THERE was no shortage of people cheering on First Flow at the weekend when the nine-year-old son of Primary (Giant’s Causeway) galloped to a seven-length victory in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot.

This hugely consistent gelding has only finished out of the first four twice in 18 lifetime starts, and his success on Saturday was his sixth consecutive win over fences. As a hurdler First Flow won three times and the best of these was victory in the Grade 2 Rossington Main Novices Hurdle at Haydock Park, a race he landed with 10 lengths back to the runner-up.

With career winnings now just topping £160,000, it is hard to believe that he changed hands in Part 2 of the 2015 Derby Sale for only €4,500. On the day it took a bit of wheeling and dealing to land the sale, which was a private transaction, between Denis Cummins of Rathurtin Stud and the purchaser, Karen Fanshawe.

Denis Cummins bought First Flow privately and any disappointment with the price he obtained has been more than compensated by the joy which the victory has brought. The gelding is far from the first Grade 1 winner sold by the Wexford-based Cummins.

I can remember good horses going back to Sheltering, while in recent times the multiple Grade 1 winner Gods Own and last year’s Grade 1 Tolworth Hurdle victory Fiddlerontheroof are others he has handled.

First Flow’s sire Primary was a smart racehorse and made a mark in England, Italy and the USA. Trained at two by David Loder for Highclere Thoroughbreds, he won his first two starts and was considered good enough to line up for the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes. He changed stables afterwards, moving to William Haggas.

Italian win

He raced five times at three, winning the Group 3 Classic Trial at Sandown and one of Italy’s biggest races, the Gran Premio d’Italia. He travelled to the USA and ran third in the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington. He was purchased for stud duties by Mary Doyle and her son Gordon to stand at their Knockmullen House Stud in Wexford. Mary is a daughter of Garryrichard Stud legend Michael Hickey.

Gordon Doyle takes up the story. “First Flow is by Primary who stood with us here, and is out of a Pierre (Sadler’s Wells) mare who we also stood. He has Knockmullen written all over him.

“Primary didn’t cover big books of mares but has done well with his small amount of runners; so to sire a Grade 1 winner is fantastic. For the damsire to have stood here also makes it extra special. It was a huge result for us.

“First Flow was bred by Kathleen and the late Seanie Flood and the ‘Clonroche’ prefix was used on a lot of the horses Seanie retained and bred from. He was a great character and a lovely man who bred plenty of winners, including Ballinclay King, a half-brother to the dam of First Flow, and another Grade 1 winner.

“In his latter years Seanie sent his mares down to us to look after and breed from. He took great interest in the progeny and would have been delighted to see First Flow win at the weekend. He always believed the dam was 75% of the equation!

“First Flow was foaled, reared and sold privately here at Knockmullen, and for us to have had a part to play in a Grade 1 winner is great. We sold Primary to the McArdles of Drumhowan Stud as the number of mares visiting him got smaller and smaller. Due to the smaller book sizes he was never very commercial or fashionable. We replaced him with Quest For Peace, and if he can follow in Pierre’s and Primary’s footsteps we will be delighted.”

On the move

Now comes news that Primary is on the move again, and breeders will be able to access him for 2021 at Hugh Suffern’s Tullyraine House Stud. From really limited opportunities he has also sired the graded-placed hurdler Prime Venture who was a fine fifth in the recent Welsh Grand National for Evan Williams, last autumn’s bumper and hurdle winner Costalotmore, and another Kim Bailey-trained winner, Shanacoole Prince – and the latter also happens to be out of a Pierre mare.

First Flow is out of the unraced Clonroche Wells and her dam, Clonroche Artic (Pauper), bred the aforementioned Ballinclay King (Asir). Trained by Ferdy Murphy, he made his debut as a five-year-old under Adrian Maguire at Ayr, beating Shotgun Willy by four lengths, and then headed to Punchestown where he was fourth in the Grade 1 bumper,

Ballinclay King showed a great liking for Ayr and won a couple of times over hurdles there, while also finishing runner-up in the Grade 2 Scottish Champion Hurdle. Sent chasing, he added five wins over the larger obstacles to his three hurdle successes, and he hit the big time at Aintree when he won the Grade 1 Martell Maghull Novices’ Chase.

Big race wins

The big race winners in the family don’t stop there. Clonrock Slave (Arctic Slave) is the third dam of First Flow and she raced twice in point-to-points at the age of eight. While she never troubled the judge, her full-sister Clonroche Hawk (Arctic Slave) won between the flags, and at stud she produced a couple of smart runners.

The best of Clonroche Hawk’s sons was Yeoman Broker (Pauper) and he won the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown and was third in the Sun Alliance Chase at Cheltenham when trained by Josh Gifford. His half-brother Clonthurtin (Harwell) won five chases and came close to landing a big one on a few occasions, notably running second in the Grade 1 Jameson Gold Cup Chase at Punchestown and the Grade 2 Harold Clarke Leopardstown Chase.

This was a great point-to-point female line, Quare Hawk (Fortina), the fourth dam of First Flow, being successful eight times in that code. Yet it has, in four generations and with just a handful of racecourse winners, managed to produce three Grade 1 winning chasers. Hopefully First Flow will continue in a winning vein for some time yet.