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Kevin Flynn
Kevin Flynn
It is not uncommon for apprentices to make fleeting appearances on racing’s stage, their precocity often lasting just one season or merely a few months. But Welsh-born apprentice Kevin Flynn’s time in the spotlight lasted less than a week.
It is not uncommon for apprentices to make fleeting appearances on racing’s stage, their precocity often lasting just one season or merely a few months. But Welsh-born apprentice Kevin Flynn’s time in the spotlight lasted less than a week.
He hailed from Merthyr Tydfil, the son of a former boxer. Kevin himself excelled in the ring, winning 64 contests and successfully represented the Welsh ABA. However, he decided his future lay in racing rather than boxing and became apprenticed to Stockbridge, Hampshire trainer Vernon Cross.
He hailed from Merthyr Tydfil, the son of a former boxer. Kevin himself excelled in the ring, winning 64 contests and successfully represented the Welsh ABA. However, he decided his future lay in racing rather than boxing and became apprenticed to Stockbridge, Hampshire trainer Vernon Cross.
Aged 18, he rode his first winner on Cross’s popular six-year-old grey gelding Browntop in the Note-Book Champion Apprentice Handicap at Ripon on Saturday, July 27, 1963, beating the far more experienced fellow Welshman Taffy Thomas on Majestic Scholar by three lengths. It was a fair prize to win, for £1,000 apprentice races were thin on the ground back then. Furthermore, besides Taffy Thomas, there were several other talented apprentices behind him that day including Bruce Raymond, David Yates and Albert ‘Brig’ Robson.
Aged 18, he rode his first winner on Cross’s popular six-year-old grey gelding Browntop in the Note-Book Champion Apprentice Handicap at Ripon on Saturday, July 27, 1963, beating the far more experienced fellow Welshman Taffy Thomas on Majestic Scholar by three lengths. It was a fair prize to win, for £1,000 apprentice races were thin on the ground back then. Furthermore, besides Taffy Thomas, there were several other talented apprentices behind him that day including Bruce Raymond, David Yates and Albert ‘Brig’ Robson.
Just three days later, Kevin brought off a shock victory on Vernon Cross’s 33/1 outsider March Wonder in Goodwood’s Charlton Handicap Stakes over the Old Mile on the opening day of the ‘Glorious’ meeting, taking the lead fully two furlongs from home and staying on gamely to beat Geoff Lewis’s mount Hong Kong by a length, with Bobby Elliott a length and a half back in third on Valley Rock and The Queen’s Gold Aura a further three-quarters away in fourth.
Just three days later, Kevin brought off a shock victory on Vernon Cross’s 33/1 outsider March Wonder in Goodwood’s Charlton Handicap Stakes over the Old Mile on the opening day of the ‘Glorious’ meeting, taking the lead fully two furlongs from home and staying on gamely to beat Geoff Lewis’s mount Hong Kong by a length, with Bobby Elliott a length and a half back in third on Valley Rock and The Queen’s Gold Aura a further three-quarters away in fourth.
Those two wins in the space of three days, including a valuable handicap at a high-profile meeting, should have provided a launchpad for Kevin’s career. Yet that was as good as it got. Although he had 15 mounts that year, he did not ride another winner, nor did he ever visit the winner’s enclosure again.
Those two wins in the space of three days, including a valuable handicap at a high-profile meeting, should have provided a launchpad for Kevin’s career. Yet that was as good as it got. Although he had 15 mounts that year, he did not ride another winner, nor did he ever visit the winner’s enclosure again.
Kevin Flynn's first winner; Browntop
March Wonder, his second and final winner
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