The following appeared in The Fauquier Times and was written by Betsy Burke Parker
Two Fauquier High graduates broke through big at the Saratoga Racecourse in New York last weekend.
Upperville native Jonathan Thomas saddled Catholic Boy to win the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes, and Marshall native Chuck Lawrence sent out Glorious Empire to win the $1 million Grade 1 Sword Dancer turf stake.
“We’re just so proud of the horse and what he’s accomplished,” said Thomas, 38, a 1998 Fauquier High grad who was raised at Rokeby Farm, where he spent his youth foxhunting, showing and working in the steeplechase industry.
He rode over jumps starting at 17, riding two graded hurdle stakes winners during his apprentice championship year, 2000.
Thomas moved into flat racing, signing on as assistant trainer to Christophe Clement in New York, and then with Dale Romans before moving to Saudi Arabia in 2007 to work for King Abdullah.
Two Fauquier High graduates broke through big at the Saratoga Racecourse in New York last weekend.
Upperville native Jonathan Thomas saddled Catholic Boy to win the $1.25 million Grade 1 Travers Stakes, and Marshall native Chuck Lawrence sent out Glorious Empire to win the $1 million Grade 1 Sword Dancer turf stake.
“We’re just so proud of the horse and what he’s accomplished,” said Thomas, 38, a 1998 Fauquier High grad who was raised at Rokeby Farm, where he spent his youth foxhunting, showing and working in the steeplechase industry.
He rode over jumps starting at 17, riding two graded hurdle stakes winners during his apprentice championship year, 2000.
Thomas moved into flat racing, signing on as assistant trainer to Christophe Clement in New York, and then with Dale Romans before moving to Saudi Arabia in 2007 to work for King Abdullah.
He returned as Todd Pletcher’s assistant in 2008, and then went out on his own in 2013, based at Florida’s Bridlewood Farm.
Thomas-trained horses have amassed lifetime earnings of almost $3 million.
Lawrence, 52, a 1984 Fauquier grad, grew up in racing as well. Winning his first race in 1978 with pony racing phenom Lil Fritz, Lawrence went on to partner some of steeplechasing’s best: Eclipse champs Lonesome Glory, Hirapour and Warm Spell, along with International Gold Cup winner Jamaica Bay. Lawrence was champion jockey in 1989 and 1993.
He hung up his tack after the 1994 season, swapping to training on the flat and moving to the training center in Fair Hill, Maryland.
“The Virginia boys made us all proud,” said John Dale Thomas, Jonathan’s father and longtime track manager of Virginia’s Shenandoah Downs and Colonial Downs racecourses.
Lawrence said he and Thomas share more than a little Fauquier High history.
“Jonathan and I were comparing notes after our big days on Saturday,” Lawrence said. “We both remember (hall monitor) Mr. (Lynn) Ward signing us in when we were tardy when we were late working horses on the track in the early morning.
“Mr. Ward was a big racing fan. He understood what we were doing,” not just ditching school, he added.
He returned as Todd Pletcher’s assistant in 2008, and then went out on his own in 2013, based at Florida’s Bridlewood Farm.
Thomas-trained horses have amassed lifetime earnings of almost $3 million.
Lawrence, 52, a 1984 Fauquier grad, grew up in racing as well. Winning his first race in 1978 with pony racing phenom Lil Fritz, Lawrence went on to partner some of steeplechasing’s best: Eclipse champs Lonesome Glory, Hirapour and Warm Spell, along with International Gold Cup winner Jamaica Bay. Lawrence was champion jockey in 1989 and 1993.
He hung up his tack after the 1994 season, swapping to training on the flat and moving to the training center in Fair Hill, Maryland.
“The Virginia boys made us all proud,” said John Dale Thomas, Jonathan’s father and longtime track manager of Virginia’s Shenandoah Downs and Colonial Downs racecourses.
Lawrence said he and Thomas share more than a little Fauquier High history.
“Jonathan and I were comparing notes after our big days on Saturday,” Lawrence said. “We both remember (hall monitor) Mr. (Lynn) Ward signing us in when we were tardy when we were late working horses on the track in the early morning.
“Mr. Ward was a big racing fan. He understood what we were doing,” not just ditching school, he added.