Ricci's speech to owners hits the right notes

Rich Ricci's speech at the recent Association of Irish Racehorse Owners awards ceremony was something of a rarity at an event of this type.

In the Irish context at least, these gatherings tend towards a studious avoidance of problematic issues and a strong accent on the positive. Even the Moyglare dinner, inaugurated by the late Walter Haefner, has seldom witnessed a state-of-the-sport analysis of the kind intrinsic to the Gimcrack dinner in Britain.

The chief merit of Ricci's speech was that it managed to be thought-provoking rather than provocative. He steered a refreshing middle way between the anodyne and the controversial.

Winning team: Willie Mullins, Ruby Walsh and Rich Ricci celebrate victory for ScotsirishCredit: Caroline Norris

Drawing on his own experience, and that of his wife Susannah, as successful owners since a first tentative involvement with the Willie Mullins-trained Scotsirish in 2005, he spoke about the funding of Irish racing, race-programming, and issues of governance in a 15-minute speech. He touched on other topics too, the need to attract more owners to the sport, and Brexit – a subject on which he struck a reassuringly upbeat tone in terms of likely outcome for the racing and breeding sectors.