Exclusive: Thomas and Denman seek repeat

Sam Thomas is more polite. “It depends on his mood,” he says diplomatically.

Thomas is also unlikely to admonish the character of a great horse who provided him with a Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph in 2008 – the highlight of his career – and who could carry him to a second victory in racing’s ‘blue riband’ race on Friday.

“Some days, he just stands there and ignores you. Other times, like the other day, he was friendly towards me. But, as soon as he’s saddled up, he’s in his work mode – and he’s a different horse altogether,” explains the 26-year-old rider. “I’ll be very disappointed if he’s not in the first three.”

There is conviction in the Welsh-born jockey’s voice that stems from genuine belief in the abilities of Denman, the old warrior, rather than a rider simply dreaming of Festival success over the next four days.

Why? While the career of Thomas has stalled somewhat since his Gold Cup triumph following several high-profile falls on Paul Nicholls-trained horses, he was reunited with Denman for last November’s Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

Though Denman was only third as he sought to record an unprecedented hat-trick of triumphs in the Newbury handicap, he was conceding 26lbs to the winner, Diamond Harry, who became a leading Gold Cup player until injury ruled out his chances.

Thomas, a jockey whose balance in the saddle is a natural gift, was left spellbound as the liver chestnut rolled back the years with a Herculean performance in the circumstances.

Best fresh, and with the benefit of a wind operation to improve his breathing, Thomas believes the crowd-pleasing Denman is capable of anything when he returns to the racecourse for the first time in four months.

“He’s grand – I sat on him the other morning at Paul’s – and it is all systems go,” says the jockey whose Twitter feed has, for some time, read: “Jockey of Denman in the 2008 Cheltenham Gold Cup and in 2011” after riding arrangements were confirmed last autumn.

“To do what he did in the Hennessy, with 11st 12lb and at 10 years of age, I couldn’t have asked for more.

“If Paul can bring him back to that sort of form, he will have a great chance off level weights.

“He just has a very, very good engine. And, although he puts in big jumps, he is very economical. He’ll only do it if he has to. He’s agile for a big horse.

“He has his own way of doing things. The hardest thing is to do nothing and go with the flow, but that is when he is at his best.”

Like 2008 when the pre-race attention revolved around Denman’s illustrious stablemate Kauto Star and that man Ruby Walsh, Thomas is happy to remain out of the limelight this week.

He may even find himself riding at one of the ‘gaffe’ meetings as his freelance status, as a rider, means that he may not have a host of opportunities this week.

Yet this should not detract from his horsemanship, or his tactical acumen, as he ensures that he is not entirely dependent on the Nicholls stable, and its whims, for big-race rides.

In conversation, Thomas, whose parents were teachers and who needed convincing about the merits of a riding career, is one of the weighing room’s most intelligent and well-spoken jockeys.

Talking through the four ante-post Gold Cup favourites – Imperial Commander, Long Run, Kauto Star and the great Denman – he points out that they have run just six times this season as their trainers look to prolong the careers of these chasing warriors.

Contrast this with Henrietta Knight, a trainer instrumental to Thomas during his formative years in the saddle, who was criticised mercilessly for running Best Mate – her three-time Gold Cup winner – no more than four times a year.

“It’s what you have to do, and Hen proved that it works,” says Thomas, who was injured a year ago when Denman finished second in the Gold Cup under AP McCoy. “These horses are running in the best races and it takes a lot out of them – Desert Orchid was probably a one-off.

“If you want to see the best, like Denman, they need time between races – they can’t be fit 100 per cent all the time. If Denman had run a month ago and had had a hard race, people would have complained that he was not right for Cheltenham.

“Friday is about deciding the best of the best.”

Like Denman, Thomas says the other leading contenders have questions to answer. Imperial Commander, the reigning champion, has had a chequered build-up; Kauto Star fell last year and Long Run does not have winning form at Cheltenham, though he accepts the six-year-old is probably the horse to beat.

“There’s no reason why Denman can’t do it if he is back to his best, and bowls along from the front,” added Thomas.

“There will be no excuses, however. He’s the horse of a lifetime and he owes me, or racing, nothing. First three? I’ll be disappointed if we’re not. And I won’t be calling him grumpy.”

[email protected]