By Brian Sheerin
A decade on from selling Designs On Rome (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) to Hong Kong, where he became a Group 1-winning machine and recorded over €5 million in prize-money in that jurisdiction, Pat Flynn is predicting his latest Far East export Starspangledwaves (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) to be destined for a similarly bright future.
Flynn has been training for over 40 years and is perhaps best known for sending out Supreme Novices' Hurdle winners Montelado (GB) and French Ballerina (Ire) in the nineties.
The 66-year-old revealed that the sale of Starspangledwaves, which is reported to have run well into the six-figure mark, will eliminate the financial woes that come with training racehorses for a living for the next number of years but admitted that he has been left perplexed as to why his yard has fallen out of fashion in recent times.
“We're still pucking the ball out after 40 years in business, which is not a bad achievement in this game and I'm very proud of that,” – Pat Flynn.
From a high of 65 horses at one point, the County Waterford trainer explained that he has just 25 horses within his care at present, and says that Starspangledwaves proves that he can still do the job as well as anyone else in the profession.
“What I can't figure out is why I don't get more 2-year-olds to train,” Flynn said. “I have a really good opening to Hong Kong and we do what it says on the tin. No horse has ever come into this yard and made a fool of us once it left. If we get a horse good enough, we'll get it to win. I know the time of day with horses and have had loads of good ones down through the years. I don't know why we fell out of favour. It's a tough game.”
Facing into the cold winter mornings were made a hell of a lot easier with a horse of the caliber of Starspangledwaves to look forward to. After posting a solid debut at the Curragh, the gelding bolted up in a five-furlong maiden at Dundalk in October and subsequently netted Flynn a major payday with Gaelic Bloodstock swooping in to get a deal done for clients in Hong Kong.
He explained, “I remember when we sold Designs On Rome to Hong Kong, I said to John Moore that he would be one of the best horses they had ever seen. He probably thought to himself, 'this f***er must be mad.' But anyway, he turned out to be a serious horse down there.
“Starspangledwaves is not too far behind him. He's a different type of horse but he's a fair machine. He's incredible. We ran him on bottomless ground at the Curragh, which he'd hate, and he still managed to finish fifth on debut there. Well, he won apologising at Dundalk after that and Conor [Hoban, jockey] said he never won a race as easily in his life before.”
He added, “We're still pucking the ball out after 40 years in business, which is not a bad achievement in this game and I'm very proud of that. We're not complaining and have some lovely horses coming through. A lot of people have gone to the wall since I started and it hasn't been easy but this makes it all worthwhile.
“We got a lot of money for Designs Of Rome and we got something similar for Starspangledwaves. We got a very good price. But I stuck to my guns. I knew he was a serious horse and I told the agents not to be annoying me until they came up with a realistic offer. They have a very good horse to look forward to in Hong Kong and I can see him being top-class over five and six furlongs over there. When you get a good horse, you need to get a good price.”
Starspangledwaves failed to sell as a yearling but confirmed himself a top-notch prospect with his exploits on the track. In doing so, he continued a growing trend of Flynn maximising the potential of a horse who at one point fell through the cracks.
“Where were all the fellas who know it all the day we brought Starspangledwaves to the Orby? Thank God they weren't there that day anyway! We also sold a very good horse to Australia last year, All In The Mind (Ire), who we brought to the Royal Ascot sale but we couldn't get him sold. “Thank God we didn't as it worked out for luck in the end when we got a deal done privately. It was a similar story with Designs On Rome–we bought him off Moyglare Stud for €10,500 outside of the ring at the Orby in 2011.
“I can remember my hands were trembling when we came out of the office after buying him. I told my wife that I was after buying the best horse that would ever come through our yard. So, what does that all mean? The three horses I did well with were all led out unsold so, when your horse doesn't sell, you're not dead in the water by any means.”
He added, “I think Starspangledwaves will do really well over there. He has a phenomenal stride and is an easygoing type. He's like a puma the way he gallops and I'd say he could go all the way to the top. Over five and six furlongs, he could be a serious force.”
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