THOUGH lowering no fences, Ireland's Denis Lynch narrowly failed to make it through to the jump-off at tonight's (Saturday) rich Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Doha, Qatar, finishing in fifth place.

Only four riders from a starting field of 47 managed to maintain a zero score after two rounds, with Tipperary's Lynch picking up one time fault at each attempt on Thomas Straumann's bay gelding 'All Inclusive NRW'.

A testing course by Frank Rothenberger yielded just one clear score in the jump-off, with Brazil's Alvaro de Miranda Neto collecting the winner's prize of 150,000 euro.

Ireland's Lynch, however, picked up a substantial 25,000 euro for his fifth place, achieved with the lowest total of faults amongst the riders who didn't qualify for the jump-off, amongst them fellow Irish riders Billy Twomey, Jessica Kurten and Mark McAuley.

Denis Lynch