Thomas has a Friend Sam Thomas has made the difficult decision to ride What A Friend rather than Nacarat in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on Saturday. The jockey guided Tom George's Nacarat to an impressive success in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby at the end of October, but also has previous with the Paul Nicholls-trained What A Friend. Thomas steered the seven-year-old to second place behind Denman in last year's Hennessy Gold Cup before grabbing Grade One glory in Leopardstown's Lexus Chase. While he admits the choice was not an easy one, he feels What A Friend could prove the biggest threat to hot favourite and reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Imperial Commander. "This has been one of the most difficult decisions I've ever had to make in racing and Simon Clarke (owner of Nacarat) has been an absolute gentleman," Thomas told the Daily Mail. "Obviously, both have it all to do to beat Imperial Commander but I'm confident that I have made the right decision."
