Breeders' Cup in mind for Travers 2018 contender Catholic Boy

Young trainer Jonathan Thomas has a Grade 1 winner pointing to the 2018 Travers Stakes early in his career, and he’s already thinking bigger for his standout horse.

Robert LaPenta’s Catholic Boy, a versatile 3-year-old with success on both dirt and turf, returns to the former surface after two big wins over the grass. Although Thomas said it’s early to make a decision – with the Travers not even running until Saturday – the trainer is keeping Catholic Boy’s Breeders’ Cup options in mind.

“If he were to be effective on the dirt in the Travers, my leaning would be more toward the Classic,” Thomas said, “and more so if anything because of the distance. I think the mile and a quarter at this time in his life hits him right between the eyes.”

That distance is what earned Catholic Boy a Grade 1 score in the Belmont Derby Invitational last out, regaining the lead over Analyze It for the second race in a row on turf.

Thomas also mulled over the options of the Breeders’ Cup Turf and the Breeders’ Cup Mile, but neither seem to fit the race scenario he wants for Catholic Boy.

“Facing older on the turf backing up to a mile might be a little bit quick for him, and then stretching him out to a mile and a half against some of those Euros, I don’t know if either of those races are in his best interest,” Thomas said. 

Thomas, 38, was an assistant for Todd Pletcher before he began preparing young horses for other trainers at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., including horses going to Chad Brown. Thomas began training his own string of racehorses out of Bridlewood last year, with Catholic Boy being his best horse to date.

“I know that he’s a really good horseman. He’s smart. He’s honest. And now that he’s training horses to run in the afternoon, it doesn’t surprise me at all he’s having success,” Brown said of Thomas. “I think he really has a bright future. He’s continually trying to learn and get better at what he does. I think that he’ll have many stake horses in the future.”

Catholic Boy won over turf and dirt as a 2-year-old, taking the Grade 3 With Anticipation before switching to the Kentucky Derby trail and winning the Grade 2 Remsen. He returned the following season and ran a bang-up second to Flameaway in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis before finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Florida Derby, a race in which he bled.

After skipping the rest of the Derby season, Catholic Boy returned to turf, winning the Grade 3 Peninne Ridge prior to the Belmont Derby and switching his running style. Instead of sitting further back from the pace, Catholic Boy led gate-to-wire in his last two starts, except for small portions in the final stretch where he let Analyze It briefly take the lead.

Thomas also said they would hope for a similar pace scenario in the Travers.

“I could be to blame early on. The horse wanted to kind of come from out of it early on and I’m never one to push them into a strategy or a pace scenario they’re not comfortable with,” he said. “I think him being more forwardly placed is just part of his development. He’s getting stronger, more reactive at the gate, breaking a little quicker.”

The trainer admits Catholic Boy’s resume is currently better on turf, but the son of More Than Ready has also shown Thomas he works well over both surfaces. There’s also that graded states win over dirt as a 2-year-old.

Heading into the Travers, Thomas considers it an “achievement” to be running with the nation’s top trainers on the big stage and feels fortunate to be competitive with them.

"I think too often we get caught up in the wins and losses in this business,” he said, “and sometimes I think everyone forgets how hard it is not just for trainers, but for the horses themselves to get this far along.”