Damien Thornton’s riding stint in Queensland hit pay dirt when he rode a Doomben double, including steering Ekaterina to victory to carry on a family tradition for trainer Rob Heathcote.

Ben Dorries

April 1, 2023 - 3:24PM

Group 1 winning jockey Damien Thornton made his first major imprint on the Saturday Brisbane racing scene with a riding double, as filly Ekaterina was a Doomben excitement machine.

Thornton moved to Brisbane on a semi-permanent basis recently, continuing a family theme which has seen his jockey siblings and fellow former Victorian’s Boris and Stephanie in also calling the Sunshine State home.

The two-time Group 1 winning jockey produced a calm and calculated ride on the Rob Heathcote-trained filly Ekaterina who charged home to score in the 3YO Quality Handicap (1200m).

Ekaterina is a half-sister to Heathcote’s Group 1 winning mare Startantes, with Startantes set to resume soon with the aim to give the trainer his second win in The Archer, a $775,000 slot race in Rockhampton.

Ekaterina has continued a family tradition dating back to when Heathcote first started training more than a quarter of a century ago.

Heathcote has bred from many quality mares but none better than Cantantes who is the grand dam of Startantes and Ekaterina.

Cantantes was no winning machine on the track, scoring at just two of her 37 starts, but she has been a star in the breeding barn.

“There is the added pleasure that Ekaterina is part of that never-ending line that has come out of Cantantes from when I started back in 1997,” Heathcote said.

“We knew Ekaterina was good.

“We call Startantes the Little Pumpkin and we call this girl, her half-sister, Little Barbie.

“I am really happy for Damien Thornton, he is a welcome addition to our riding ranks here and he gave this filly a 10 out of 10 ride.

“Startantes is back, we are going to go up to Rocky and win The Archer again.”