The Fat Cat in the Big Hat

RACING:He may not like the label of 'Fat Cat' but nobody could question Rich Ricci's love of the Irish jumps game, writes BRIAN O'CONNOR

JUST AS Russell Crowe has railed against the lazy, tabloid caricature of him as “Hollywood Bad Boy,” then Rich Ricci probably has his own pet-hate label – “Fat Cat.” In a world dominated by the economic fallout of a banking system gone crazy, being a high-flying banker right now is about as fashionable as being German was in 1946. All of which would be okay if you can remain cloaked in anonymity. But Ricci is a high-flying banker who has made the headlines.

This time last year, he was splattered across UK newspapers on the back of a salary and bonuses of over €50 million from his role as co-chief executive of Barclays Capital.

“Obscene” and “Wages of Sin” were some of the more hysterical comments, while others took the opportunity to indulge in some less than subtle references to what Barclays banker can mean in cockney rhyming slang.

It’s little wonder then that when some members of the fourth estate ventured close to Ricci at Cheltenham 2011, the flamboyantly dressed American was heard to say “f**king press.” Maybe that was provoked by one caption on a photograph taken at the races – “Who’s the Fat Cat in the Hat?”

So Ricci is almost Trappist when it comes to interviews. But despite that he has become one of the most distinguishable figures on Ireland’s racecourses over the last number of years.

On otherwise mundane winter racedays, where racegoers are usually togged out more for function than style, the 48-year-old American inevitably cuts a flamboyant figure in Homburg hat, perfect-tailored three-piece tweed suits and dark Wayfarer shades.

Language more associated with the back-stretch at Belmont has been employed at many of the more rustic tracks in Ireland where bad fortune is described as “buzzards luck” and winners are “full of run.” After one of his runners disappointed, Ricci’s comment was characteristically succinct: “It was like going to a job interview and then puking all over yourself!”

But mostly there have been plenty of winners. The pink colours of Ricci’s wife Susannah have been carried to big race success by major names such as Mikael D’Haguenet, the brilliant novice hurdler of 2009 whose unbeaten season included winning at the Cheltenham festival, and Blazing Tempo, winner of last year’s Galway Plate.

Almost inevitably then, the man whose name is almost eerily appropriate for a banker right now, and whose pockets are generously deep when it comes to buying horses, is generally referred to as “Richie Rich” within racing.

On the eve of Cheltenham 2012 up to a dozen horses owned by Ricci are on the list to travel to Prestbury Park, including the Cross-Country favourite Scotsirish, Champagne Fever who tops the market in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper and The Midnight Club who could take his place in the Gold Cup.

It’s an impressive accumulation of equine firepower, all of it housed in the yard of champion trainer Willie Mullins in Carlow, and all of it sufficient to put only the twin behemoths of JP McManus and Michael O’Leary ahead of Ricci in the Irish owners championship. So far this season alone his team have secured well over €500,000 in prizemoney.

But whereas McManus and O’Leary are products of a country that has been besotted with the jumping racehorse for centuries, their rival is a curio, a man who emerged from Nebraska to become a major player in the cut-throat London financial scene and whose idea of kicks is to go to National Hunt race meetings and endure the agony of not being able to watch his horses race.

Ricci likes to be alone when a race is on and is barely able to glance at the big screen in case something happens one of his charges. It’s a curious amalgam of hope and anxiety that nevertheless has turned him into a devotee of a very Irish pursuit.

“I often get calls from trainers in England wondering why I don’t have horses in training there, considering I’m based in England,” Ricci said in a rare interview before bonuses started provoking unwanted attention. “But I just love Irish racing. The people are fantastic, the atmosphere is really good and the prizemoney is still attractive. My wife and I get a real buzz from it.”

At a time when owners able to sign six figure cheques for young horses are rare, Ricci is like catnip to any ambitious trainer in these islands. Yet he continues to put all his eggs in the Mullins basket where champion jockeys Ruby Walsh and Paul Townend ride the majority of them.

“He was introduced by a pal of mine. He enjoys having horses here, simply prefers the Irish set up,” Mullins says. Like most everyone in Irish racing though it is Cheltenham that really floats Ricci’s boat. Horses are bought as potential Cheltenham candidates and anything with a level of form sufficient to get to the festival are trained with the middle of March in mind. In that respect he is as Irish as his name is Italian.

The flat dirt oval of Fonner Park rather than Fairyhouse was Ricci’s racing option when attending Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, from which he graduated with a degree in Finance. From there he embarked on a career in banking where he held senior behind-the-scenes posts at the Bank of Boston and the Bank of New England.

He joined Barclays Capital in 1994 where he was responsible for several of its support areas. Many titans of the city earn their chops on the trading floor but Ricci’s speciality was operations and technology and he was also a favourite of the Barclays chief ececutive Bob Diamond who appointed Ricci as the co-chief executive of Barclays Capital, the bank’s investment arm. At the time Ricci was virtually unknown at the top level of London finance with one director saying: “He’s bald and he gets shit done, that’s all we know.”

According to finance experts one of his greatest coups was being in charge of the integration of Lehman’s North American operation after Barclays acquired it on the back of the infamous firm’s bankruptcy.

“Rich is smart, hardworking, and in many ways is an outstanding business exec,” one former colleague has declared. “Rich is impatient, hard charging, and yet in my experience behaves appropriately. Never saw any bullying, belittling, or boorish behaviour. In my experience he was candid, frank, and a breath of fresh air.”

Some who have encountered Ricci at the racecourse say he has a good sense of humour but can be blunt. He has actually named one of his horses Fatcatinthehat. Not surprisingly for a wealthy owner who reportedly flies to Ireland on a private jet, he is rarely short of company. He is certainly an advertisement for the theory of nominative determinism which claims that an individual’s name reflects key attributes of their character, job and indeed life. On those terms Rich Ricci was always going to be someone destined to make a splash in the finance world.

The splash he has made so far allowed him live in an 18th century mansion in Kent which journalists gleefully reported had seven bedrooms, five reception rooms, two games rooms and a heated outdoor swimming pool. Last year there was also plenty of attention given to how Ricci owned the Grand National favourite The Midnight Club. Ultimately the horse finished sixth to Ballabriggs.

It was Mikael D’Haguenet’s unbeaten 2008-09 season that sealed Ricci’s love affair with jumps racing. The French purchase won all six of his races over hurdles that season, including a brilliant success at Cheltenham. Mikael D’Haguenet was described as a potential Gold Cup winner but injury interrupted his career and he has failed to recapture his former brilliance in the last couple of years.

The top mare Blazing Tempo has cut a swathe through some of the more valuable races in Ireland in the past year and is the top-earning horse this season with almost €200,000 in prizemoney, eclipsing star names such as Hurricane Fly and Quel Esprit who are also in the Mullins stable.

In many ways, Ricci is the embodiment of the type of foreign investment that Irish racing craves. Wealthy, enthusiastic and not afraid to splash out on horses he believes can win, the American has become one of the major players in an Irish National Hunt scene that is beginning to resemble its flat counterpart in terms of the concentration of talent among a relatively small group of owners.

This being Ireland, such prominence can sometimes result in a certain begrudgery. So much so that if he continues to be so successful, Richie Rich could find out that “fat cat” isn’t the worst thing to be called!

CHELTENHAM: Ricci's hopefuls

SCOTSIRISH: High-class steeplechaser who has taken well to the unique challenge of Cross-Country racing. Unlucky over the Cheltenham track earlier this season, he is a clear 5-2 favourite to win the Glenfarclas Chase on Day One.

BLAZING TEMPO:A hugely versatile mare that shows no signs of wear and tear after a busy campaign. Winner of a Grade 2 over two miles on her last start, she is proven at the trip of the Ryanair Chase having won the Galway Plate.

ZAIDPOUR: Looked a potential superstar early last season but his form tailed off dramatically. Much more impressive this term and holds entries in the Champion Hurdle and the World Hurdle.

CHAMPAGNE FEVER: A point- to-point winner who was backed as if defeat was out of the question in his first bumper at Christmas only to finish runner up.

Subsequently won at very short odds at Fairyhouse and is highly regarded at the Mullins yard.

Currently an 8-1 favourite to give Mullins a seventh Weatherbys Champion Bumper success.

SOUS LES CIEUX:Won the Grade 1 Royal Bond in December but beaten twice since. The Mullins team are keeping the faith however and the French bred is 14-1 for both the Supreme and the Neptune.

DARROUN: One of Ireland's leading hopes for the Triumph Hurdle, the juvenile star was beaten on his Irish debut but the form of his subsequent defeat of Hisaabaat at Leopardstown has been boosted significantly since.