'He was raw but lovely' - Karrie Fanshawe on snapping up Grade 1 hero First Flow

In a world where seven-figure trades provide regular headlines, Karrie Fanshawe struck gold when mining out this season's Clarence House Chase hero and Queen Mother Champion Chase hope First Flow for a mere €4,500.

Fanshawe, assistant to Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer Emma Lavelle, will not only have the yard's Stayers' Hurdle favourite Paisley Park to cheer on at Cheltenham but Kim Bailey's Champion Chase contender, who she loved on first sight at the 2015 Tattersalls Ireland Derby Sale.

She says: "I was an eventer and rode for the Irish team before moving to Lambourn in 2001. I then started producing pointers and stores alongside rehab for Nicky Henderson and Flat trainers like Tom Dascombe."

Buying horses is not always a straightforward business, but Fanshawe was immediately drawn to the son of Primary's general outlook and athletic movement upon entering the sales ring.

"I was always trying to find a nice little gem somewhere and he caught my eye," she recalls. "He'd a fabulous walk and lovely big ears - he came out of the ring unsold and I thought it was too much of a chance to miss out on."

Having struck a deal, it was clear to the eye that the gelding needed time to mature and strengthen. On that score, Fanshawe is quick to pay tribute to Bailey and owner Tony Solomons' patience.

"He looked great but he was very narrow and was only ever going to need time," she says. "After a week's work you could really see he'd need plenty more time because he was raw, but a lovely individual.

First Flow and David Bass lead over the last to beat the grey Politologue and Waiting Patiently in the Clarence House ChaseCredit: Edward Whitaker

"Kim has just given him so much time and his owner's been fabulous."

On how First Flow came to arrive at Bailey's Gloucestershire yard, Fanshawe explains: "A couple of years before I had a nice horse, with not much of a pedigree, who I'd tried to persuade Kim to come and look at.

"I eventually sold him to the Rooneys and he won a bumper, but the next time I told him I had a nice one, Kim turned up the next day to have a look at him with Bassy (David Bass), and a couple more horses.

"I lived in Lambourn at the time and they worked them around the hills - I think we'd done the deal by the time we had got back to the yard!"

Fanshawe is understandably looking forward to First Flow taking on Chacun Pour Soi, Altior and Politologue in the Champion Chase on the second day of the Cheltenham Festival.

She says: "It's unbelievably exciting. He'd run well on his first outing at Exeter and Kim came away very positive, we'd been to watch him that day and he finished fourth in a bumper. My husband and I came away thinking we'd sold a nice horse and that's grand.

"The weather the following season meant he didn't go over fences too soon as the ground was too quick for him but, again, it just gave him the time that he needed.

"To see him all these years later and to see him going to the Champion Chase with a fighting chance, if he can cope with going left-handed and the ground, is fantastic."

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