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With the news that the rides at the King stable are now effectively being shared between Thornton and Hutchinson , dependent upon the wishes of the owners – is it now only a matter of time before Choc is replaced as stable jockey ?
Any views on whether this move is justified ?I think it’s because I’ve been sticking pins in his effigy ever since he fell off a horse I backed at Wetherby. I did take it very personally.
Don’t know why but until recently I thought that you never bet but just watched for the sport.
Must be thinking of someone else, maybe Ugly Mare? I know she sneaks into Exeter races in the disguise of a happy camper but with no access to the bookies, so it probably was her.
Doesn’t sound like there’s any immediate reason why Chucky (my nickname for Robert) should panic.
I do bet sometimes but only 25 pence ew. Of course, when I’m at a racecourse I have to spend more than that which is why the Choc Thornton UR was so upsetting [and then he stood at the fence opposite us leaning on the rail].
I was about to post that AP McCoy won on the King hot pot at Plumpton but remembered just in time what colours the silks were.
Gaelic Warrior Gold Cup Winner 2026
Interesting read, King has been very loyal to ‘choc’ so something must have forced his arm. Most likely that Hutchinson has been offered some interesting rides outside of King and wants to move on. King admitted a few years back he would have asked an owner to remove their horse if Thornton didn’t ride, he states he can ill afford to lose a horse now. Looks like English trainers have finally smelt the coffee in the owner department, certainly many of them can be rude beyond belief to owners and many of them have walked from big yards. Wayne Hutchinson has dumbed himself down for too long now and would make a perfect first jockey for Nicholls, who has a rather large selection of them now!
At least AK has been loyal to Choc; I find the way PN treats his jockeys rather despicable. Why did Noel Fehily seem to not get rides when he came back from injury?
At least AK has been loyal to Choc; I find the way PN treats his jockeys rather despicable. Why did Noel Fehily seem to not get rides when he came back from injury?
Yes Moe, agree, King is a very loyal trainer. I can’t even begin to remember how many jocks have been through Ditcheat, certainly they are as regular as trains arriving at Victoria.
About time.
Hutch is imo a better jockey than Choc these days. Particularly better over the obstacles but also judging pace. Choc seems to have lost confidence since some bad falls; only edge over his stable companion is in the finish.Value Is EverythingWH and N Fehily – both were underbet for years. It has taken a while for them to catch on with punters although poor NF has had little luck with injuries
Ironically, Choc made a big thing of AK’s loyalty in his Sunday RP interview
Interesting read, King has been very loyal to ‘choc’ so something must have forced his arm. Most likely that Hutchinson has been offered some interesting rides outside of King and wants to move on. King admitted a few years back he would have asked an owner to remove their horse if Thornton didn’t ride, he states he can ill afford to lose a horse now. Looks like English trainers have finally smelt the coffee in the owner department, certainly many of them can be rude beyond belief to owners and many of them have walked from big yards. Wayne Hutchinson has dumbed himself down for too long now and would make a perfect first jockey for Nicholls, who has a rather large selection of them now!
I suspect too many of his owners wanted Hutchinson instead of Thornton so King was forced to make a statement. Otherwise I believe he would have remained loyal to Thornton. I don’t see why this is such a big deal if they are available an owner should be able to get the services of whichever jockey he wants and that would include not having either Thornton or Hutchinson if they so wished.
Interesting read, King has been very loyal to ‘choc’ so something must have forced his arm. Most likely that Hutchinson has been offered some interesting rides outside of King and wants to move on. King admitted a few years back he would have asked an owner to remove their horse if Thornton didn’t ride, he states he can ill afford to lose a horse now. Looks like English trainers have finally smelt the coffee in the owner department, certainly many of them can be rude beyond belief to owners and many of them have walked from big yards. Wayne Hutchinson has dumbed himself down for too long now and would make a perfect first jockey for Nicholls, who has a rather large selection of them now!
I suspect too many of his owners wanted Hutchinson instead of Thornton so King was forced to make a statement. Otherwise I believe he would have remained loyal to Thornton. I don’t see why this is such a big deal if they are available an owner should be able to get the services of whichever jockey he wants and that would include not having either Thornton or Hutchinson if they so wished.
I know an owner who was told when he asked for a specific jockey (not King) to f@@@ing well book his own and then was promptly hung up on! Can you imagine at around 2k a month treating a customer like that in the real world???
King seems pretty genuine both to his jockeys and owners.
Hutchinson is IMO definitely the better jockey. He’s able to slowly creep horses into races, whereas as Thornton often struggles to get them jumping. Whereas Hutchinson is quite a still, motionless rider, Thornton is having to be more active because his mounts seemingly jump pretty poorly at times. Especially over fences, i find Thornton particularly unreliable.
Conjecture, but if Hutchinson had ridden Montbazon in the Supreme, i think he’d have jumped much better, and consequently A) gone very close to winning B) Not been off the track since due to shin problems.
Thornton still seems to be at least 1A (Invictus, Medinas, Novice chasers so far), though last couple of weeks Hutchinson had 5 rides on the weekend for King Vs Thornton with 3 and at Cheltenham, a fairly even spread.
Interesting, this weekend Hutchinson goes to Haydock to ride Two Rockers whilst Thornton goes to Ascot for rides in smaller races, including Carraig Mor (same ownership as Two Rockers). I presume Thornton probably had the choice of either and since Two Rockers has a very solid chance in a valuable race, it probably says alot that he is going to Ascot for Carraig Mor in an average Novice race. His win at Uttoxeter was extremely eye-catching. Big frame who pulled very hard all the way round, jumped very big (chasing shape) and still hammered a solid yard stick on the bridle. What his ultimate distance is i’m not sure, but i’d be suprised if he isn’t Festival bound this year.
Interesting read, King has been very loyal to ‘choc’ so something must have forced his arm. Most likely that Hutchinson has been offered some interesting rides outside of King and wants to move on. King admitted a few years back he would have asked an owner to remove their horse if Thornton didn’t ride, he states he can ill afford to lose a horse now. Looks like English trainers have finally smelt the coffee in the owner department, certainly many of them can be rude beyond belief to owners and many of them have walked from big yards. Wayne Hutchinson has dumbed himself down for too long now and would make a perfect first jockey for Nicholls, who has a rather large selection of them now!
I suspect too many of his owners wanted Hutchinson instead of Thornton so King was forced to make a statement. Otherwise I believe he would have remained loyal to Thornton. I don’t see why this is such a big deal if they are available an owner should be able to get the services of whichever jockey he wants and that would include not having either Thornton or Hutchinson if they so wished.
I know an owner who was told when he asked for a specific jockey (not King) to f@@@ing well book his own and then was promptly hung up on! Can you imagine at around 2k a month treating a customer like that in the real world???
If the owner specifically wants to leave everything to the trainer fair enough but other than that aside from the actual training it is the owner who should be calling the tune regarding entries, jockeys etc.
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