Choc Thornton

L

LUKE

Senior Jockey
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
8,622
Location
Waterford
Jockey bashing isn't really my cup of tea but I felt he was unseated due to looking around and becoming unbalanced.I hope he puts his hand up accepts responsibility and takes whatever ban he gets.
 
Not saying it wasn't jockey error. Losing an iron clearly is. Showboating? Wouldn't have thought so, he hasn't much of a history of it has he?
 
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Going back ten years Clive Brittain alway maintained that a horse would lose a big race due to needless celebrating before the line.This wasn't a big race but as far as I can see it was lost due to showboating.
 
He lost his iron and fell off - didnt see any showboating myself, he's not really one for showboating much anyway - looked silly and will get an unmerciful time in the weighroom - a ban - I very much doubt it!
 
Luke - I've looked at the replay 10 times and can't see Thornton look round - he looks down, presumably at his nearside iron, but he certainly wasn't showboating, especially with a hurdle left to jump. Though Paul Moloney looked desperate again on the winner - if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was riding to ensure the favourite won. Watch his "steering" of the horse before the 2nd last.
 
davidjohnson said:
What action does he perform which you think constitutes 'showboating'?
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From about 6 furlongs out his body language said I am going to win this race-he was giving ultra confident vibes.Then he fell off on the flat when under no pressure from any horse in the race.
He was certainly guilty of over confidence and lack of concentration-neither are illegal but did the backers of the horse get every chance of winning -I don't think so.
 
LUKE said:
From about 6 furlongs out his body language said I am going to win this race-he was giving ultra confident vibes.Then he fell off on the flat when under no pressure from any horse in the race.
He was certainly guilty of over confidence and lack of concentration-neither are illegal but did the backers of the horse get every chance of winning -I don't think so.
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If he'd kicked 20 lengths clear and then fallen off, punters would be no richer.
 
As I said I had no financial interest in the race and I rate Choc but my honest opinion is that a lack of concentration cost him the race.How acceptable is it for a professional to be unseated on the flat in those circumstances.
I accept that others may disagree with me.
 
He is kicking on a bit after the jump. His right foot slips out of the iron, probably because the stirrup's slimy with mud. His right leg drops, he hoiks it up to put it into the iron and as his body tilts a little to the left to allow for that, the horse jinks left and the momentum pitches him off. He wisely kicks his left foot clear so as not to get hung up, less wisely holds onto the reins and skiis for a bit.

No need to criticise him - it's a daft incident which could happen to anyone at any time. Confidence and concentration had nothing to do with it. The laws of gravity - yes.
 
krizon said:
He is kicking on a bit after the jump. His right foot slips out of the iron, probably because the stirrup's slimy with mud. His right leg drops, he hoiks it up to put it into the iron and as his body tilts a little to the left to allow for that, the horse jinks left and the momentum pitches him off. He wisely kicks his left foot clear so as not to get hung up, less wisely holds onto the reins and skiis for a bit.

No need to criticise him - it's a daft incident which could happen to anyone at any time. Confidence and concentration had nothing to do with it. The laws of gravity - yes.
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Good summary Kri - the key here is whether he's lost his right iron due to carelessness or not, and it's impossible to say that he has from the pictures I've seen. From there he tries to even things up by kicking out his other iron, which is the correct thing to do - the reaction of the horse was enough to unseat any jockey at that point. It's possibly pilot error, but equally possibly a tack issue - it certainly wasn't cockiness.
 
Agree with the above.At first I thought the tack had broke but it was just an unlucky slip,if the horse had stayed straight he'd probably have been alright but as soon as the horse moved under him it was curtains!
 
rorydelargy said:
Luke - I've looked at the replay 10 times and can't see Thornton look round - he looks down, presumably at his nearside iron, but he certainly wasn't showboating, especially with a hurdle left to jump. Though Paul Moloney looked desperate again on the winner - if I didn't know any better, I'd think he was riding to ensure the favourite won. Watch his "steering" of the horse before the 2nd last.
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Moloney's right shoulder is wrecked, that's why so many horses hang on him as he is leaning from his left. People take this to mean that he is giving them dubious rides when in all honesty he is incapable of riding with his right hand side in a finish. Any time he has to resort to the whip in a finish is with his left hand side.
 
CP said:
Moloney's right shoulder is wrecked, that's why so many horses hang on him as he is leaning from his left. People take this to mean that he is giving them dubious rides when in all honesty he is incapable of riding with his right hand side in a finish. Any time he has to resort to the whip in a finish is with his left hand side.
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That makes sense - I started a thread about how many horses seem to hang under him, and he definitely seems to favour his left arm quite noticeably which would look to have that effect. Thanks for the info.
 
:lol::lol:

Never mind Arse of the Year - should we start up the Sean Fox Award column? Some would put Choc in the box right now!
 
Bad Luck yes,Bad judgement certainly not.I actually backed the horse and was angry when fell off but after looking at a few replays its just one of those things imo.The horse jinked at the precise moment he shifted the majority of his weight to his left to regain his right iron.Probably a 1 in 1000 chance.Saying that he could have dropped both his irons and still won the way it was travelling.
 
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