John Flavin aiming to be first among equals at Goffs Coral Gold Cup Sale

It is certainly proving a winter of firsts for John Flavin.

The County Waterford trainer has ticked off an ambition by saddling a runner at Cheltenham and was within half a length of a winner, with Midnight Our Fred finishing like a train behind Mole Court in an amateur riders' chase at the October meeting.

At Newbury on Saturday, where the meeting must survive a 7.30am inspection, First Confession heads to Goffs' Coral Gold Cup Sale as a rare Flavin representative in a big point-to-point auction. He certainly doesn't believe he has ever unearthed as exciting an individual as the comfortable Moig South winner, who is appropriately drawn number one to go in the ring.

Flavin found the four-year-old, whose family traces to useful jumpers such as Latest Exhibition, Rathvinden and Kildisart, for €18,000 at last year's Tattersalls Ireland July Store Sale. 

"He’s a big horse, 16'3 by Affinsea, out of a Presenting mare out of a King's Ride mare so I liked the page," Flavin said. "When I looked at the catalogue there last year he was a big, weak looking horse and that’s probably why I got him for the price I did. Every day since I got him he’s got better and better. Looking at him, he put on loads of weight even during the summer and I knew he’d be an autumn sort of four-year-old.

"I was never in any rush with him, he’s really filled out into his big frame and I bought his full brother at the Goffs Arkle Sale this year on the strength of what he was doing."

There will be plenty of competition among Irish pointers with around 20 inclusions from most of the powerhouse yards but Flavin's representative has a performance to catch the eye after winning by a length and a half under James Hannon. 

"He’s probably the best horse I’ve ever had, to be honest," Flavin said. "He’s just a very good horse. If they were going quicker he’d be even better, it was very slow ground but he was just lobbing along and wasn’t even blowing when he came back in. James said he gave a squeeze round the home bend only to keep going, he was only in third about gear all the way, gave him a squeeze after the second last, he took off, popped the last and coasted home."

A former jockey who had one ride at the Cheltenham Festival aboard the Richard Guest-trained Admiral in the County Hurdle – three days after the horse had run in Brave Inca's 2006 Champion Hurdle – Flavin juggles his string of 20 between Flat, jumps and point-to-point prospects.

He is not the first smaller Irish trainer to diversify into looking for youngsters for potential sale, with National Hunt in its entirety being currently so difficult to break into.

Midnight Our Fred (yellow and green) closes for third behind Mole Court at Cheltenham in OctoberCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"We won’t be like the Monbeg lads or anything but hopefully we’ll have a few," Flavin laughed. "I've a few young horses and this lad's full brother is going fairly well.

"I went a bit more towards the track but the last couple of years I’ve been tipping away going back a bit towards the point-to-pointers. There’s a better hope that, touch wood, you’d make a bit more money out of it.

"I’ve 10 nice ones to run on the track and the horse at Cheltenham ran a cracker. I thought about halfway up the run-in he might get it but the other horse just pulled out a bit more, he had a bit more experience than us. It was my lad's first handicap, to do it round Cheltenham is a big ask. There’s a couple of options and if he could click in one of them we’d be laughing."

The sale is set to begin after racing on Saturday afternoon.

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