Oscar Flyer makes the most of second chance

Formerly in training with Tim Vaughan, Jo Hughes and Tony Carroll, Oscar Flyer was unsold at Exeter Horse Sales in September 2013 and instead found his way to Potter’s Abattoir.

But Cattal-based Val and Keith Welton wanted to give the then six-year-old a second chance.

Through sources who had seen the horse go unsold at the Exeter sales, the Weltons purchased the gelding at a cost of £300 from Potter’s, who handed back £20 for luck.

The former hurdler was moved to Yorkshire, initially to spend a year on the Welton holding in Cattal before going back into training in Pickhill.

And 18 months after being saved from the abattoir, Oscar Flyer recorded the fastest time of the day in winning the maiden race at Sunday’s point-to-point meeting at Howe Hills, Mordon, with Val and Keith’s son Sam Welton in the saddle.

Val Welton – registered as the owner of the horse – acknowledges that Sunday’s maiden was hardly the Cheltenham Gold Cup with connections picking up prize money of £150 for their efforts.

There is, though, no hiding the satisfaction in a winning display from a horse that Val’s husband Keith admits has been – quite literally – “brought back from the dead.”

“Seeing him win was unbelievable – it was like a dream come true really,” winning owner Val told The Yorkshire Post.

“We hoped he’d get around and then when we won it was just amazing – we just hoped his legs would hold up and he was fit enough to get around!

“It was only a maiden race and it’s not a big deal, but it was for us. It was a very minor point-to-point victory but the story is about the horse being saved from the abattoir basically.

“He just caught the eye and that intuition has proved right and that’s not to say we are brilliant. The story’s not about animal rights or us being able to spot a good horse or anything like that or Sam being the best jockey.

“It’s just about this horse being saved from the abattoir to be back on the track and that’s all I ever wanted.

“My one dream was to see him back on the track and to see him winning.”

Assessing future plans, Valerie added: “He’s going to run again in about a month in a restricted race, so we will look what is on locally.

“We haven’t discussed it any more than that – we are just taking each day as it comes.”

Val’s husband Keith added: “We paid £300 for him and we then had him vetted.

“At first we said the worst we’ve got is a field ornament. That was the worst-case scenario. On Sunday he recorded the fastest time all day and it’s a horse that came back from the dead.”