| Sam Thomas | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Jockey |
| Born | 22 June 1984 Abergavenny, Wales |
| Career wins | 509 |
| Major racing wins | |
| Cheltenham Gold Cup, Betfair Chase, Tingle Creek Chase, Savills Chase | |
| Significant horses | |
| Denman, Kauto Star, Twist Magic | |
Sam Thomas (born 22 June 1984) is a retired Welsh National Hunt jockey who is now a horse trainer. He is best known for winning the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup with Denman.
Across his career as a jockey, Thomas won 509 races and earnt £5.59 million prize money in Great Britain and a further €255,815 in the Republic of Ireland. [1]
Thomas was born in Abergavenny, Wales. He rode in point to points before graduating to race riding. [2]
Thomas began his racing career with David Evans in Wales. He primarily looked after the horses and took them to races. [3] Thomas had his first runner at Exeter Racecourse, If And But on 20 December 2001. His first winner was Indian Summer at Ludlow Racecourse on 2 April 2003. [4] [5]
Thomas joined Venetia Williams yard and by 20 he had ridden out his claim, [6] and saw success with Limerick Boy winning the 2004 Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton Park [7] and a Summer Cup at Uttoxeter Racecourse with Kock De La Vesvre.
Thomas would later join Paul Nicholls as second jockey to Ruby Walsh. [8] Big race victories followed, including his first Group 1 winner in the Betfair Chase with Kauto Star [9] and later the 2007 Tingle Creek Chase with Twist Magic.
The biggest race win of his career came in 2008, taking victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Denman beating stablemate Kauto Star. [10] [11]
Following his Gold Cup victory, Thomas had mixed form in 2008 which led to doubts in the media over his future with his current employers. [12] [13] Continuing to ride Nicholls' top runners, he fell at the last fence in the Betfair Chase on Kauto Star, [14] and again in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury Racecourse on Big Buck's. [15] Both races he was leading at the time.
Thomas would continue riding until 2015 when he retired. [16] In 2017 he returned to the saddle for a charity race in aid of Bob Champion at Chepstow Racecourse, winning on Maoi Chinn Tire. [17]
Following retirement, Thomas secured his trainers licence. He currently operates from Lisvane in Wales, a 35 box yard owned by businessman Dai Walters who previously owned Ffos Las Racecourse. [18]
One of his most notable winners since starting training is Iwilldoit who won the 2021 Welsh Grand National at Chepstow Racecourse. [19] [20]
Rupert Walsh is an Irish former jockey. He is the second child, and eldest son, of former champion amateur jockey Ted Walsh and his wife Helen. Walsh is the third most prolific winner in British and Irish jump racing history behind only Sir Anthony McCoy and Richard Johnson.
The King George VI Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Kempton Park over a distance of about 3 miles, and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year on 26 December, and features as part of the course's Christmas Festival.
The Betfair Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Haydock Park over a distance of about 3 miles and 1+1⁄2 furlongs, and during its running there are nineteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in November.
Kauto Star was a French-bred National Hunt champion racehorse trained by Paul Nicholls in Somerset and owned by Clive Smith. He was known for his versatility and longevity, being the only horse ever to be top rated over 2 miles, 2.5 miles and 3 miles in the same season. He is also the first horse ever to win a grade 1 race in 6 consecutive seasons - he then added 2 more the following season to make it 7. His Racing Post rating of 192 is the highest ever awarded to a National Hunt horse. He won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, in 2007 and 2009, becoming the first horse to regain the cup, beating Denman by thirteen lengths in 2009, after losing it in 2008 by seven lengths behind Denman. He tried for three more years to win the race again, but the best placing he could achieve was in 2011, coming third behind Long Run. He also won the King George VI Chase a record five times. He was one of the most successful steeplechasers of modern era finishing his racing career with a National Hunt record of £3,775,883 in earnings, which consisted of £2,375,883 in race prize money, £1,000,000 bonus for the completion of the 2006/2007 Stayers Chase Triple Crown and also a £400,000 reward for heading the BHA Table of Merit in the same 2006/2007 season.
The Denman Chase is a Grade 2 National Hunt steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Newbury over a distance of about 2 miles and 7½ furlongs, and during its running there are eighteen fences to be jumped. The race is scheduled to take place each year in February.
Paul Frank Nicholls is a British National Hunt horse trainer with stables at Ditcheat, Somerset. A relatively successful jump jockey, Nicholls has become the leading National Hunt trainer of his generation, finishing the 2007–08 season with 155 winners and a record £4 million in prize money. As of April 2023, he has trained over 3,500 winners, won the 2012 Grand National, four Cheltenham Gold Cups and has been crowned British jump racing Champion Trainer fourteen times.
Robbie "Puppy" Power is a retired National Hunt jockey. The son of Irish show-jumper Con Power, Robbie Power rode the 33-1 outsider Silver Birch to victory in the 2007 John Smith's Grand National at Aintree Racecourse on Saturday 14 April 2007. It was his second Grand National ride after his Grand National debut in 2005. In 2011 he had his first Cheltenham Festival winner in the RSA Chase. In 2017 he won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Punchestown Gold Cup on Sizing John. He also won the Irish Grand National on Our Duke.
The 2007 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at the Cheltenham Racecourse on Friday March 16, 2007. It was the 79th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by the pre-race favourite Kauto Star. The winner was ridden by Ruby Walsh and trained by Paul Nicholls.
Tom Scudamore is a retired third-generation British flat and steeplechase jockey. He is the son of eight-time champion jockey Peter Scudamore; his grandfather Michael won the Grand National on Oxo in 1959.
The 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup was a horse race which took place at Cheltenham on Friday 14 March 2008. It was the 80th running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and it was won by Denman. The winner was ridden by Sam Thomas, and the first three horses were all trained by Paul Nicholls. The odds-on favourite Kauto Star finished second and Neptune Collonges was a close third.
Denman was an Irish-bred National Hunt racehorse sired by Presenting. Known as The Tank, Denman was widely known for his great rivalry with Kauto Star for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This large horse with a front-running style won the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2008.
Imperial Commander was a Cheltenham Gold Cup winning thoroughbred racehorse.
Paddy Brennan is an Irish jump jockey. He was champion conditional jockey in the 2004/05 season and won the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Imperial Commander. As of 2021 he is based in Gloucestershire, where he is stable jockey at Fergal O'Brien's yard.
Long Run is a retired National Hunt racehorse owned by Robert Waley-Cohen and trained during his racing career by Nicky Henderson in Great Britain and later by his owner.
Silviniaco Conti was a French-bred, British-trained Selle Français racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. After winning several important races over hurdles he emerged as a leading long-distance steeplechaser in 2012. After winning both his races in his native country, the horse won his first three races in England, culminating with a success in the two and a half mile Ascot Hurdle. After running poorly over shorter distances he was ruled out of a bid for the Champion Hurdle and was switched to steeplechasing. In his first season as a chaser he won the Mildmay Novices' Chase and finished second in a strong renewal of the Feltham Chase. In the 2012/2013 season he won the Charlie Hall Chase, Betfair Chase and Denman Chase and in the following season he was rated the best jumper in Britain and Ireland after wins in the King George VI Chase and Betfred Bowl. In the 2014/2015 season he recorded repeat victories in the Betfair Chase, King George VI Chase and Betfred Bowl but failed when favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In the following season he was beaten in his first three races but returned to form in February to win the Grade One Ascot Chase by 20 lengths.
Coneygree is a retired British Thoroughbred racehorse who competed in National Hunt races. In a career which ran from November 2010 to February 2019 he ran in eighteen races, winning nine times. In March 2015, he became the first novice chaser to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup for more than forty years. His subsequent career was hampered by injury and he did not run again in the Cheltenham Gold Cup after winning it.
Native River is an Irish-bred, British-trained, retired Thoroughbred racehorse who raced under National Hunt rules. He was a specialist long-distance steeplechaser known for his front-running style and apparently inexhaustible stamina. He won three minor hurdle races in the 2014/15 season and started his chasing career in the 2015/16 season, winning the Worcester Novices' Chase and the Mildmay Novices' Chase. He emerged as a top-class steeplechaser in the following season when he won the Hennessy Gold Cup, Welsh Grand National and Denman Chase as well as finishing third in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In the 2017/18 season he won a second Denman Chase before recording his biggest win in the 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup. In the 2019/20 season he won the Many Clouds Chase and achieved a record third win in the Denman Chase. His last win came in the Cotswold Chase in February 2021 and he was retired after a disappointing run in the 2021 Welsh Grand National.
Bryony Frost is an English National Hunt jockey from Buckfastleigh, Devon. In 2019 she became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race at the Cheltenham Festival.
Clan Des Obeaux is a French thoroughbred racehorse competing in National Hunt racing. It is notably owned by a partnership which includes former Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson.
