With his experience and capability in the saddle, the chances were always good that Damien Thornton was going to enjoy a successful stint riding in the Sunshine State in the lead-up to, and for the duration of the Queensland Racing Carnival.
The broad smile on the usually poker-faced Thornton when he brought Cifrado back to scale after the colt’s success in the Group 2 Sires Produce perhaps best summed up the highlight of his stay so far … but there is plenty more to be satisfied with … including a Metropolitan treble and more than one metropolitan double along the way.
While he has left the timeframe open for his return to Victoria, returning to Victoria has always been his stated intention and, in spite of his success and being with his family, Thornton has confirmed that nothing has changed with regard to his plan to return to Victoria.
‘There are people trying to change my mind, but I’ve always said I would be going back,” said Thornton, whose brother and sister, Boris and Stephanie (and brother-in law Ben Thompson), now all reside in Queensland along with his parents with his father training on the Gold Coast.
So, would it be fair to say that it is his family who are trying to change his mind?
“Not just family,” answered Thornton. “Others as well.
“I don’t like the cold, so getting out of Melbourne and coming to Queensland was attractive option at this time of year.
I thought it would be a good idea to change things up a bit, but I am going back to Victoria. I’m just not sure when that will be yet.
“I’ll get through the carnival first and then deal with it.”
Despite only beginning his ‘temporary’ visit to Queensland in March, Thornton is currently in thirteenth place on the Brisbane jockey’s Premiership ladder having claimed nineteen metropolitan winners with a winning strike-rate of 13.5 percent.
