OLDSMAR, Fla. – Jonathan Thomas has been preparing for this moment his entire life. Practically born into the racing game in Virginia horse country, Thomas has worked diligently and purposefully for most of his 37 years to get to where he’ll be Saturday – on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Thomas is the trainer of Catholic Boy, the favorite for the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs. A victory in a lineup that includes Hollywood Star, Vino Rosso, and Flameaway certainly would further the Derby status of a colt whose 4 3/4-length romp in the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct made many racing fans and fellow horsemen stop and ask: Hey, who is this Thomas guy, anyway? For starters, he’s a former longtime assistant to Todd Pletcher – but that in no way defines him entirely. Thomas grew up on the property of the great philanthropist, Paul Mellon, in Upperville, Va., with parents employed by Mellon’s famed Rokeby Stable. As a boy, Thomas immersed himself in horses, mostly in the steeplechase and show-horse arenas while also maintaining a fascination with the faster action on the flat. “You could look out of our house and there was the yearling barn,” Thomas said one recent morning at Tampa while watching Catholic Boy train for the Davis. “It was pretty incredible.” :: ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays To his credit, Thomas has made the most of his talents and opportunities. A brief tenure as a jump jockey in his late teens evolved into on-the-ground work with some of the best horseflesh in the world, including stints under Christophe Clement and Dale Romans. In 2008, he returned from Saudi Arabia to come under the Pletcher fold, working nearly six years as a top assistant when based primarily at Belmont Park. “I loved working for Todd,” Thomas said. “I’ll still call and ask him about things, like when I was considering moving Catholic Boy to the dirt for the Remsen. He’s not only a great trainer, but also a great person.” Now in his fifth year at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., less than a two-hour drive from Tampa, Thomas has been leveraging his many connections to closely imitate how Pletcher began his powerhouse stable in the mid-1990s: actively pursuing owners and horses who can propel an ambitious young man into the racing stratosphere in fairly short order. “A lot of this game is about the recruiting, like any other sport,” said Thomas, whose first win as a trainer came in 2012 but who only began running appreciable numbers in the fall of 2016. “You need the numbers to wind up with a good horse.” The transformation of Bridlewood by billionaire John Malone in recent years has been instrumental in Thomas developing a racing stable. Recent stars such as Gun Runner, Tapwrit, Carina Mia, Destin and many more have spent time under Thomas’s oversight at Bridlewood, either as young horses or layups. “The resources Mr. Malone has provided us with at Bridlewood have been absolutely great,” Thomas said. “It has developed into a unique place, a sort of Fair Hill of the south.” Except for a couple of trips over to Tampa, including this entire week, Catholic Boy has trained at Bridlewood since returning from the Remsen. Purchased privately by Robert LaPenta after failing to bring a $170,000 reserve at auction as a short yearling in January 2016 at Keeneland, the bay Kentucky-bred son of More Than Ready began his racing career with three starts on turf, including a win in the With Anticipation at Saratoga in late August and a solid fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in early November. Early this week, it was first reported by Daily Racing Form that the Madaket Stables of Sol Kumin has become a minority partner with LaPenta in owning the colt. After the Davis, and assuming all goes well, Thomas said Catholic Boy probably will have only one start prior to the Derby. He said the seven weeks between the Davis and the March 31 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park are ideal, with five more weeks to the 144th Kentucky Derby on May 5 at Churchill Downs. Thomas said the colt will train at Bridlewood, except for the 10 days or so leading into each race. “If we make the Derby, it’s going to look like he’s only had two preps at 3,” Thomas said. “But if you look at his overall form, he’ll have had six races, all around two turns. We felt that was a substantial foundation.” Thomas has attended the Derby just twice, both times as a Bridlewood rep, with Destin (sixth in 2016) and Tapwrit (sixth in 2017). Under Pletcher, who has won the Derby twice from 48 starters, “I was always busy at Belmont. “When you’re an assistant, you’re very much a part of the action,” he said. “But the game changes when you’re the head man and you have the final call.” To that end, he hopes Catholic Boy gives a good account of himself Saturday when taking a big step toward the Derby. “You always hope the horses can live up to the hype,” he said. “He’s trained extremely well for this. We’ll go in there hoping for the best and looking to move on.”