Rothgo rewarding Thomas after long road

By Glenn Davis

Toowoomba trainer John Thomas has again proven the old theory that racing is a game that rewards patience.

The Thomas-trained Rothgo was once a highly promising two-year-old after early wins at the Sunshine Coast and Eagle Farm in 2023.

Those victories drew attention from Hong Kong, but connections decided to knock back a substantial six-figure offer before his third start in the Group 3 Ken Russell Memorial Classic at the Sunshine Coast that year.

However, the son of Rothesay tailed off last in the 1200 metre feature.

Thomas later discovered Rothgo was the victim of a virus which sidelined him for four months, but it was only the start of further problems down the track.

After two winless years, Rothgo found his best form, winning at Toowoomba in April of last year before he was floored by a bout of colic.

“I heard a horse kicking a fence one night and it was Rothgo,” Thomas said.

“He was shaking and sweating badly, so I took him to the vet, who said he had colic and needed surgery straight away.”

After making a full recovery from his colic surgery, Rothgo won first-up in an 860 metre Benchmark race at Gatton on September 25 last year before he was struck down by a further two colic attacks.

“I thought about giving up with him at one stage after he had two more colic attacks, but a vet did a lot of work on him to get him right,” Thomas said.

Rothgo finally appears to be on the mend and has rediscovered his best form with a win and two placings from his past four starts.

Rothgo will head to Warwick on Thursday for the Benchmark 68 Handicap and is coming off a last-start fourth to the Nick Keal-trained Irama in a 1200 metre Benchmark race at Toowoomba on September 12.

“His last run was good and I think he’ll be hard to beat again,” Thomas said.

“He’s a good horse who can gallop, but he’s just had a lot of problems.

“I’m hoping we can get him back to Brisbane soon for a midweek or Saturday race.”

The Roma-born Thomas trained as a hobby while working for BHP in the open-cut mines at Emerald and Blackall for 25 years before he got an itch to train full-time.

He took a voluntary redundancy from BHP in 1999 and bought stables in Toowoomba, where he has become a regular figure around Toowoomba’s Clifford Park racecourse of a morning.

At 74, retirement is edging closer for Thomas, but with six horses in work, it’s not a prospect he thinks much about.