Manchester-born Robert Thomas rode his first two winners in 1865 and was still a stable lad when winning the 1866 2,000 Guineas on Lord Lyon, trained by James Dover. That year, he also won the Queen’s Vase on Elland, finishing the season with 16 winners from only 27 rides.
He rode five winners the following year before a bad accident left him with a shortened leg and prematurely ended his brief riding career.
He turned to training in 1870, based in Upper Lambourn and beginning with a string of eight horses. He trained for the Marquess of Huntly (who raced under the pseudonym of ‘Mr Raimond’) up to 1875, after which he set up as a public trainer in Royston.
Robert Thomas died unexpectedly at Moreton-in-Marsh on 30 April 1887, aged 39. He left a wife and five children destitute, and a fund was set up for them.
Information sourced from ‘A Biographical Dictionary of Racehorse Trainers in Berkshire 1850-1939’ by David Boyd, published in 1998.