Sam Thomas (born 22 June 1984) is a retired Welsh National Hunt jockey who is now a

horse trainer A horse trainer is a person who tends to horses and teaches them different disciplines. Some of the responsibilities trainers have are caring for the animals' physical needs, as well as teaching them submissive behaviors and/or coaching them for e ...

. He is best known for winning the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup with

Denman Denman may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places * Denman Glacier, near Antarctica * Denman Shire, New South Wales, Australia ** Denman, New South Wales, a town in the Hunter Valley of Australia * Denman Island, one of the Gulf Islands of British Columbia, Can ...

. 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.

Personal life

Thomas was born in

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

, Wales. He rode in point to points before graduating to race riding.

Racing career

Thomas began his racing career with David Evans in Wales. He primarily looked after the horses and took them to races. Thomas had his first runner at

Exeter Racecourse Exeter Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located near the city of Exeter, Devon, England. Locally it is known as Haldon racecourse because of its location on top of the Haldon Hills. Until the early 1990s it was officially known as ...

, If And But on 20 December 2001. His first winner was Indian Summer at Ludlow Racecourse on 2 April 2003. Thomas joined Venetia Williams yard and by 20 he had ridden out his claim, and saw success with Limerick Boy winning the 2004 Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton Park and a Summer Cup at

Uttoxeter Racecourse Uttoxeter Racecourse is a National Hunt racecourse in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, England. Course Uttoxeter is a left-handed oval shaped course of 1 mile 2½ furlongs in circumference. The back ‘straight’ has a dog-leg to the right and i ...

with Kock De La Vesvre. Thomas would later join Paul Nicholls as second jockey to Ruby Walsh. Big race victories followed, including his first Group 1 winner in the

Betfair Chase 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 furlongs (3 miles 1 furlong ...

with

Kauto Star Kauto Star (19 March 2000 – 29 June 2015) 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 ...

and later the 2007

Tingle Creek Chase The Tingle Creek 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 Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles (1 mil ...

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. 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. Continuing to ride Nicholls' top runners, he fell at the last fence in the Betfair Chase on Kauto Star, and again in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury Racecourse on

Big Buck's Big Buck's (foaled 16 April 2003) is a retired National Hunt racehorse trained in Britain by Paul Nicholls. He is owned by businessman Andy Stewart and specialised in racing over hurdles. At the 2012 Cheltenham Festival, Big Buck's made histo ...

. Both races he was leading at the time. Thomas would continue riding until 2015 when he retired. In 2017 he returned to the saddle for a charity race in aid of Bob Champion at Chepstow Racecourse, winning on Maoi Chinn Tire.

Major wins

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

- Kauto Star (2007) *

Henry VIII Novices' Chase The Henry VIII Novices' 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 Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles ...

- Marodima (2007) *

- Twist Magic (2007) *

Scilly Isles Novices' Chase The Scilly Isles Novices' 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 Sandown Park over a distance of around two miles ...

- Silverburn (2008) * Cheltenham Gold Cup - Denman (2008)

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase The John Durkan Memorial Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland. It is run over a distance of about 2 miles and 4 furlongs {2 miles 4 furlongs and 40 yards, or 4,060 metres) at Punc ...

- Noland (2008) *

Savills Chase The Savills Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt steeplechase in Ireland which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Leopardstown over a distance of about 3 miles (4,828 metres), and ...

- What A Friend (2009)

Cheltenham Festival winners (1)

* Cheltenham Gold Cup - Denman (2008)

Training career

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 The Ffos Las racecourse (''strictly'': Ffos Las Racecourse & Conference Centre) is a Welsh horse racing, equestrian sports and conferencing venue situated in Ffos Las, Wales. The Ffos Las racecourse was built at the site of an open cast coal mine ...

. One of his most notable winners since starting training is Iwilldoit who won the 2021

Welsh Grand National The Coral Welsh Grand National is a Premier Handicap National Hunt racing, National Hunt Steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase in Great Britain which is open to Horse racing, horses aged four years ...

Chepstow Racecourse Chepstow Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing racecourse, course located just north of the town of Chepstow in Monmouthshire, Wales, near the southern end of the Wye Valley and close to the border with England. It is one of 16 racecourses op ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Sam 1984 births Living people Welsh jockeys