Sam Thomas - "to be the best!"

Following the injury to Ruby Walsh Paul Nicholls showed admirable loyalty and trust in calling upon his second jockey for the ride on Kauto Star in the Betfair Chase and the 23 year old Welshman did not disappoint. Sam also completed a treble on the day and went on to score aboard Mr Pointment in the prestigious Grand National trial - the Becher Chase - at Aintree the following day.

When Sam applied to the BRS at the age of 15 he wrote "whilst I recognise there will be much more to learn I am most determined to be a successful jockey. One day I hope to ride against the best and be the best".

Sam was accepted on to Course 133 and graduated alongside Andrew Mullen, Slade O'Hara, Elliott Cooper and Lee Newnes amongst others.

Unlike many Jump Jockeys Sam does not come from a racing background and after completing his GCSEs may have found it difficult to convince his parents, (both of whom are teachers), of his career plans. The fact that the Racing School exists with impressive facilities, "outstanding" gradings at inspection and a qualification structure, has meant that we have been able to attract many people into the industry that may have otherwise been lost.

It certainly has been hard for the British Racing School to make significant inroads on the Jump Jockeys leaderboard over the years. A cursory glance at the breeding suffix of most Jump horses , along with the ratio of Steeplechase and Point-to-Point courses per head of the population confirms Ireland to be the ultimate breeding ground for jockeys. After winning the recent Conditional Hands and Heels race, BRS fast track Apprenticeship graduate Aidan Coleman revealed he had won 100 pony races in his native Ireland. No British conditional is ever going to be able to compete with that level of experience and Britain has been far behind Ireland and France in cultivating Pony Racing as a training ground for future jockeys.

Pony Racing is only now beginning to take off on British Racetracks with the Charles Owen series of races, and the Pony Club and Point-to-Point versions. Sam Thomas has been a prominent support of the series and we are now witnessing the regular spectacle of Pony Racing on our racetracks with the first tranche of jockeys now entering the industry and beginning to ride as adults.

Other prominent Jump Jockey graduates of the nine-week course include Wayne Hutchinson, Colin Bolger, Derek Laverty and David England. Behind them are a fleet of promising conditionals who have all gained the NVQ2 and Apprenticeship through the school including Sam Jones, Nick Scholfield, Keiran Burke, James Reveley, Byron Moorcroft and John Kington along with successful point-to-point riders Claire Allen and Rachael Green.

Pony racing will hopefully provide a fertile source of jockeys for the future and the British Racing School Pony Race training days are an affordable and accessible way to receive expert training and a taste of what the School has to offer. For more information see our Pony Racing section of the website or call Sarah Hayde on 01638 675906.

With the right mix of dedication, talent and training maybe one day you could "be the best".