Lynch completes superb double with a weekend to remember

More than 5,000 spectators turned up at Fairyhouse on Sunday where Ashbourne jockey Andrew Lynch, a contender for the forthcoming 2011 Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels sportsperson-of-the-year award, completed a fine weekend. Lynch enjoyed major success at Sandown on Saturday and at his local track, Fairyhouse, on Sunday. On Saturday afternoon Lynch steered Sizing Europe to victory in the Tingle Creek Chase and the following day he was on board recent Navan winner Voler La Vedette and claimed the grade one Hattons Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse. Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Sizing Europe went off as the 11/8 favourite for the Tingle Creek Chase and justified his status as the leading two-mile chaser in racing with a near perfect display of jumping to finish eight lenghts clear of Kauto Stone. "They went a good gallop and he got into a nice rhythm. He travelled well and jumped super," stated Lynch as he returned to the winners enclosure on Saturday. "He's a horse that can run over any trip and he will run his heart out, but two miles is probably his ideal trip. "He ran on heavy ground at home and it's a lot worse there than it is here, I wasn't too worried about the ground," confirmed the Ashbourne man. Lynch, who was sidelined through injury for a long part of the summer, continued his recent run of great form when he guided the Colm Murphy-trained Voler La Vedette to an impressive win in one of the feature races at Fairyhouse on Sunday. The 7/4 second favourite had looked in trouble when the field turned for home, but Lynch got a tremendous tune out of Voler La Vedette up the straight to leave Mourad, The Real Article and Final Approach fighting out the minor placings. Boylesports go 8/1 from 12/1 Voler La Vedette for the Mares Hurdle at Cheltenham. The TonyMartin-trained Bog Warrior won the Drinmore Novice Chase and both the Hennessy and the Lexus are on the radar next. Noel Meade was also on the mark when Paul Carberry won the opening race on Sunday, a juvenile hurdle with Sam Bass. Cortown jockey Roger Loughran got back to the winners' enclosure on Saturday with the Dessie Hughes-trained Schinkel in a race that produced an exciting finish. Curraha jockey Martin Mooney looked like he was going to win with Good Fella, trained by his father Paddy, but Loughran coaxed a late surge out of Schinkel which edged left on the run-in prompting the enquiry. Fairyhouse was also the venue for a Horseracing Ireland 'Go Racing Kids' Club' Day on Tuesday of last week. There were 143 pupils from local schools who took part in demonstrations from RACE (Racing Academy & Centre of Education) and heard talks from Nina Carberry and local trainer Robbie Hennessy. The objective of the 'Go Racing Kids' Club' initiative is to build ties between the racecourses and the local community, encouraging an affinity with racing which will hopefully produce future racegoers. The activities educate school children about racing and show them what happens behind the scenes on the racecourse.