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Making a Name for Himself

A chance Melbourne racetrack meeting between Tony McEvoy and young rider Damien Thornton has led to one of the strongest trainer-jockey partnerships in the state.

The brief chat led to a job offer Thornton couldn’t refuse and the 21-year-old has continued to build on his strong resume of more than 250 winners, landing well over 60 this year and around 20 in SA.

Since arriving in Adelaide on August 1 for the new racing season, Thornton has gone from a virtual “no name” interstate jockey to a real force in local riding ranks. He sits in the first half dozen riders on both the metropolitan and provincial premierships, picking up winners with regularity for McEvoy as well as other stables. He’s also picked up a couple of features in his short time here - the Morphettville Guineas on the Angaston stable’s promising High Chaparral colt Silvera and a Gawler Cup on rank outsider King’s Pardon.

A natural lightweight at just 50kg, Thornton brings balance and strength in a finish to his new role. He has a lifetime in riding behind him, growing up on the family farm at Modeware just outside of Geelong before becoming apprenticed to father Glenn, who trains about 18 horses with the help of wife Wendy. The young Thornton got plenty of grounding on the farm and in equestrian pursuits, starting out in pony club before graduating to eventing and then competing three years straight in the Melbourne Three Day Event before he turned 18.

“Equestrian taught me a lot and really prepared me for race riding,” he recalls. “It teaches you discipline and you get a really good feel for the horse. You’re not just riding the horse, you need to use different parts of the body to control the horse and it teaches you balance.

Thornton got his ticket to ride in 2010 and won 25 metropolitan races in his first season. His riding ability quickly caught the eye of local and interstate trainers and he took up an offer to work with Sydney conditioner Gerald Ryan in 2013.
While he only rode in Sydney for nine months, he got a taste of the big time when he landed the Group 2 Pago Pago Stakes on Time For War before returning home to finish his apprenticeship with his father. He continued to rack up the winners and landed the Group 3 Vamos Stakes in Tasmania with his father’s great moneyspinner Vibrant Rouge.

The offer from McEvoy came at the right time. With siblings Boris and Stephanie both apprenticed and in a position to help Dad handle the trackwork and take on the stable rides, it was time for the older brother to look for another challenge.

“I think I managed to learn something every year of my apprenticeship and, when I came out of my time at the start of 2016, I was ready for a new challenge,” he says. “I learned a lot in the short time I rode up in Sydney, which is a very competitive workplace with world-class jockeys. If you can make it there, you’ll make it anywhere in the world.

“It didn’t get much easier returning to Victoria, though, and the Adelaide riding ranks are high quality as well. I wasn’t able to outride my city claim but I didn’t find the transition that difficult either. I had a bit of momentum when I came out of my apprenticeship and I think the move to SA has come at the perfect time for me.”

So did the meeting with McEvoy: “I bumped into Tony at Caulfield one day in May and we had a bit of a chat about me coming to ride for him. Nothing was locked in, though, and I was on holidays with the family up in Cairns about four weeks later when he called me and offered me the job of stable rider. It’s a great stable to be involved in, there are plenty of nice horses.

“I’m living at Nuriootpa, it’s 10 minutes to the stable and a great place to be based. I think I’m a good judge of pace and have strong in a finish but you’re always learning. I’ve had a very good start and I’m really enjoying it here. The boss is happy so that’s the main thing.”

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