. A
point is made of telling owners that they are welcome to visit their horses at
any time.
Anyone meeting
Chris, or visiting his yard will soon discover this is not a cliché -
owners really DO come first!
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Now
in his thirtieth year as a Racehorse Trainer, Chris is confident that he can build
upon previous achievements and continue to train winners of all types
of races.
His career statistics prove that he really is The Man For All Seasons!
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