Horse Racing Owner Profiles

[Old Vic]

Head in hands stuff now ...


The depth of the bitterness behind the row over the retirement plans for superstar steeplechaser Kauto Star have been revealed by the horse's owner Clive Smith.

Smith says his association with trainer Paul Nicholls has broken down irretrievably and that the strain on their relationship stretched back to an argument at Nicholls' Open Day in September.

Smith, on holiday in New York, said: 'He came up to me with a tirade of foul language. He must have said it six times that he wanted the horse out of the yard then, never mind this Tuesday. What happened was the final straw.'

He added in the Racing Post: 'On October 31, I had a final meeting with Paul. Kauto was in light training but it was confirmed he should be retired, as I'd wanted, but would stay in the yard until after the King George (at Kempton on Boxing Day).

'Then, a couple of weeks ago when I was at Haydock to unveil Kauto's statue, Paul bowled a googly at me, saying it would be right if he could stay at the yard with (head lad) Clifford Baker.


'I'd already spoken to Yogi Breisner (performance director of Britain's Olympic eventing team) and he said it was no good having a top-class horse in a yard like that where he's a hack.


'I'm sure Clifford Baker would do a wonderful job and he'd be lovely for him but I always thought I was the owner.

'I didn't see him enough anyway because I'm 100 miles away. As the owner I'm entitled to some time with him.'

Smith said he had been phoned by Nicholls and informed of his intention to remove the Kauto Star form his stable on Tuesday while he was on the runway at Heathrow about to embark.

He also laid bare his irritation at their difference in opinion in how to pronounce the horse's name. The trainer has always said 'Kato'.

Smith added: 'To be honest I was disappointed from early on that Paul didn't pronounce Kauto's name correctly. There was no excuse but he did not back off.'

In response, Nicholls said: 'I strongly refute these allegations but the last thing I want to do is to become involved in a war of words with Clive. I have wished him all the best and have no further comment to make.'

Kauto Star, the dual Cheltenham Gold Cup winner left the Nicholls' Somerset yard amid scenes of distress and expressions of bitterness among staff.

Nicholls said he realised that Smith planned to remove the horse and saw no reason to further delay with the hiatus causing distraction to his upset staff.


Kauto Star has joined Berkshire-based international event rider Laura Collett who, with Breisner, is assessing the best retirement plan for the 12-year-old. One option is Dressage.

Smith, who no longer has any horse in training with Nicholls, has said Kauto Star will still parade at Kempton on Boxing Day, although he will not be ridden by Baker as had been planned

[Hoof]

Row between Paul Nicholls and Clive Smith over Kauto Star highlights trainer-owner tensions - Telegraph

There were several reasons why I did not want to train when my father offered it, effectively, on a plate. The primary one was that I knew that at some stage I would have to prostitute myself to people I did not particularly like or were just not my scene. Being a good people-person is almost as big a part of a trainer’s job as being a horseman.

The question, if you are an owner, is: do you send your expensive horse to a friend to train or do you take a more businesslike approach and send it to someone who consistently gets results? There are pros and cons all round.

Of course, John Francome had his own inimitable take on the relationship. During his brief training career he said that owners should be treated like mushrooms, namely fed lots of manure and kept in the dark.


Many a true word is spoken in jest – Francome would approve of the Australian trainer who took exception to an owner’s comment after his horse had won, removed the bridle as the animal stood heaving in the winner’s enclosure and told him to take it away.

Last week’s very public row over Kauto Star, played out in the newspapers by Paul Nicholls and Clive Smith a little like a society divorce might be in the gossip columns, is not the first time a prominent owner and trainer have fallen out. There was not much love lost between Henrietta Knight and Jim Lewis by the time Best Mate’s life had run its course, for example.

My grandmother worked for the eccentric heiress owner of Golden Miller, Dorothy Paget, primarily looking after her string of showjumpers. Paget’s relationship with her trainer, Fulke Walwyn, was pretty ropey, as it was with all her trainers and, in fact, most men. On one occasion, he saddled her five winners but, because of a bet, she was furious that it was not six.

She sat in her box at the races and sent grandmother with increasingly rude messages for Walwyn, whom she refused to speak to in person. Grandmother would return dutifully with the reply until Paget gave her the final message. “Are you sure you want me to tell him that?” asked grandmother, slightly shocked.

“Yes,” replied Paget, “and kick him in the balls if you’ve got the guts.”

It’s all part of the soap opera.

[JohnC]

Of course, John Francome had his own inimitable take on the relationship. During his brief training career he said that owners should be treated like mushrooms, namely fed lots of manure and kept in the dark.

explains why it was brief

[Lester]

If you don't yet know who owner Roger Brookhouse is, you probably soon will

In recent months, Brookhouse has been busy at some of the biggest National Hunt sales snapping up some of the sport's most exciting young prospects to race in his colours.

A former trainer himself, Brookhouse had to give up looking after his own horses as his business interests expanded, but he has enjoyed some decent success in recent seasons, for example when the fragile Cheltenian won the 2011 Championship Bumper at the Cheltenham Festival.

And by signing some meaty six-figure cheques at the sales in recent months, Brookhouse hopes he has secured some future stars who will carry his light blue and pink silks with distinction.

Not that Brookhouse is necessarily the easiest man to train for and it is more his doing than trainer David Pipe's which sees Goulanes head up to Wetherby to make his chasing debut in the Towton Novices' Chase rather than staying over hurdles, where he remains not yet fully exposed.

Put simply, Brookhouse has big hopes for Goulanes and although he is by far the least experienced of these runners with just two spins over hurdles to his name, it wouldn't be the biggest surprise to see him step up to the mark, even against the highly-regarded Super Duty.

Donald McCain thinks the world of Super Duty, not least because his late dad bought the horse. But whether he really wants three-miles-plus in bottomless ground remains to be seen.

Whatever happens to Goulanes, Brookhouse will also be keen to see that Baltimore Rock wins the closing bumper. He paid £160,000 for the horse after he won a bumper for Peter Niven on his only previous start.

[johnno]

^goulanes a nice horse anyway

[mayo]

Ireland's big 4

National Hunt fans tend to look up their financial noses at the flat when it comes to money, and how the winter sport is resolutely for the ‘small man,’ but it will be hard to argue that at Cheltenham 2013 when the vast majority of big Irish hopes will be in such a tiny minority of hands.
In fact it’s much easier to argue that far from any egalitarian paradise, jump racing in Ireland right now is balanced on just four ownership uprights – JP McManus, Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown Stud, Rich Ricci and Ann & Alan Potts.
There are other major investors such as Barry Connell and Dr Ronan Lambe but really it comes down to the ‘big four,’ and a remarkable result of their near-monopoly is that despite a desperate recession, most of the best young talent in the country still ends up being trained here.
Not only that, but their financial clout extends to France too, as will be shown at Cheltenham through the likes of Sir Des Champs and Pont Alexandre.
That’s a helluva upside considering how the 1980’s recession saw Irish fans travelling to the festival very much in hope rather than expectation. And while monopolies by definition have drawbacks, a lot of small operations are getting by purely on the hope of selling something on to the big boys for big money.
However any inverted snobbery of disdaining the flat because of its exclusivity sounds very hollow when in the upcoming major championship races basically only Hurricane Fly and Quevega figure outside the big-four ownership battalions.

[Morning Glory]

Rich Ricci banking on Irish trainer Willie Mullins

RICH RICCI and his wife Susannah have burst onto the National Hunt scene in a big way in Ireland, yet are not that well known to English racegoers.

Though they live in Kent, the fun-loving couple decided from the outset to put all their eggs in one basket - that of Willie Mullins, the Irish champion trainer based in Co Carlow.

And why not? Mullins is as cool and calm a professional as his English counterparts can be edgy and difficult with owners.

To have 30 horses with Mullins gives Ricci an excuse - if one were needed — to jet off and experience 'the craic' from November to April when his business commitments at Barclays Bank head office allow.

The Riccis have spent well over €5million on their horses to date - not including training fees - and are proof that money can buy happiness and success on the racecourse when placed in the right hands.

They may not get back what they put in financially but Mullins has bought the Riccis some of the best young stock in Ireland and France - some of which will be running at Cheltenham next week.

Pont Alexandre, 5-2 favourite for the Neptune Investment Novices' Hurdle on the Wednesday, is their likeliest winner according to both Mullins and Ruby Walsh.

A winner at Cholet in Central France last May, the five-year-old is unbeaten in two starts on heavy in Ireland.

"I could not be more happy with him,'" said Mullins.

"He has answered every question we've asked and I imagine he'll be even more effective on good to soft.

question we've asked and I imagine he'll be even more effective on good to soft.

"I'd rate his chances very strongly."

"I'd rate his chances very strongly."

Not that Arvika Ligeonniere, 8-1 for the " Not that Arvika Ligeonniere, 8-1 for th Arkle on Tuesday, had done much wrong before falling at Leopardstown last time. He is another Walsh is looking forward to riding and there can not be a better each-way bet on the first day.

Ballycasey's likely target is the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle on Friday. He is 4-1 joint favourite with At Fishers Cross, though the Riccis also have Champagne Fever in the race.

A winner of his only bumper last winter, and both his hurdles starts this season, the grey may lack a turn of foot but will be chasing next season, and a Festival win next week would be seen by all concerned as a bonus.

Other horses likely to carry the Ricci pink and green colours at Cheltenham, Fairyhouse and Punchestown this spring include Annie Power, Champagne Fever, Tarla, Unika La Reconce, Blazing Tempo, Touch The Eden, Blood Cotil, Zaidpour, Mikael d'Haguenet and Vesper Bell.

Asked for one to follow, Mullins opted for Annie Power.

"She has the size and scope to be anything," he said after she made it six wins from six "She has the size and scope to be anything," he said after she made it six wins from six starts at Naas last month. "With a summer's grass, she can do nothing but improve but in the meantime there is a Grade One mares' race at Fairyhouse for her."

Win or lose next week, you can bet Ricci will be laughing all the way back to the bank after Cheltenham - that is the nature of the beast.

He is in it for the craic after all.

[Hoof]

From Donn McCleans site ...profile of our Conor buyer Barry connell


Guest Contributors » A Man Apart

A Man Apart

By Stephen Dwyer

By the time he was three years old, Barry Connell knew what he wanted from life. His father Patrick brought his little boy to race meetings every week, after which Barry desired nothing more than to be a jockey.

Fast forward forty years, Barry Connell is a successful fund manager, having established Merrion Capital, a stockbroking firm, he then established a 50-50 joint venture called Rockview Merrion Investments. Rockview manages a hedge fund for high net worth individuals. Success was quick to arrive and Barry’s brainchild was worth €35m in a few short years.

Racing fans will be familiar with the Rockview series of bumpers which Connell has sponsored since 2005. The Rockview series is run over ten tracks and allows qualified riders to accumulate points in designated bumpers. At the end of the year, the final takes place at the Curragh and it recognises the leading qualified rider, the winner is handed a €2,500 Holiday Voucher. Patrick Mullins is in the hunt for a hat trick of titles this year, Katie Walsh won it in 2006 and 2007 and Niall “Slippers” Madden claimed it in 2005. It’s a fine idea and one of the ways of demonstrating the interest that Barry Connell has for the sport.

As well as being a sponsor, Connell is a successful dual owner and jockey. Last year saw 13 winners, including his biggest ever Irish success Rock And Roll Kid in the valuable Tote Mile Handicap at Galway. Shinrock Paddy also won The Barry & Sandra Kelly Memorial Novice Hurdle at Navan. He also joined the elite few of Cheltenham winning owners when Pedrobob landed the 2007 County Hurdle under Philip Carberry.

Self admittedly, the main reason for getting involved in horses was to ride them and fulfil that childhood dream. Ever a man for self-actualisation, 1999 saw Connell taking out a jockey’s license to ride in a charity race over one mile six furlongs at Fairyhouse. On the day, he rode his own horse, Bushman’s River, to victory by a short-head and was bitten by the riding bug.

No doubt he is a latecomer to the game but his enthusiasm and exuberance for riding are admirable. At 51, the same age as Mick Kinane, Connell has had many successful days riding his horses to success in bumpers. He even won a bumper at the November Cheltenham meeting of 2003 when riding The Posh Paddy which was surely a career highlight. He does not ride over hurdles but his famous yellow and dark blue colours have won him many admirers.

His riding style is unique, sitting high in the saddle he is not a purist, he does not come from an area steeped in the equine world; he is a Southside Dubliner with no riding background. At times his riding approach was abecedarian but that was not the case in Stratford last year aboard his £60,000 purchase, Frascati Park. Going left-handed for the first time, the 6/5 favourite hung badly right. Connell appeared to lose everything, he dropped his whip, he lost the off-side rein, in fact he lost everything but his nerve. Appearing calm and in control, he sat motionless on the horse and won by a neck on the line, he was subsequently given the At The Races ride of the week. The Racing Post was suitably impressed at this feat when writing “this true Corinthian did not put the bump into Bumper”.

Retiring this week due to a prolonged riding injury in his left arm, Connell will still be heavily involved with racing. His last winner as a rider was aboard Bullock Harbour at last month’s Listowel Harvest Festival, it was the second win of 2010 following on from six wins in 2009.

Appearing as he did on race cards as Mr. B Connell, he has to be admired for fulfilling his lifelong dream, defying his age and being a man with the courage of his convictions.

In 2008 he was asked if the racing bug had left his system and if had had plans on retiring, he replied in the negative noting “look at the Flat jockeys and some of them can ride away well into their 50s”.

Yet another job done for a man apart.

By Stephen Dwyer

[Old Vic]

Think this is bloke who owns Cappa bleu and owned State of play


Mr. William J. Rucker has been the Chief Executive Officer of London at Lazard Ltd., since June 2004. Mr. Rucker has been Deputy Chief Executive of European investment banking business at Lazard Ltd., since September 20, 2006. He joined Lazard in 1987. He has enormous experience as a senior banker in the metals and mining sector. He was a qualified chartered accountant at Arthur Andersen. He served as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Lazard London since 2000. He has been the Non-Executive Chairman of Quintain Estates and Development plc since October 1, 2009 and Crest Nicholson Plc at Crest Nicholson Holdings Limited since September 2011. He served as Deputy Chairman of Lazard LLC. He served as Deputy Chairman of Lazard Ltd. He serves as Director of Lazard Ltd. He served as a Non-Executive Director of Rentokil Initial plc from February 2008 to March 14, 2013. He served as a Member of the European Advisory Board at Lazard Ltd. He served as Co-Chairman of European Investment Banking Committee. Mr. Rucker qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1987.

[Old Vic]

Bit more about Quantain

Rucker, who took on the role on 1 October, is the chief executive of Lazard’s London office and considered the listed property sector’s top financial adviser. He counts Hammerson, Segro, Great Portland Estates and Grainger among his clients.

He advised Canary Wharf Group before its sale to Songbird Estates and, outside property, he advises Debenhams, Greene King and, most topically, Kraft in its bid for Cadbury.

Rucker is ideally suited to helping Quintain move forward. Having advised the company since 1994, he knows it intimately. He took over from economist and Financial Times journalist John Plender, who is 65 in March and wanted to step aside.

“I said to William: ‘Is there any chance you might consider coming to us?’ And he did,” says Wyatt.

“It’s a hell of a feather in our corporate cap.”

Speaking to Property Week in his first property interview, Rucker reveals where he believes the company got it wrong, his support for Wyatt and his team and how the growth of the fund management arm will enable Quintain to pay a dividend again.

Despite the company’s woes at the beginning of last year, no heads have rolled, nor are they likely to.

“In the dialogue with shareholders *— the owners of the business *— they were very supportive of the management team,” says Rucker. “What they would say, if they had criticised the management team, was that — perhaps — we were overambitious in terms of how we were going to fund out the scale of developments that we had on our books.

“If you look back strategically and ask: 'Was there a mistake made?' it was either, from a position of strength, not to have raised money to make sure we could fund out the developments or to have built up the fund management business to a bigger scale, whereby it was a recurring flywheel of income that meant the company could continue to fund itself.

“With hindsight we should have done one or the other. But I don’t think shareholders see that as a failure of management any more than they do at other companies. In terms of feedback from shareholders, they are very supportive of the team and don’t want to see a change.”

There was talk last year of Quintain considering splitting its earnings-driven fund management business from the urban regeneration side. Rucker says there are no plans to do this. “We think it works well as a combination: partnering the recurring income and the ability to add value on fund management with the urban regeneration model.

“If you have a pure development play, you are very exposed to cycles. If you have a balanced business, which means you can hold those developments through volatile markets, you have a much better chance of creating value for shareholders.”


lazards

The highest paid director — understood to be William Rucker, the Lazard London chief executive – received compensation of £5.16m last year, up from £4.86m.
However sources indicated that Mr Rucker took a pay cut believed to be in the region of 40pc — similar to that of Lazard’s global chairman, Ken Jacobs. The increase is thought to be the result of share awards, granted a few years ago, vesting during 2011.

[mayo]

Michael oflynn ..owns the rock horses

CORK developer Michael O'Flynn has defended his ongoing involvement in horse racing against claims that it is inappropriate given his status as the head of one of Nama's top ten most indebted borrowers.

The decision by the chairman and managing director of O'Flynn Construction to bring several of his racehorses, including Elysian Rock and Shane Rock, to compete in last week's Christmas racing festival at Leopardstown took many in the industry by surprise, given the public outcry that followed a recent RTE Prime Time investigation into the lifestyles of Ireland's biggest developers, including Mr O'Flynn.

In the course of the programme, the Cork developer was secretly filmed travelling by helicopter to a race meeting at Downroyal to see one of his horses, China Rock, compete.

Asked by the Sunday Independent if he believed his ownership of racehorses was still appropriate in view of recent remarks by Nama chairman Frank Daly that developers would have to curb their lifestyles and have to sell off their "jets, their yachts, their Bentleys or whatever", Mr O'Flynn said in a statement that he was "proud" of his personal ongoing involvement in the horse racing industry.

"My family and I, like many other people from all walks of life, have been supporters of the horse racing industry for many years and I am proud of my personal ongoing involvement in what is a very important industry in Ireland," he said.

The Cork-based developer added that as he had always operated a "strict policy of not providing personal guarantees for any borrowings associated with the O'Flynn Group", his personal affairs were not linked with those of the O'Flynn Group. He also stressed that his companies' borrowings had only been transferred to Nama as this was required under legislation.

Mr O'Flynn pointed out that there had been no reduction in the amount the O'Flynn group of companies owed on those development loans since their transfer on to the books of the State agency. He said that he looked forward to engaging with Nama on his companies' business plans in early 2011.

But while Mr O'Flynn remains adamant that his continuing involvement in the so-called sport of kings is appropriate in the Nama era, others are not so sure.

Approached by the Sunday Independent in the parade ring at Leopardstown last Tuesday and asked for his views on Mr O'Flynn's presence and his horses' participation at the race meeting, Fine Gael TD Sean Barrett said: "I don't understand the situation to be honest with you. I mean the only man who can answer that question for you is himself [Michael O'Flynn]. I don't know what his personal or other circumstances are. I saw the Prime Time programme [on the developers]."

Asked for his views on that programme, Mr Barrett said: "I was appalled actually. The idea that the ordinary members of the public are making such sacrifices in terms of deductions from their salaries, and they see this sort of carry on, people [developers] openly being excessive." Referring specifically to the footage shown on Mr O'Flynn in the same broadcast, he continued: "Going to a race meeting in a helicopter at a time when we're all asked to pull in our horns, I don't think it's the wisest thing to be doing," Mr Barrett added.

[Morning Glory]

More about rich

Rich Ricci profile: most of those blamed for the credit crisis have gone to ground, but not this Barclays investment banker

He's become the poster child for the excesses of the investment banking industry. Rich Ricci (the name is just too perfect) courted national infamy when, on the day of another austerity Budget, Barclays revealed that it had handed its investment banking chief £17.6m in shares, all of which were sold.

It wasn't the first time Ricci had found himself at the centre of a storm. The revelation came barely a week after one of the flamboyantly dressed banker's horses lined up at the Cheltenham Festival under the name "fatcatinthehat". That undiplomatic moniker was actually suggested by his wife Susannah – in whose colours the beast ran to a disappointing 18th place in the Fred Winter Juvenile Hurdle – after seeing a headline about her husband in this newspaper.

Her intent was jocular, and in an attempt to draw some of the sting from the gag, it has emerged that all of the horse's prize money of €23,466 (£20,000) to date has been donated to charity, and that this will be the case throughout its career. But a population wilting under the burden of rising prices, falling incomes, steep cuts to public spending and an economy barely off life support understandably failed to see the funny side.

Pictures of Ricci in his trilby, designer shades, and bespoke three-piece suit living it up trackside, coupled with details of his Kent mansion culled from the website of upscale estate agency Savills and gleefully splashed all over the tabloids, made an already negative caricature even more grotesque. And yet, curiously, outside his very public displays at Britain's premier jumps racetrack, Ricci remains a fiercely private individual, who rarely gives interviews and is, in fact, something of a mystery.

He was born on the eastern seaboard of the United States (he won't say exactly where) to parents of relatively modest means, and was educated at Creighton University in the state of Nebraska, a private Roman Catholic school set up by the Jesuits. The order's most prominent member is, of course, the now famously frugal Pope Francis who has spent the early days of his papacy demanding that his fellow clergymen focus their attention on the plight of the poor.

In contrast to the other two members of the American triumvirate that used to dominate Barclays before its recent scandals resulted in their defenestration (Bob Diamond and Jerry del Missier), Ricci has failed to retain ties to his alma mater. Both Diamond and del Missier are active donors to their former universities; Ricci isn't even listed as a prominent alumnus. The university has merit awards and other citations on far lesser lights.

After completing his degree in finance, Ricci went into banking, not in a glamour field such as trading or deal-making, where fortunes can be made relatively early on in a career, but in the back office. He specialised in technology and operations, taking on a variety of roles at the rather obscure Bank of Boston and the Bank of New England rather than one of America's powerhouses. These smaller and, particularly in the case of the latter (which failed), relatively unsuccessful institutions were both eventually subsumed into Bank of America.

When Ricci joined BZW, the name under which Barclays investment banking division traded in 1994, it was a similarly second-tier (at*best) operation and much of it was sold in 1997. The rump was handed to the ambitious young Diamond who had joined two years after Ricci and had big plans, but was in sore need of a nuts and bolts man. He was to find that man in Ricci.

The old, more traditional part of Barclays watched in horror as Diamond and Barclays Capital began their relentless rise. Ricci, however, is viewed in a more favourable light. "Of all of Diamond's acolytes, Ricci was the most grounded," one former colleague says. "He wasn't one of the ones who went raping and pillaging, so*to speak."

The "bald guy who gets things done" is apparently much more down to earth than his caricatured public image would suggest. Most investment bankers wouldn't be seen dead at a dog track, for example. But Ricci, an avid gambler, was as at home in the earthier confines of the now-defunct Walthamstow dog track as he is now at Cheltenham. He would attend meetings there with colleagues.

Flamboyant he may be – and this extends to the office as well as the racetrack where his boldly monogrammed shirts (RR, of course) are hard to miss – but he is not grand. He eschews an entourage and is quite willing to queue for his own sandwiches rather than sending a flunky to stand in line as many senior colleagues do.

This lack of airs and graces and willingness to run his own errands led to another of his many PR "issues", however, when he managed to get himself photographed buying a ticket for a EuroMillions rollover lottery draw. This led to accusations of greed, but can perhaps be as much put down to his love of a bet – even a bet where the odds of winning are as long as they are in the lottery. (You stand a better chance of being struck by lightning.)

Friends speak of his loyalty to those he trusts and who meet his exacting standards. Ricci has talked of his deep "love for Ireland" – its racing scene and its people. But it is not as if he spreads his largesse around the many trainers on the Emerald Isle. Nearly all the other big owners, even those with close associations with one trainer such as City veteran Andy Stewart (Paul Nicholls) or J*P McManus (Jonjo O'Neill), have horses with more than one handler. Ricci has a 17-strong string with just one man, the Irish champion trainer Willie Mullins. "He was introduced by a mutual acquaintance and the two just hit it off," a racing source explains. "If he decides he trusts you, that's it. He'll trust you with his life, and he trusts Willie." A friend says: "He's had success with Willie and has rewarded him by sending him more horses. That's the way he works."

In person, Ricci can be brash, wisecracking, a little overbearing. But friends describe him as good company and argue that he is relatively modest, at least by the standards of the City. He and his wife are said to enjoy entertaining at their Kent pile, but not with big parties. Instead, small circles of intimates are invited for lunch or dinner with one stipulation: conversation about his work is off the agenda.

Ricci rose through the ranks during the expansion of Diamond's Barclays Capital, taking in a highly successful stint at Barclays Global Investors along the way. He first started attracting attention outside the confines of Barclays when he handled the integration of Lehman Brothers in 2008 after Diamond piloted Barclays' buy-up of the collapsed bank's American business from bankruptcy.

[Morning Glory]

Integration – putting businesses together – requires a streak of ruthlessness. "Don't be mistaken," a former colleague of Ricci's says. "He's an action man but he can be horrible, both personally and in business." Nor is he universally loved within Barclays today.

When the Barclays' chief executive, Antony Jenkins, launched his much-trumpeted new strategy and reform package, a photograph of Ricci that appeared in the promotional material was, City gossips report, rather rudely defaced.

Another City veteran who was interviewed for a job by Ricci confirms the impression of a forceful personality, of a man who will not take no for an answer. They were called back into Barclays after Ricci demanded an explanation for why they had turned down a role he had offered them after a bruising interview.

Outside Barclays, in the City, Ricci has garnered mixed reviews. Douglas McNeill, investment director at the broker Charles Stanley, says: "Barclays shareholders have lost about a quarter of their investment over the past five years, and seen the dividend nosedive from 34p a share to 6.5p. They won't be alone in wondering how on earth group performance over the period can justify whopping payouts to executives."

He adds: "In fairness to Mr Ricci, the investment bank over which he now presides has roughly doubled its pre-tax profit over the period. But it's only weeks since Jenkins embarked on his crusade to improve the image of Barclays by warning his bankers that they had become disconnected from the wider society they inhabit. Showering huge wealth on them won't help them – or the bank itself – to reconnect."

Some analysts wonder that Ricci hasn't followed Diamond and del Missier out of the door. Perhaps the surprise is understandable in the light of the fact that it was Jenkins who was hard to pin down when asked to back publicly his investment banking chief at the launch of the new strategy. "I'm confident in my team," was all he would say. "I can't predict the future." Sources close to the bank say the two held a clear-the-air conversation after this, and insist they get on well together.

Jenkins knows he needs Barclays to produce returns even as its culture is reformed. That means he needs Ricci, whose division produces the lion's share of the profits and whose staff aren't all in love with "St Antony", as some derisively call the new chief executive. Jenkins may actually need Ricci more than Ricci needs him. Perhaps that's why Ricci can say with confidence: "I'm not going anywhere." Whether his adopted home country likes it or not.

A Life In Brief

Born: Richard Ricci on the east coast of the US. Forty‑nine years old.

Family: Married to Susannah for 12 years.

Education: Bachelor's degree in finance from Creighton University, Nebraska.

Career: Held senior positions at the Bank of Boston and the Bank of New England. Moved to Barclays in 1994 before being appointed chief operating officer of Global Investors in 2002. In 2012, he became co-chief executive of corporate and investment banking. This week, it was revealed he landed an £17.6m windfall after the bank handed out share awards. He is also involved in racing and owns a number of horses.

He says: "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 atmosphere is really good and the prize money is still attractive.”

[Old Vic]

Dell 'arca owner an interesting one

The winning owner Caroline Tisdall is a Professor of Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London, an author of some 13 books and has worked on films for the BBC and Channel 4. She said: "I was very keen on racing as a young woman, but then life and men and work and lack of money got in the way, but now we are back where we started.

"This feeling is indescribable, and to think that jump racing exists in our modern world and health and safety climate is a miracle. I just wanted to join in and keep it going in my own little way. I love the Pipe yard and am very happy there.

"This is the most expensive horse I've bought and I'm not going to make a habit of it, but it was the one occasion when David Pipe had a chance to outbid Willie Mullins at public auction [Mullins was underbidder for Dell' Arca]. After the sale Willie invited us over to Ireland for a stable visit, which was a nice story of its own."

[Old Vic]

A bit about one of the men

When billionaire Paul van Vlissingen died last year, he was mourned by two lovers who "shared" him between them.
Now Caroline Tisdall and Suzanne Wolff have also had a share in his estate, after his will showed he left each woman a considerable inheritance.

The 65-year-old Dutch-born oil and gas tycoon, whose £1.1billion fortune made him one of the 25 richest men in Britain, had what can only be described an an unconventional love life.

Having divorced his wife Ank, with whom he had two daughters, he set up home with journalist and academic Miss Tisdall 25 years ago.

A few years ago, he also began a relationship with Dutch businesswoman Miss Wolff, 51, which Miss Tisdall happily tolerated.

The reward for 61-year-old Miss Tisdall's broad-mindedness is a £2million Thames-side house in Chiswick, West London.

Miss Tisdall is also understood to have been given the run of Mr van Vlissingen's 80,000-acre Highland estate and his country home in Wiltshire, Conholt Park, which will remain in his family.

Miss Wolff, meanwhile, has been left £2million in cash and a house in Switzerland.

There is nothing in the will for Mr van Vlissingen's ex-wife, who is understood to have received a considerable sum when they divorced, but the remainder of his vast wealth is left to his daughters Tanetta and Alicia.

Mr van Vlissingen also remembered his Scottish estate manager Barbara MacDonald, who receives £43,000.

Each of the employees on his Letterewe estate in Wester Ross and at the 2,500-acre Conholt Park estate near Andover has been left £3,300.

Mr van Vlissingen, whose phenomenal wealth came from the SHV conglomerate, founded by his family in the 18th century, also owned the imposing Lunenberg Castle in Holland and had a 10 per cent share in a 296,000-acre wildlife reserve in South Africa.

Neither Miss Tisdall nor Miss Wolff was available for comment, but at the time of Mr van Vlissingen's death from pancreatic cancer last August, Miss Tisdall had indicated that she would be allowed to carry on living in Wiltshire.

"Everything will continue as before, thank goodness," she said. "I will carry on at Conholt and will make regular trips to Scotland.

"Paul's daughters Alicia and Tet will continue to have use of Lunenberg, which is also the offices of the family firm. Everything is provided for."

When rumours of Mr van Vlissingen's relationship with Miss Wolff emerged three years ago, Miss Tisdall, who described herself and the tycoon as "the odd couple", said: "I really don't care whether or not he has another woman. He says he wants to spend his old age with me."

Mr van Vlissingen spoke enigmatically of their relationship, saying: "We love each other in a very special way.

"If you look out of the window, you will see many shades of green. We love each other in many shades of green."

The billionaire had a relaxed attitude to money, saying it had come so easily to him and he had so much of it that it had little meaning for him.

He enjoyed the outdoors and loved nothing better than to saddle up a pony with provisions and trek to a remote bothy on his Scottish estate, which was so basic it did not even have a lavatory.

During week-long stays he would take his water from a nearby stream and cook on a Calor gas stove.

When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he refused medical treatment and sent Miss Tisdall on holiday to Cuba while he lived out the remainder of his days surrounded by his family in Holland.

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