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| Chris
Thornton Jump and Flat Trainer Dale House Rectory Garth Wensley North Yorkshire DL8 4HS England
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| Chris
Thornton Jump and Flat Trainer Dale House Rectory Garth Wensley North Yorkshire DL8 4HS England
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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. All his working life has been with Thoroughbred Racehorses and he's acquired a wealth of experience in the care and training of these magnificent animals. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, the Bogside Cup at Ayr, November Handicap at Doncaster and the Great Yorkshire Handicap at York. During his career, Chris has sent out over 600 winners of all types of race, Flat and National Hunt. |
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Web Site: www.Chris-Thornton.com
