Described by Jilly Cooper as the ‘Brad Pitt of British Racing' 24 year old Sam Thomas is now firmly established as one of the stars of the jumping game. In 2008, he won the almighty clash that was the Cheltenham Gold Cup on the awesome Denman (the ‘tank') beating stable mate Kauto Star (the ‘extraterrestrial') in the process. And yet, in the current season his fortunes have changed somewhat (after falling on two high profile favourites on consecutive weekends in November) and he has had to learn all about the ‘downs’ to go with the previous years ‘ups’ of being a professional sportsperson. Horsemart went to meet him….

Sam, how did you decide that becoming a jockey was what you wanted to do?
I got the bug as a kid really. And when faced with the choice of football or ponies, always went for the ponies. Thank God I did the right thing.

What would be one piece of advice you would give to young people seeking a similar career?
Stay patient as nothing happens overnight. Also when you’re starting out, keep your mouth shut and always listen to advice. You won’t get far if you don’t.

Life as a professional sportsperson obviously has its high and its low moments - tell us about your best day in racing so far?
Riding in a seller at Sedgefield! No, I’m only joking as for me, it’s an obvious one, winning the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup on Denman. It sounds a cliché but it was a total dream come true for me and what dreams are made of. It’s the one race everyone wants to win, is part of history and I’ve watched it on TV since I was a kid. The moment is so fleeting though and passes so quickly that you have to savour it and try and take it in at the time, as the next day you’ll be racing somewhere else again and it’s gone already…I don’t think it hit me at all on the day.

And your worst?
Probably taking the wrong course at Fakenham and getting a 20 day plus ban! I shan’t be doing that again. Plus falling at the last on Big Bucks in last year’s Hennessy, that was pretty awful too.

This season has been somewhat troubled for you – how have you coped with it and what have you learned from it?
I’ve coped by keeping my head down. When it’s happening to you and things don’t go right, all you want to do is move on and the only way you can do that is to get out there and to ride more winners. The harder you try though the more difficult it is.
And I guess I learnt what press can be like! But on the plus side there’s the amazing friendship and camaraderie you get in the weighting room from the other jockeys.
On the whole it’s made me tougher and taught me to appreciate the good times more.

Tell us about a typical day as a working jockey?
I get up at about 5.30am, drive to ride out, ride a few lots, back in the car to the races, jump in the sauna to lose a few pounds, ride in approx 2-4 races, hopefully with a few winners and then back in the car again to home, a light supper and bed.

What would be the three attributes that you need to succeed in this game?
Being a talented rider, a good talker…and balls!

What do you want to achieve in racing?
Well I’d love to be Champion jockey but there are so many good riders so I guess to be in the top five jockeys for as long as I can, riding at a consistently high level and staying safe.

Quick fire questions
Who do you most admire in racing? AP McCoy who keeps raising the bar, is a great Ambassador for racing and a good bloke. And Ruby Walsh, who is the most awesome rider.

If you weren’t Sam Thomas, who would you be? Tiger Woods or Lewis Hamilton
4 dinner party guests? Lee Evans to make me laugh, Gordon Ramsay to cook the food with a bit of abuse thrown in, Beyonce to look at and Tiger Woods to teach me to play golf!

One thing about yourself most people don’t know? I’m scared of heights.
If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? I’d be half a stone lighter.

Sam Thomas is currently looking for a new sponsor for next season. Please contact liz@lizampairee.com if you are interested.

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