Rob Hornby
{{short description|British jockey}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox horseracing personality|birth_date={{birth date and age|1995|5|28|df=yes}}|nationality=British|occupation=Flat racing jockey|spouse=|horses={{hlist|Scope|Westover}}}}
Robert Hornby (born 28 May 1995) is a British jockey who competes in flat racing. Riding as a freelance, his four Group 1 wins, as of 2023, have been for trainers Andrew Balding and Ralph Beckett.
Background
Hornby grew up on a farm in Chelmarsh, Shropshire, and attended Bridgnorth Endowed School, leaving at the age of sixteen to become an apprentice at the Kingsclere yard of Andrew Balding.{{cite web |url=https://www.shropshirestar.com/sport/2021/11/22/shropshire-ace-rob-hornby-on-the-fast-track-to-success/ |title=Shropshire ace Rob Hornby on the fast track to success |date=22 November 2021 |publisher=Shropshire Star}}
Career
Hornby achieved his first Group race success on 25 August 2018 when he rode the Balding-trained Maid Up to victory in the Group 3 March Stakes at Goodwood.{{cite web |url=https://www.racingpost.com/profile/jockey/92774/rob-hornby/stats |title=Rob Hornby |publisher=Racing Post |access-date=11 July 2022}} His first Group 1 win was on Scope, trained by Ralph Beckett, in the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in Paris on 24 October 2021. It was Hornby's first ride in France, and came after he had missed part of the season with a shoulder injury sustained during a fall at Wolverhampton in December 2020.
In 2022 Hornby rode the Beckett-trained Westover in the Epsom Derby. It was his first ride in the Derby. He had already ridden Westover in three of his four races, winning a maiden stakes at Sandown in August 2021, coming second in a conditions stakes at Newbury in September 2021 and then winning the Group 3 Sandown Classic Trial in April 2022. Westover started at odds of 25/1 in the Derby and finished in third place, having failed to get a clear run.{{cite web|url=https://www.racingpost.com/profile/horse/3719559/westover/form|title=Westover|publisher=Racing Post|access-date=24 August 2022}} Westover went on to win the Irish Derby, but the ride had been given to the more experienced Irish jockey Colin Keane.{{cite web |url=https://www.racingpost.com/news/juddmonte-say-nothing-malicious-behind-rob-hornby-being-replaced-on-westover/563861 |title='Disappointing but understandable' says Rob Hornby on losing Westover ride |date=21 June 2022 |publisher=Racing Post}} There was consolation for Hornby when he won two Group 1 races at the Newmarket July Festival, taking the Falmouth Stakes on the Beckett-trained Prosperous Voyage and the July Cup on the Balding-trained Alcohol Free.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/horse-racing/62108467 |title=July Cup: Alcohol Free gives jockey Rob Hornby second Group One win in two days |date=9 July 2022 |publisher=BBC Sport}} He continued his winning streak on the July Course at Newmarket when landing the Grey Horse Handicap on Strike a month later.{{cite web|url=https://www.racingpost.com/news/rob-hornby-strikes-in-grey-horse-handicap-after-road-chaos-robs-him-of-a-winner/573168|title=Rob Hornby strikes in Grey Horse Handicap after road chaos denies him a winner|publisher=Racing Post|date=13 August 2022}}
On 2 June, Hornby was given a seven-day suspension for failing to weigh in after riding Surrey Belle into third place in a handicap at Nottingham. Surrey Belle was disqualified and Hornby forfeited his riding fee. The suspension is scheduled from 16-22 June, meaning Hornby will miss Royal Ascot.{{cite web|title=Rob Hornby handed seven-day suspension and set to miss all five days of Royal Ascot|url= https://www.racingpost.com/news/reports/rob-hornby-handed-seven-day-suspension-and-set-to-miss-all-five-days-of-royal-ascot-aznWp6h31a1d/|publisher=Racing Post|date=2 June 2024}}
Major wins
{{flagicon|UK}} Great Britain
- Falmouth Stakes - (1) - Prosperous Voyage (2022)
- July Cup - (1) - Alcohol Free (2022)
{{flagicon|France}} France
- Prix Royal-Oak - (1) - Scope (2021)
- Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud - (1) - Westover (2023)
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hornby, Rob}}