Susannah Ricci

Susannah Ricci, the wife of American millionaire Rich Ricci, has had horses registered in her name since 2007 and, alongside Co. Carlow trainer Willie Mullins, has proved the scourge of bookmakers at the Cheltenham Festival ever since. Mrs. Ricci opened her account at the Festival in 2009, courtesy of Mikael D’Haguenet in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, but her pink and green colours have since been carried into the winners’ enclosure a further 18 times.

Her winning tally has included several multiple winners, such as Champagne Fever, who won the Weatherbys Champion Bumper in 2012 and the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2013, Vautor, who won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2014, the JLT Novices’ Chase in 2015 and the Ryanair Chase in 2016, and Douvan, who won the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2015 and the Arkle Challenge Trophy in 2016. Perhaps her most famous Festival winners, though, have been Faugheen, who won the Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle in 2014 and the Champion Hurdle in 2015 and

Annie Power, who fell at the final flight in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle, with the race at her mercy, in 2015, but returned to win the Champion Hurdle in 2016.

More recently, Monkfish won the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle in 2020 and the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase in 2021. He suffered his first defeat over fences when beaten 8 lengths by stable companion Colreevy in the Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown on his final start of the 2020/21 season, but remains a top-priced 6/1 joint-favourite for the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup.