Jonathan Thomas

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...

Holiday weekends are often synonymous with exciting race cards and this Fourth of July weekend is no exception with a dozen graded events on tap Saturday that include some of racing's best. The highlight of the day's action is the return of 'TDN Rising Star' Life Is Good (Into Mischief), who is making his first start back since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai World Cup Mar. 26 in Belmont's GII John A. Nerud S. A dominant winner of last year's GII Kelso H. and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile...

Edited Press Release Jonathan Thomas, trainer of the versatile multiple Grade I winner Catholic Boy, will judge the 88th annual Maryland Horse Breeders Association Yearling Show. Open to all yearlings eligible for Maryland-bred registration, the show will be held Sunday, July 24 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds' Horse Show Ring in Timonium. Entries are due by June 24. Thomas was born in Virginia and raised at Paul Mellon's famed Rokeby Farm, where his grandfather, father and mother all worked. Growing up around quality horses, Thomas was 13 when Mellon's homebred...

6th-Keeneland, $109,450, Alw (NW1X), Opt. Clm ($80,000), 4-22, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:24.11, ft, 2 3/4 lengths. MOUFFY (f, 3, Uncle Mo--Truly Together {GSP, $119,760}, by Smart Strike), pounded into 7-10 favoritism off a big-figure runner-up effort when trying conventional dirt for the first time at Gulfstream Park Feb. 20, gave her backers some anxious moments as she raced in heavy traffic down the backstretch, but the homebred bay took advantage of an inviting opening at the fence when heads were turned for home and quickened up nicely to clear her...

Augustin Stable's Send for Me (Into Mischief) led home a $1.5-million-plus exacta for her sire as she became the Spendthrift super stallion's 28th 'TDN Rising Star' when drubbing a fancy group of fillies at Aqueduct Saturday. Acquired for $500,000 at OBS April off a :10 flat breeze, the Jonathan Thomas pupil was let go at 6-1 and made that price look like a bargain. Emerging with the early advantage, the bay doled out splits of :22.99 and :47.42, quickly shut the door on her competition at the head of the...

3rd-AQU, $74k, OC45k/N2X, (S), 3yo/up, 1m, post tme: 1:19 p.m. ET NICKY THE VEST (Runhappy), sidelined since running his record to a perfect two-for-two with a runaway score versus state-breds in the Gander S. Feb. 14, returns to action at the Big A Thursday. The New York-bred, forced to miss the GII Wood Memorial S. due to a knee chip, faces seven rivals in a state-bred optional claimer with first-time Lasix in his comebacker. Both of his previous wins came over this same track and trip. "He had trained like...

6th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 3:55 p.m. ET A pair of promising-looking juvenile fillies will make their respective debuts while breaking next door to each other in this Thursday turf dash. EMPRESS TIGRESS (Classic Empire) made a big splash at OBS April when breezing a quarter-mile in an eye-popping :20 2/5, one of only two horses at the entire sale to hit that mark, and landed with Augustin Stable after the hammer dropped for $410,000. Trained by Jonathan Thomas, she's out of a half-sister to GSW/MGISP turfer Stays...

Aidan O'Brien will saddle the likely favorite in the GI Belmont Oaks in Coolmore's Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and also sends out the overwhelming morning-line favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the GI Belmont Derby a few races later for the same owner. Kicking off this term with a victory in the G3 Ballysax S. Apr. 11, the bay romped by six lengths in the G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial May 9, but failed to fire when seventh as the favorite in the G1 Cazoo...