Jump jockey Robert Thornton retires due to injury

British jump jockey Robert Thornton has been forced to retire from the sport through injury.

The 37-year-old fractured a vertebrae in a fall at Chepstow in April 2014 and has been unable to compete since.

Thornton has been undergoing physiotherapy at the Injured Jockeys Fund's rehabilitation centre at Oaksey House, but ongoing issues with his neck and limbs have convinced him to retire.

"I'm sad to be retiring, but I've had a career I can look back on with pride," BBC Sport quotes him as saying.

Thornton, referred to affectionately as 'Chock', enjoyed a successful 20-year career, winning a string of races with trainers Alan King and David Nicholson.