David Thomas

Amateur rider David Frederick Kenneth Thomas rode 43 winners under National Hunt rules including the Welsh Grand National on Miss Balscadden.

A farmer by profession, David Thomas, was born at Pyle, near Bridgend and was a prominent figure in Welsh hunt-racing circles. He had his first ride under National Hunt rules when finishing second on Rippling Brook in the Foxhunters’ Chase at Wenlock on May 7, 1920. He achieved his first success when, riding as ‘Captain D. Thomas’ (presumably from having served in World War One), he won the Beaufort Hunt Cup on Sir Rose at the annual Beaufort Hunt NH meeting on April 5, 1921.

He enjoyed his most successful season numerically in 1922 with ten winners including a four-timer at Glamorgan Hunt on Thursday, May 4, winning Penllyn Novices’ Chase on Mariones, the Maiden Hurdle on Layman, the Homfray Handicap Chase on Cock Sparrow and the Bassett Chase on Tango Stocking.

He had earlier ridden Layman to win a beginners’ chase by 10 lengths at Hereford on Easter Monday. Later in the year they combined to win a hunters’ handicap chase at Colwall Park in October and the two-mile Land o’ Plums Handicap Chase at Pershore by a distance in November.

David rode in five consecutive Grand Nationals between 1923 and 1927, the first four of them on Pencoed. They were arguably unlucky not to win on their first attempt in 1923. Sent off as 100-1 no-hopers, David and Pencoed were lying second behind 13-year-old Sergeant Murphy jumping Valentine’s for the second time and were still in contention when falling two fences from the finish. Starting at a more respectable 40-1 the following year, Pencoed was badly balked at the Canal Turn on the second circuit and put out of the race.

David rode Pencoed to win the valuable Newbury Handicap Chase in February 1295 but they got no further than the first fence in that year’s Grand National. They pulled up as 100-1 outsiders in 1926.

It was in 1926 that David achieved his greatest success when winning the Welsh Grand National on Colonel Morgan Lindsay’s seven-year-old mare Miss Balscadden. It was an eventful race. Cash Box was leading the field when refusing at the open ditch and pitching his rider, Robert Read on top of the fence. Five horses somehow managed to negotiate the fence without striking him, while five others were swerved away from it by their jockeys who feared that by attempting to jump the fence they would have put the stranded rider in mortal danger.

Following the melee at the ditch, the 3-1 favourite Postino was left in front and looked to have the race in safe keeping, but David drove Miss Balscadden to join Postino at the last fence and, following a great battle on the run-in, the mare just managed to get home in front by a head.

It was a day of mixed fortunes for David as later in the day he found himself up before the stewards. Top professional jockey Billy Stott reported him on the grounds of foul riding after they had dead-heated for second place in the Cardiff Exchange Handicap Chase. The stewards accepted David’s explanation that it was “an error of judgement” but cautioned him to be more careful in future.

Twelve months later, April l6, 1927, David and Miss Balscadden finished alone in an extraordinary race for the Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase at Cheltenham. They were the only ones of the eight runners to complete the course, and even then, Miss Balscadden refused at one point but was persuaded to jump the fence at the second attempt. Of her seven rivals, three refused, two fell and two were pulled up.

David rode a total of ten winners at Glamorgan Hunt’s annual NH fixture at Cowbridge, the last of them aboard 5-4 on favourite Breconian, who gave his odds-on backers a few scares before scraping home by half a length in the Moderate Hurdle on May 7, 1931. That proved to be the last winner of David’s career.

Later that month, he rode under NH rules for the final time when finishing third on Theorem in the Glamorgan Amateur Riders’ Handicap Chase at Cardiff on May 30, 1931.