Thornton handed Somersby ride

Henrietta Knight has revealed Robert Thornton will get the leg up on Somersby in the Irish Independent Arkle Challenge Trophy at Cheltenham next month, providing Tony McCoy remains unavailable.

The 14-times champion jockey was on board when Somersby turned in an impressive performance on his latest outing at Sandown in December, but he is currently committed to riding Captain Cee Bee in the Arkle for boss JP McManus.