15 hours ago
Flash Aah's part-owner Pat Fulton was in her Darwin jewellery store last Friday when decided to catch a last-minute flight to Queensland
Flash Aah's part-owner Pat Fulton was working in her Darwin jewellery store last Friday when she succumbed to a nagging feeling that she needed to board a flight to Queensland to watch the veteran gelding contest the $250,000 Ipswich Cup.
She had dreamt of the horse charging down the straight at Ipswich the night before and her gut instincts were screaming 'you have to be there to watch this race'.
So the 73-year-old Fulton decided to embark on a spur-of-the-moment 3000km journey from the Top End to southeast Queensland.
She rang her travel agent at 10am on Friday, just over 29 hours before the 2150m Listed race was due to jump, and booked the red-eye flight to Brisbane, arriving at 5:30am on Saturday.
She then caught a bus to Gatton, where her sister Judy Schloss lives on a farm, before heading to Ipswich for the city's gala cup day.
It turns out her instincts were spot-on as $31 roughie Flash Aah flew down the outside to cause a monumental upset in the Ipswich Cup and break a 1000-day winless drought.
That's when the tears started to flow for Fulton, who is part of an ownership syndicate that includes her brother Terry, sister-in-law Narelle and Toowoomba trainer Troy Pascoe and his mum Sue.
There were tears of joy too, given that Fulton had bet $50 each way on Flash Aah at the juicy price of $40.
• 'He's found his home': Flash Aah springs monumental Ipswich Cup upset
'I was sitting in my jewellery shop on Friday morning and it just clicked that I needed to be down here (in southeast Queensland),' she said as her voice cracked with emotion.
'I had a dream on Thursday night. Flash was in the race running, and then I woke up.
'You get to the stage where life is so short that you just have to seize the moment.
'I could've stayed up in Darwin and watched it on the big screen with a few friends but it wouldn't have been the same.'
Flash Aah, the son of Lucas Cranach, has been on a remarkable journey himself, culminating in his stakes win last Saturday, his fifth race under Ipswich-born trainer Pascoe.
He started his racing career in November 2018 and has been through eight different stables, winning eight of 47 races and collecting $683,000 in prizemoney along the way.
His last victory came in April 2022 when the rising 10-year-old won a Benchmark 100 race (1400m) under the guidance of Victorian trainers Natalie Young and Trent Busuttin.
@IpswichTurfClub
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025
'His best trainer is Troy, who's brought him back a treat,' Fulton said.
'We were just so happy that Troy could puff his chest out and say 'I've got a winner'.
'It was just magic. It's been a marvellous journey with Flash and hopefully it hasn't finished yet.
'This is the highlight of my year. I don't think I'll experience a moment like that again but having said that, you never know what Troy has up his sleeve for Flash.
'Flash turns 10 in August so we don't want to overcommit him. He'll let us know when he's ready to retire.'
"I never lost faith in him"
Dedication has paid off for Troy Pascoe after Flash Aah won the TAB Ipswich Cup at double-figure odds! @IpswichTurfClub @RaceQLD
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025
•
The emotions were still running at fever-pitch for Fulton when she boarded a flight back to Darwin on Sunday night.
'I've got to compose myself,' she said before continuing.
'The race panned out beautifully for us and when he started to come down the outside, me and Narelle knew he was going to win.
'That's paid for his feed for the next 12 months. The emotions were very high.
'My sister and I sat down at the Ipswich race club that night and we had a few drinks. I knocked off half a bottle of wine on my own! It was an amazing day.'
@IpswichTurfClub @RaceQLD
— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 21, 2025
Pascoe said on Monday that Flash Aah would likely run next in the $300,000 Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m) at the Sunshine Coast on July 5.
'Pat asked me if he can run his final race in the Darwin Cup next year so I might just do that,' he said with a laugh.
