Rich Ricci serves you right

Oh dear an investment banker who got it wrong

No change then

Right race just wasnt as good as the winner and was beaten fair and square. She had beaten little other than Zarkandar on bad ground in the run up.

The New One would sprint away from her over 2 miles he would annihilate More Of That for finishing pace.

Barclays banker, good to see they can lose at something as bonuses dont seem to depend on good performance like for the rest of us in the real world.

beaten fair and square still a very good horse,winner was unbeaten too remember,whos to say how she would have did in the champion

Having watched that today, I really don't see what evidence there is that she would have won the CH.  A length and a half second to More Of That (in receipt of 7lb) is probably how good she is.  That might actually turn out to be very good.  If the horse wasn't a mare, none of this lionising would have gone on.

Who knows how she would have gone on but I strongly suspect one thing and that is that Ricci didn't put off sticking her over fences so she could finish second in a world hurdle. Mullins did him up a treat there as he did the owner of UDS. She should have been in the race Ricci wanted her in and I suspect he regrets the decision. Still he's had a good Cheltenham but I wonder if JP has a quiet word and says, my horses are better than yours?

This time next year, Ee. This time next year. All of Ricci's superb novices won't be babies any longer. Vautor, Faugheen, Champagne F, Ballycasey. He should consider sending horses to UK trainers.

Vautor, Faugheen, Champagne F, Ballycasey.

Arkle, JLT, Ryanair, Gold Cup respectively would be my guess, with Un De Sceaux to the Champion, Annie back to the World and Briar Hill to the RSA.

there you go, that saves us about 150 threads in next years forum.

Pont Alexander, Djakadam, the list goes on!

JP might dip into the petty cash and buy them all.

What a stupid post - slating a man who has brought us the best performance at this year's festival (Vautour). Yes, you can disagree with bankers' pay. But  at least he's putting it into the  game we  love.

still had a pretty decent Cheltenham.

jealousy is an awful affliction.what do you want?him to stay in the states and all the good horses to stay in france?as far as im concerned hes a breath of fresh air.

jesus wat a total plonker u are annie to another unbeaten horse who is by the looks of it a true champion. u seem to no that she wud hav won champion but thats complete rubbish she mite hav been tracking our connor n fell im sure u dident lay her today but trolls like u are part of life these days. hideing behind a laptop spuing pure vile all over a true sports man wat a muppet u are

No try again, it doesnt make up for the misery inflicted on others by bankers actions, affecting normal people's lifestyles badly, that some of that cash goes back into racing...

Joined: 13 Jul 11 | Topic/replies: 13 | Blogger: ShelleyLevine's blog
What a stupid post - slating a man who has brought us the best performance at this year's festival (Vautour). Yes, you can disagree with bankers' pay. But  at least he's putting it into the  game we  love.

Eric, yes, point taken.

I guess with a name like cryoftruth, you knew that you'd spend your time whinging even before your very first post...
P.S. it's not likely that the Champion Hurdle will never be won by walking and I doubt that Rich ever reads your posts so I wouldn't bother addressing him directly...

Cryoftruth was the name of a very fast 2yo trained by Bruce Hobbs - won the Chevely Park in the mid 1970's.

Not sure what I want an odious investment banker to do, have a major plague of boils would be a start though.

I think reminding people that fw's like Ricci made their money from the disgusting rip off industry that is investment banking at the expense of ordinary people is fair game.

No single banker has been sent to prison in spite of scandal after scandal.

Look at a few facts about this banker.

We know Rich Ricci was born in 1964. Where exactly though? That’s a bit less clear. Some believe it was somewhere on the east coast, while others hold it was in Nebraska.
What can be said with certainty is where he went to college: Ricci got his bachelor’s degree in finance from Creighton University in Nebraska. Considering that the man is worth upwards of £100 million, it’s a bit peculiar that, according to a profile in The Independent, the “small Jesuit university slap bang in the middle of the United States deems him unworthy of a mention in its list of notable alumni.”
He was neither a trader nor an investment banker before Barclays. Unlike most Wall Street executives, Ricci’s rise began with stints in the operations, finance and technology departments at the Banks of Boston and New England. Only in 1994 did he join Bob Diamond at BMZ, the name under which Barclays investment banking division traded at the time.
Ricci loves raising horses—he and his wife own 40 horses in total—but his true passion is entering them in Irish horse races. When asked about why he prefers to race his horses in Ireland rather than in, say, England where he lives, Ricci responded: “I often get calls from trainers in England wondering why I don’t have horses in training there, considering I’m based in England, but I just love Irish racing. The people are fantastic, the atmosphere is really good and the prize-money is still attractive. My wife and I get a real buzz from it.”
He also loves Sarah Palin. Or did in 2008, when he donated a total of 17,000 to senator John Mccain’s failed White House bid.
He’s a fat cat in a hat. After The Independent ran the headline “Who’s The Fat Cat in The Hat?” in reference to him, he didn’t flinch. Instead, he went ahead and named one of his racehorses fatcatinahat.
He wants to be left alone. When asked about Ricci’s penchant for keeping his private life a secret, a director at Barclays once said: ”He’s bald and he gets **** done, that’s all we know.”
Ricci pocketed a monstrous £44 million in 2010, only £700,000 of which came from his actual salary. The Barclays executive raked in £3.35 million from a long-term incentive award, £9 million in bonuses and £30 million in shares. And this came only weeks after the bank promised the British government it would show restraint. Barclays simply couldn’t resist returning the favor for his oversight of the Lehman Brothers acquisition, which many have since dubbed the “deal of the century.”
He was photographed buying a euromillions lottery ticket, which is mildly shocking considering that the jackpot of £92 million is likely less than his net worth—estimated at over £100 million.
He may be the quickest slinger in the west. After being handed 5.7 million shares last month, Ricci sold them immediately, raking in over £17 million before Barclays’ stock fell later that week.

I doubt Annie Power would have won that Champion Hurdle although the way she jumps hurdles reminds me of Sizing Europe and he nearly pulled it off. The fact is Ricci will die wondering as it seems obvious that's the race he wanted her to run in.

cry of truth your logic is rather funny.rich obviously is very rich.hes a self made man.fair play to him.he done nothing illegal.he spends his money freely on his passion which is nh horses.as i result he has raised the bar for everyone.you resent him because hes successful.pure and simple.i never met him but if i did id shake his hand and thank him for enriching all nh fans lives..

Jealousy is a terrible thing it eats into the individual.

well done willie for fleecing and conning this vile creature who dares walks this planet without being dragged around tied to the back of an s.u.v ,willie is fighting back for the little man who this individual as conned and fleeced for years - lets hope he talks him into entering the grand national with annie power.

Ballycasey goes to the Ryanair if anywhere surely, looked a non stayer

agreed

From what I know of Rich Ricci he is modest in person and I doubt somehow he would make that claim to Andy Stewart - papers love to have a pop at bankers. Also worth noting he started out in operations, and worked his way up through Barclays. Self made.

Ricci pocketed a monstrous £44 million in 2010, only £700,000 of which came from his actual salary. The Barclays executive raked in £3.35 million from a long-term incentive award, £9 million in bonuses and £30 million in shares. And this came only weeks after the bank promised the British government it would show restraint

scum bag FACT

me and millions of others paid for his fcuking horses....

I agree alleged. I won a lot off you when you won the Arc for a second time.

workforce - I had you at 20/1 for the Derby after you won your 2yo maiden.

Workforce, Mr Ricci is certainly not a modest man. He loves the fact that he made millions from the banker rip off culture; most in unearned (in terms of results) ridiculous bonuses. Alleged is right except a "scum bag" does not begin to describe just how odious this chap is. He even called a horse after himself (Fatcatinthehat or something). Would have beeen far more accurate if he had called in Fatkunntinthehat".

Whilst arguing strongly that they chose the wrong race it was their right to do so. Every time I've seen the chap interviewed he comes across well with a good sense of humour and he's putting a fortune into the game. Of course there will always be people envious of anybody with money and feel they have the right to be moral arbiters of who can have what. Shame they were born a few centuries too late for the inquisition.

He strikes me as a decent chap. For people to hold one man, and even investment bankers in general, responsible for the collapse of the global economy, is both simplistic and naive.

Thousands upon thousands of people got rich (in relative terms) in the lead up to 2008. Welcome to capitalism.

A bizarre thread. He's a scumbag because he made millions in banking??

Really serves him right for having 2 winners and a 2nd at the festival as well.....

some very sad people about.what about the millions the royal family take from the british tax payer every year?what do they do for it?smile and sit on their ar$es rubbing corgis all day long!??..at least ricci started with nothing and worked his way up..

what about the millions the royal family take from the british tax payer every year?

how many hundreds of millions do they generate through tourism?

Ricci was interviewed about 5 weeks before Cheltenham and he stated categorically that Vautour and Faugheen were their stand-out novices. He may even have stated what their Cheltenham targets were. Not many have been as straightforward as that.

Mar 19, 2014 -- 3:38PM, layingisthewayforward wrote:

A bizarre thread. He's a scumbag because he made millions in banking??Really serves him right for having 2 winners and a 2nd at the festival as well.....

2 2nd's CF

She wouldn't have won the Champion Hurdle. They saw her as a Gold Cup horse of the future and may/probably still do, so I think she ran in the right race. She ran a mighty race but was just beaten by a better horse on the day.

I must admit to being a little surprised about Willie's post race comment. He clearly doesn't see her as a 3 mile horse and if she isn't that then she isn't a three and a quarter horse either.

As for the champion we'll never know. We know she didn't win the race they opted for and we know that the owner kept her over hurdles to have a shot at racing immortality in the champion. Waste of a season.

I'm no big fan of bankers but there is a lot of jealousy in this thread I think. I wouldn't consider it a waste of a season EE. She has won numerous races and there is still Aintree & Punchestown to go. Problem with the NH is people get far too caught up in the hype of Cheltenham and before you know it it's all over. She ran the best race of her career and bumped into one. It happens. She's had a very good season.

As for Champion Hurdle I struggle to see her not getting outpaced at some stage. I think she may have beat the Fly but the rest I'm not sure.

I'm not suggesting it is a waste because she didn't win the stayers. My point was that the owner was going to go chasing with her this season. That would have been the perfect time in my view seeing as she is six and would have been likely challenging for some of the bigger novice prizes and gaining valuable experience for a challenge on some of the biggest open age prizes at 7 and beyond. The decision was taken to delay to have a shot at the champion hurdle. We can debate what might have happened in that but they didn't in order for The Fly to have a free run at the race. Both her and UDS were denied perhaps their only chance at the race because of this policy. Had she run in the champion and finished fourth the owner would have known. Now he'll never know if he had a champion hurdler on his hands. That is in my view the waste.

In hindsight and isn't that a wonderful thing maybe Ricci should have kept Champagne Fever over hurdles and sent her over fences.

cryoftruth

Fatcatinthehat was named with a heavy dose of irony after a newspaper article in the Mirror asking "who's the fat cat in the hat?". RR has donated all career earnings from the horse to charity.

She could still be a 3 mile horse over fences. The larger obstacles are less of a test of stamina than hurdles. The gentler tempo and the fact she will be able to fill up in mid air will help her. It's not like she doesn't stay 3 miles either.

Vautour will be their Arkle horse next year, could easily see her go RSA or Jewson, there is also the Power Gold Cup which would look made for her. Briar Hill probably the stable's RSA horse.

I can see both Faugheen and More of That running in the Gold Cup next season, the standard set this year is so ordinary that it could conceivable be easier to win than an RSA clash with a stablemate like Briar hill or Annie Power for Faugheen. You'd expect them to be joined by Champagne Fever who I still can't believe didn't win the Arkle!!

The last horse to win the Neptune as easily as Faugheen did was Simonsig......he of course went on to win the Arkle. I'm not convinced Vautour will go chasing yet

Mullins is desperate to win a Gold Cup, I could see the yard going dual purpose at a higher level once he achieves that. The man is seriously ambitious.

WPM has always said novices for novices. Can ruin a horse going to the well too soon and miss out on winning good novice races such as Arkle, JLT and RSA and whatever else at Aintree and Punchestown. Cant see him going that route with anything tbh.