Racing: Trouble sensed before race start

Craig Thornton knew he was in trouble on New Zealand jumper Fontera before the start of the world's richest jumps race, the Nakayama Grand Jump in Tokyo.

"He wasn't mentally prepared for the occasion," said Thornton as he got off a flight from Japan in Auckland yesterday.

The strongly fancied Fontera crashed at the fifth fence on the 4200m journey, throwing Thornton to the ground.

"On the way to the start I could feel he wasn't settled enough in his mind."

On Saturday night Thornton sidled over to his mate Brett Scott on the joint favourite and eventual winner Karasi as the field paraded behind the barriers moments before the start.

"I said: 'This horse isn't going to do well, he's too fresh in his mind'."

Fontera is a natural pacemaker, but to ensure the horse had the best chance of lasting what is a fast, energy-sapping contest, Thornton restrained him in the trail before finishing second in the Japanese lead-up, the Grand Pegasus.

The New Zealand gelding did not take kindly to the restraint and he liked it even less on Saturday night.

"I had him in the trail after the first fence, but he was going at it far too hard. I figured the only way to give him any chance at all was to ease him to the front.

"The leaders weren't giving me the right kind of lead either, so I let him ease around them.

"Then, as he came to the fifth fence, the first big one, he got himself confused, put in an extra one, hit the top of it and landed on his belly.

"He fired me over his head I had no chance of staying with him."

Thornton had a 6pm flight to catch out of Tokyo.

"I didn't have time to see Dummy [trainer Kevin Myers] or the owners to discuss what happened. They might be blaming me right now, but it wasn't my fault."

"In everything bad there is a little good and Thornton's consolation came in Brett Scott's victory aboard the Australian-trained Karasi.

Scott and Thornton are widely regarded as Australasia's two best jumps riders.

It was Thornton whose luck was in when, because of injury, Scott could not take the ride on his regular mount St Steven when the New Zealand-bred won the Nakayama Grand Jump in 2002.

Thornton scored the biggest win of his career on St Steven and Scott subsequently declared a win in the Nakayama was his No 1 professional goal in life.

"I was so pleased for Scotty. I gave him a hug, which is about all I had time for before heading to the airport."