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Wednesday <strong>January</strong> <strong>24</strong> 20<strong>24</strong> <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />
RACING 17<br />
Thornley gets his<br />
century; focuses<br />
on new target<br />
THRILLED: Sam Thornley celebrated 100 wins on Friday, followed by<br />
another two on Sunday.<br />
PHOTO: HRNZ<br />
• By Jonny Turner<br />
IT DIDN’T look great early, but the end<br />
result was perfect as Sam Thornley won<br />
his 100th race in the sulky at Marlborough<br />
on Friday.<br />
And he backed up the milestone with<br />
two more winners – including behind the<br />
one he scored his 100th on, Muscle Bank<br />
– on the second day of the meeting on<br />
Sunday.<br />
Prebbleton-based Thornley was not only<br />
thrilled to bring up his milestone victory<br />
on Friday, he was impressed with his trotter’s<br />
big effort to score.<br />
“It was a big run because she missed<br />
away and she was so far from them.<br />
“When they went so hard early I was a<br />
long way off the leaders.<br />
“But they came back to us a bit and<br />
when I hooked her out she sprinted up really<br />
good,” he said.<br />
“It was a great win.”<br />
Thornley’s 100-win breakthrough comes<br />
at a defining time in his career.<br />
Just a matter of days prior, the reinsman<br />
finished second in the 2023 junior driver’s<br />
premiership behind Sarah O’Reilly.<br />
O’Reilly is now out of the junior ranks,<br />
leaving Thornley as much chance as anyone<br />
to chase down the 20<strong>24</strong> title.<br />
Thornley’s ton has also came shortly<br />
after his move to work for the Ken Barron<br />
stable.<br />
With a 1000-race winning driver in<br />
Barron and a multiple premiership winner<br />
and 2000-race winning driver in Blair<br />
Orange to work with, Thornley is thrilled<br />
with where his career is at.<br />
“It is really great to get the 100 wins.<br />
Things are going really well for me at the<br />
moment, working with Ken Barron and<br />
Blair Orange,” he said.<br />
“They are great to work with and I’m<br />
learning a lot.”<br />
The junior premiership is a goal for<br />
Thornley this year, as is chasing down 50<br />
wins after producing 47 victories in 2023.<br />
“I’ll be doing my best to get as many<br />
wins as I can, but it would be good if I<br />
could get 50 this year.”<br />
“I will be doing a bit of travelling and<br />
hoping to build up my drives and do a few<br />
trips.”<br />
As well as his 102 wins in New Zealand,<br />
Thornley has a further three to his name<br />
in Australia.<br />
– HRNZ<br />
• Sports pages 30, 34<br />
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