Kilmarnock jumps fan is first Tote Ten To Follow £10,000 monthly winner

Robert Lynch, from Kilmarnock, is the first winner of the £10,000 monthly prizes in the new Tote Ten To Follow after landing a Christmas knockout combination with Clan Des Obeaux in the King George and Potters Corner in the Welsh Grand National.

The long-time fan of the competition, resurrected this season by the Tote in association with the Racing Post, collected the five-figure win for topping the table in December from his £5 entry.

Lynch said: "I think it's a great competition. For £5 you get six months of entertainment, so I thoroughly enjoy it and I’m delighted it has returned. I’m not much of a Flat racing man but I love the jumps."

No wonder as Lynch had six points scorers out of his ten, making light of the non-scoring Paisley Park, a late withdrawal from the Long Walk at Ascot, and the misfiring Champion Hurdle hope Klassical Dream.

Robert Lynch, whose experience of running and love of jumping contributed towards lifting the £10,000 December prize

As well as the big-points winners, Lynch has Defi Du Seuil, Thyme Hill and Envoi Allen, who all picked up Grade 1s to give him a tally of 247.5 points – 21.6 points clear of the next best entry of Thomas M Stable0.

Lynch added: "I haven’t decided how I’m going to spend the money yet but we are going on holiday to Tenerife next week."

Potters Corner, the top scorer in the 500-strong list of horses, was an inspired choice by Lynch as the 8-1 Welsh Grand National hero, who paid £10.70 on the Tote, picked up 52.8 points for that victory, and with his previous win over hurdles totalled a mammoth 77.4 points.

Connections celebrate Potters Corner's victory in the Welsh Grand National, a success that left Ten To Follow monthly prize winner jumping for joy tooCredit: Edward Whitaker

Clan Des Obeaux also secured Lynch another 25 bonus points with his King George win.

Asked what made him choose the latest King George winner for Paul Nicholls, Lynch said: "Well, he won the race last year. I used to be a runner and I just look at horses in the same light.

"Three miles around Kempton still takes some getting and Clan Des Obeaux had proven he has the stamina for it."

Lynch will be hoping his stable has the stamina to see out the trip to the finish line at Sandown's final meeting on April 25.

Lynch's winning stable

Potters Corner 77.4 points
Clan Des Obeaux 57.8
Defi Du Seuil 28.5
Envoi Allen 27.6
Min 27.6
Thyme Hill 27.6
Samcro 1
Benie Des Dieux 0
Klassical Dream 0
Paisley Park 0

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