Kristin Mulhall, Ruby Thomas pick up bulk of Wong's California horses

Veteran California trainers Ruby Thomas and Kristin Mulhall have taken over training of horses previously trained by Jonathan Wong, who was provisionally suspended by the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit earlier this month for a medication violation found in one of his runners at Horseshoe Indianapolis last month.

Thomas will care for a stable of approximately 40 horses Wong has at Cal-Expo in Sacramento, while Mulhall said she has 10 horses Wong had at Santa Anita.

Thomas will start five former Wong-trained runners on Sunday at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, Calif., including Kennebec in the $150,000 Pleasanton Mile.

On Thursday, Thomas said she has retained Wong’s personnel to ensure continuity in the barn.

“He did have his staff,” she said. “They know the horses. You don’t have to tell them too much.

“Jonathan used to work for us,” Thomas said of her family’s stable. “We’ve known each other for several years.”

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Thomas had five horses in her barn before she agreed to takeover Wong’s stable after conversations on Tuesday and Wednesday, she said.

“I had to do a lot of paperwork,” she said.

Thomas has had larger stables on her own in the past.

“If you’ve done it, you’ve done it,” she said. “I’ll continue with how I’ve been doing things. To me, it’s not any different. You’ve got to be careful.”

Wong had a smaller division in Southern California, and frequently shipped runners throughout the state. Mulhall said Wong had planned a greater presence at the Del Mar summer meeting that begins on July 21 prior to his suspension. Mulhall wrote in a text message that she was finalizing plans for Del Mar with owners.

Wong was the leading trainer at the winter-spring meeting at Golden Gate Fields that ended on June 11. He has won every training title at the 16 non-fair meeting at Golden Gate Fields since the beginning of 2018.

Wong’s positive was found in a test taken from Heaven and Earth, the winner of a maiden race for Indiana-bred fillies on June 1. The filly tested positive for metformin, a medication prescribed for diabetes.

In an interview last weekend, Wong said he had been prescribed metformin in the past.

In a brief interview on Thursday, Wong said he planned to sell some of the horses that he owned. He said he recently switched lawyers, hiring Kentucky-based Joel Turner to replace Alan Pincus who briefly represented Wong earlier this month.

Johnny Taboada, who led all owners at Glden Gate Fields earlier this year with 24 wins, had horses with Wong as well as with other trainers. Wong’s provisional suspension from HIWU forced a rapid understanding of the new regulatory agency’s rules, Taboada said.

“It caught us all by surprise,” Taboada said. “We’re finding out how we go through the new stipulations.”

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