The smile said it all … but, then again, Stephanie Thompson is seldom without a happy outlook at the track.
But this was special in its own way.
Back home for the current break in-between the Hong Kong seasons, where Steph’s husband and fellow jockey Ben now plies his trade, Thompson had the pleasure of guiding Cold One, a horse trained by her father Glenn Thornton, to a comfortable victory at Lismore on Monday.
“Yeah, it was special … winning for dad … and because it has been a long time now since I’ve been back in the winner’s circle because of all of the time I’ve had off,” said Thompson. That was on February 25, 2023. How time flies.
“It was nothing special race-wise,” continued Thompson, talking about the Lismore win. “It was a Class 1, but sometimes those little ones can mean the most.
“Also, when you have been away from riding for extended periods of time … I did take ten months away to have my son Harry (he’s the best thing I have ever done) … and then there was the five-and-a-half months we’ve spent in Hong Kong … it is just nice to get back out there.”
Thompson has only had four rides in the last sixteen months and arguably should have had two winners behind her name in that time … Cold One and … how Magnus Bellagio didn’t get the protest win in Thompson’s first ride back after ten months is still a matter of some serious debate.
But that’s another story.
The win on Cold One also gave Thompson some bragging rights.
It was her first ride on Cold One, a horse her brothers Boris and Damien Thornton had both ridden before without success.
All things considered, it was just a nice touch to end the day’s racing at Lismore and a sweet added memory to Ben and Stephanie Thompson’s trip back home to refresh and recharge with family and friends.
In a month’s time, riding will once again be put on the backburner as far as Stephanie Thompson is concerned … all in a good cause … when she joins Ben in Hong Kong in advance of the new racing season in that oh so competitive racing precinct.
