Jonathan Thomas to take over training of Diversify
Owners Ralph and Lauren Evans have selected Jonathan Thomas to succeed the late Rick Violette as the trainer for multiple Grade 1 winner Diversify.
Diversify has not started since finishing fifth in defense of his 2017 win in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park on Sept. 29. Plans for the horse, including a possible start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, were put on hold when Violette became seriously ill shortly after the Jockey Club Gold Cup. Violette, who trained Diversify throughout his career, died from complications of lung cancer on Oct. 21.
Diversify, a 6-year-old New York bred son of Bellamy Road, won 10 of 16 starts and just under $2 million under Violette’s direction, including both the Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2017 and the Grade 1 Whitney at Saratoga last August. He also won the Grade 2 Suburban at Belmont in July by 6 1/2 lengths. Diversify has been on Patricia Hogan’s Fair Winds Farm in Cream Ridge, N.J., since the fall.
“One of the criteria for choosing Rick’s replacement was finding a younger, successful, up-and-coming trainer, partly because my daughter Lauren is the heir apparent and we all thought that made the most sense,” said Ralph Evans on announcing the decision. “After discussing several options, we decided to hire Jonathan, in large part because we know Rick really had a lot of respect for him and especially the job he did developing Catholic Boy.”
Catholic Boy won two Grade 1 races last year, the Belmont Derby on turf and the Travers on dirt.
Thomas called it a “humbling situation” to be chosen to replace Violette as the trainer of Diversify.
“I was a big fan of both Rick and this horse,” said Thomas. “When we brought Catholic Boy up to New York to run, we shipped in to Rick’s barn and he couldn’t have been more professional, any nicer, or treated us any better than he always did when we were there.”
Thomas said the immediate plan is for Diversify to ship to Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., to resume training on Feb. 1.
“He’ll start off at Bridlewood through February and March and we’ll decide on a further course of action at that point,” said Thomas. “Ironically, Feb. 1 is also the date Catholic Boy is expected to resume training for his 2019 campaign.”
Evans said he has no goals set for Diversify in 2019.
“If all were to go well, maybe he could make it back for the Commentator, a race for New York-breds he won at Belmont last year, and after that, perhaps the Suburban again,” said Evans. “But we’ll let Jonathan make those decisions and cross those bridges when we get there.”
