Irish expatriate, farm manager, and breeder Andre Lynch played an important role as mentor to many of his fellow countrymen looking to a get foothold in America's Thoroughbred industry. He was remembered by many this week for his generosity, decency, and kindness as friends and family mourned his death March 11 from pancreatic cancer. He was 52.
"When he was a barn foreman at Creekview in the '90s, a lot of the young Irish coming through the farm will attest that Andre played a big part in how they do business today," said longtime friend Ken Donworth, who met Lynch at Creekview Farm.
"I got a text recently from Luke Barry, who owns a nice farm in Ireland. He wrote, 'My time at Creekview under Andre was very memorable to me. He instilled in me a lot of the work ethic that attributes to my success today.'"
A lifelong, outdoorsman and active horseman, Lynch started his career in Ireland with Pat Doyle at Holycross and then with David Magnier at Grange Stud before finishing his diploma at the Irish National Stud. He worked for Pat O' Kelly at Kilcairn Stud before he emigrated to Kentucky in 1995, getting his first job at Creekview Farm where he worked with then-farm manager Dermot Ryan.
"He was just a fantastic human being. He was a very generous guy who would go without to help other people. He was a fantastic horseman with a great work ethic," recalled Ryan, who joined Ashford Stud shortly after Lynch came to Kentucky. A few years later, Lynch also went to Ashford where he worked for 21 years.
"He worked as a part of Demi O'Byrne's buying team for years during the time they bought Rags to Riches and Munnings and other good horses," he continued. "The GoFundMe page set up for his care and his family says enough when you see 497 people have donated. We're all appreciative of all his caregivers for the last six months—all the doctors and nurses—but going above and beyond was his mother, Eileen, who came from Ireland to be with him. It is credit to the industry, too, that rallied to support him. It is a big loss, and he left a great legacy behind."
Lesley Campion, who set up Lynch's GoFundMe page, also said she felt the outpouring of support illustrated how much he had given to the people around him.
"It is a testament to Andre and another lesson in 'you reap what you sow.' That was his harvest, he had sown so much decency and kindness throughout his life. When he was in a bind, people stepped up and returned the kindness," Campion said.
In 2017, Lynch was hired by Doug and Felicia Branham to build a breeding and sales operation at their Hurricane Hills Farm.
With Lynch's expertise, Branham bred grade 1 winners Bradester (Lion Heart) and Apollo Kentucky (Langfuhr) along with graded-placed stakes winners Mo d'Amour (Uncle Mo) and Romantic Hideaway (City Zip) and five other black-type stakes winners.
Hurricane Hills bought Dixiana Delight, a daughter of Gone West and later the dam of Apollo Kentucky, for $15,000 out of the 2012 Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale.
"He was a smart guy who knew pedigrees and knew form," said Donworth, who left farm work to become a real estate agent. "And he didn't have an open checkbook. He definitely had a budget and got a lot accomplished within the parameters he had."
Donworth added that Lynch was a natural horseman.
"He didn't start out working with the nicer horses in Ireland, but with Coolmore, he learned about managing the high-end Thoroughbreds and the attention to detail required. Andre stepped up to that standard and then instilled that into the younger horsemen."
Lynch is survived by his daughters Emma, 8, and Catherine, 4; a sister, Raissa; a brother, Jonathan, and sister-in-law Anne and their children Eoin, Edel, and Louise; his aunt Noreen; and his uncle Bill Maher, who was a childhood mentor.
Services will be held at 3:15 p.m. March 14 at the Lexington Cemetery at 833 W. Main Street and a celebration of life will follow at the Thoroughbred Club of America at 3555 Rice Road next to Keeneland from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
