Nicky Richards: It’s a Jungle Out There

Nicholas Gordon “Nicky” Richards is based at Greystoke Stables – the yard made famous by his father, the late Gordon W. Richards – near Penrith, Cumbria. Nicky took over the licence at Greystoke following the sudden death of his father in September, 1998, and saddled his first winner, Better Times Ahead, in a two-runner handicap chase at Carlisle the following month.

Richards Jnr. achieved his first major success with Feels Like Gold in the Becher Chase, over the Aintree Grand National fences, in November, 1999. However, having inherited a yard whose established stars were on the wane, it was nearly four years until he achieved his second, The French Furze, in the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle in November, 2003. Faasel went perilously close to winning the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2005, eventually going down by a head, but put matters right when winning 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree the following month by 7 lengths.

Unquestionably the most successful horse he has trained, so far, though, was Monet’s Garden, who won 17 of his 32 starts under National Hunt Rules between 2003 and 2010 and earned £683,285 in total prize money. Monet’s Garden won three Grade 1 races, the Ascot Chase and the Melling Chase at Aintree in 2007 and the Ascot Chase, again, in 2010.

The popular grey also won the Old Roan Chase at Aintree three times, in 2007, 2009, 2010, on the first occasion beating Kauto Star, who was conceding 14lb, by 1½ lengths. He was retired from racing following his third victory in the race and, after making a full recovery from navicular disease – a potentially life-threatening hoof infection – his owner, David Wesley Yates, said, “The trouble is that he doesn’t know he’s retired, and he is very fit, well and fresh, so we’re hoping he doesn’t do anything daft.”

Richards enjoyed his best season ever, in terms of both total number of winners and total prize money in 2006/07, thanks mainly to the exploits of Monet’s Garden. At the end of that season, he had saddled 64 winners and earned £787,140 in total prize money.

Unfortunately, he hasn’t reached the same level since but, nevertheless, continues to saddle high-profile winners granted the right ammunition. In 2017, he trained Baywing to win the Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby, Guitar Pete to win the bet365 Handicap Chase at Wetherby and the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham and the Simply Ned to win the Paddy’s Reward Club Handicap Chase at Fairyhouse. More recently, Baywing also won the valuable Eider Handicap Chase at Newcastle in February, 2018.