Jonathan Thomas

GSW Starting Over (Liam's Map) sustained an injury on the grass in the GII United Nations Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday and was humanely euthanized by the track veterinarian staff after the race. Owned by Nice Guys Stables and transferred to the care of Brittany Russell last year, the 8-year-old ran third in the Cape Henlopen Stakes at Delaware Park June 14, and then shipped to Monmouth after registering a workout at Saratoga July 13. In the United Nations, the gelding raced at the rear of the field past...

A group of former Todd Pletcher assistant trainers have pledged to donate a percentage of their earnings from the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival to support the mission of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF), the organization said on Thursday in a press release. Michael McCarthy, George Weaver, Jonathan Thomas, Whit Beckman and Amelia Green have each committed a portion of their festival earnings to the TRF, underscoring their dedication to the welfare of retired racehorses. Click here to learn more about helping the TRF.

Umberto Rispoli, the second-leading rider at the Hollywood Meet at Santa Anita, is off all his Saturday mounts due to his connecting flight from Kentucky being canceled, 1S/T Racing announced Saturday afternoon. Rispoli flew in to Churchill Downs overnight to partner with likely Kentucky Derby favorite GISW Journalism (Curlin) in his final pre-Derby work, but those plans were scrubbed when the work was postponed to Sunday due to the rain. The jockey was named on six rides for the Saturday card, including on 'TDN Rising Star' Eagles Flight (Curlin), the...

Graded stakes winner Will Then gave trainer Jonathan Thomas his 300th career victory when she charged home an authoritative victress of the China Doll Stakes Sunday at Santa Anita. The even-money favorite settled into second as Amorita bound out to the early lead and was clear through fractions of :23.67 and :48.14. Will Then inched up closer to the pacesetter on the far turn and surged to the lead at midstretch before drawing clear under a hand ride for an easy victory. "I think she really ran awesome," said winning...

According to the Encyclopedia Britanica, a self-fulfilling prophecy is the "process through which an originally false expectation leads to its own confirmation." Horse racing's self-fulfilling prophesy appears to be the belief that only a select few trainers are capable of eliciting from the sport's finest Thoroughbred athletes their optimum talent. This notion reached an absurd low last month when a commentator for the UK's Racing Post argued that owners in possession of the best steeplechasers in England and Ireland should essentially have their heads examined for sending their horses to...

When Rashmi (Oscar Performance), the latest ingenue to punctuate a dynasty of George Strawbridge-bred starlets, made short thrift of the latest running of the GIII Megahertz Stakes at Santa Anita, her win affirmed the charmed run enjoyed by her trainer, Jonathan Thomas, shows no outward signs of lost momentum. Will Then (War of Will) cruising away with the GIII Jimmy Durante Stakes. Truly Quality (Quality Road) showing rare quality in the GII Hollywood Turf Club Stakes. Mrs. Astor (Lookin At Lucky) doing double Grade III duty in the Red Carpet...

'TDN Rising Star' Casalu (Caracaro) broke from the gate with winning in mind, and took the Listed Sweet Life Stakes nearly gate to wire in her downhill debut at Santa Anita. Coming into the race with a victory going a mile over this course Dec. 28 in the Blue Norther Stakes, she'd run second two back Nov. 30 to Will Then (War of Will) in the GIII Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar. It was her third graded black type behind placings in the GIII Sorrento Stakes on the main...

George Strawbridge's Augustin Stables capped a trio of graded wins over the week at Del Mar when Will Then (War of Will) powered to a 2 1/4-length victory in the GIII Jimmy Durante Stakes at the seaside oval Saturday. The filly joined stablemates Mrs. Astor (Lookin at Lucky), who won the Nov. 24 GIII Red Carpet Stakes, and Truly Quality (Quality Road), who won the GII Hollywood Turf Cup Friday. All three homebreds are trained by Jonathan Thomas. "I really have to give kudos to Mr. Strawbridge and his breeding...

With the scratch of 8-5 favorite Supa Speed (Justify) at the gate, it was a 10-1 longshot who took advantage of the delay as Will Then (f, 2, War of Will--Remember Then, by Pulpit) exploded down the middle of the course to take the GIII Jimmy Durante Stakes at Del Mar. Will Then was last seen Oct. 26 breaking her maiden up north at Woodbine on their turf course but before that did not find the Kentucky Downs course to her liking, finishing 10th on debut Aug. 31. In no...

If you're feeling a little deja vu about the result of Friday's GII Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes at Del Mar, there's a good reason. Hot on the heels of Mrs. Astor (Lookin At Lucky)'s win Sunday in the GIII Red Carpet Stakes over a route on Del Mar's turf course, trainer Jonathan Thomas gave another leg up to rider Vincent Cheminaud on another homebred for George Strawbridge, Jr.'s Augustin Stables, again over a route of ground on the grass. This time it was Truly Quality (g, 4, Quality Road--Truly Together,...

Looking to snag the first graded stakes score of her career, Mrs. Astor (Lookin At Lucky) kicked home strongest of all in the GIII Red Carpet Stakes at Del Mar Sunday afternoon. The 4-year-old filly was last seen running fourth Oct. 20 in the GIII Dowager Stakes at Keeneland after closing from ninth. She'd mostly been contesting the allowance/optional claiming conditions in her career but had placed third in the 2023 running of the GIII Regret Stakes over the Churchill Downs grass along with a couple off-the-board finishes in Listed...

Augustin Stable's Delight (Mendelssohn) became the first black-type winner for her freshman sire (by Scat Daddy) with a dominant score in Keeneland's GII J.P. Morgan Chase Jessamine S. The race was a "Win and You're In" for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf S. to be held in Lexington Nov. 4. Hustling up to contest the pace through a :24.32 opening quarter, the 7-2 shot gained a clear lead after that point, clocking a half-mile in :49.61. Showing the way into the lane, Delight rolled clear with ease for...