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Rich Ricci 'excited' by Faugheen Morgiana return
By Geoffrey Riddle
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
By Geoffrey Riddle
The 22-month wait is almost over.
Rich Ricci is looking forward to seeing Faugheen return next Sunday in the Unibet Morgiana Hurdle at Punchestown.
Faugheen has won seven Grade One races in a dazzling career but has not raced since January last year when he beat subsequent County Hurdle winner Arctic Fire and Stayers’ Hurdle winner Nichols Canyon primarily due to a stress fracture.
The nine-year-old is also in the Hatton’s Grace Hurdle at Fairyhouse but that race is merely a precautionary entry.
Ricci revealed on Sunday that Faugheen’s summer holidays were curtailed in order to have him ready to embark on the path towards reclaiming the champion hurdle crown he grasped in 2015.
“The plan is to run on Sunday," the prominent owner told Racing UK’s Luck On Sunday programme.
kelso
14:40 Kelso - Monday April 10
“We have been here before with Faugheen but everything seems to have gone to plan.
“We kept him in longer than the other horses before we threw him out and we threw him out for a short spell so he wouldn’t gain all that weight and be harder to get back in to shape.
“That seems to have ben a good idea, he has had plenty of time and I am very excited to see him back.
“It has been almost two years, so it is a big ask and I am very hopeful he retains most of his ability.”
Faugheen was due to make his return in the Irish Champion Hurdle in January, but was ruled out due to a pulled muscle in his hind quarters.
He is a best-priced 4-7 with Betfair and Paddy Power for the Morgiana, in which he was beaten by Nichols Canyon two years ago, and is 6-1 behind reigning Champion Hurdler Buveur D’Air at 4-1 for the Festival in March.
Ricci was confident that the Willie Mullins team has his star hurdler back on the right track.
“They will have the horse as ready as he needs to be to do himself proud,” he added.
Faugheen is ready for his return to racing, according to his owner. (PA)
“It will be great just to see him back on the racecourse. We are in the game to win and we have some unfinished business in the Morgiana.
“It would be great to see if he can come back, if he retains that ability and if he does it would certainly shake-up the champion hurdle market.”
Ricci has been criticized in some quarters for not running his best horses in the same races to ensure that he maximizes his chances of winning at the Cheltenham Festival.
When Faugheen won the Champion Hurdle two years ago, Annie Power famously fell as the 1-2 favourite in the Mare’s Hurdle 40 minutes later, only to subsequently win the hurdling crown the following March in Faugheen’s absence. It is an approach that looks set to continue.
Annie Power is now in-foal to Derby winner Camelot and will not be sold by Ricci. (Racingfotos)
“The policy that we really aspire to is to find the races that we are comfortable the horses can win,” Ricci added.
“If we are lucky enough to have horses that are very good in the same category we try to find races they both can win. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
"Some would have liked to have seen Annie Power take on Faugheen, and Faugheen would have beaten Annie Power for the record, and we will continue our policy.
“I would be very confident [Faugheen would have won the mythical match]. Faugheen was rated 176 at the height of his powers and at his full, absolute best, he is something to be reckoned with.”
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