Former jockey Mark Dwyer believes Annie Power would have a "favourite's chance" if given the green light to line up in the Stan James Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham next month.
The Willie Mullins-trained mare is the new favourite for the two-mile hurdling crown following a dramatic afternoon on Wednesday.
Just minutes after the shock news broke that reigning champion and stable companion Faugheen would miss the festival through injury, Annie Power made a faultless return to action at Punchestown.
While Mullins was previously debating whether to aim for redemption in the Mares’ Hurdle following her well-documented final-flight fall last March, or have a second tilt at the World Hurdle after chasing home More Of That in 2014, there is now a genuine possibility she could be supplemented for the Champion Hurdle at a cost of €20,000.
Richard Price’s Flakey Dove was the last mare to win the prize in 1994, and Dwyer, who was on board 22 years ago, feels Annie Power has every chance of repeating the feat.
No surprise
“She’s favourite or second favourite for three races and seeing as they have the other one [Vroum Vroum Mag] as second favourite for the Mares’ Hurdle, it would be no surprise to see them give serious consideration to running in the Champion with her. She’s obviously a very good mare, and from what I’ve seen of her she doesn’t look devoid of pace.
“I watched her at Punchestown yesterday, she did what she had to do and that should leave her spot on for Cheltenham, I would have thought.
“You’d have to say she has as good a chance of winning a Champion Hurdle as any mare has for a good few years. If she goes there I would think she’d have a favourite’s chance.”
The news of Annie Power's potential Champion Hurdle bid comes just days after Flakey Dove passed away at the age of 30. Dwyer reflected how he was fortunate to come in for the ride after her regular partner Norman Williamson was hit by suspension and how she rose to the occasion.
"She was a very good racemare, and I was lucky to have a brief but very successful association with her," said Dwyer, who won the Gold Cup on Forgive 'N' Forget in 1985.
Third substitute
“Norman was suspended, and I think I was second or third substitute. She had some good form going into Cheltenham. I remember she ran very well in the Tote Gold Trophy.
“When she went down to the start at Cheltenham it was like riding an old hack and I didn’t think I’d get much of a spin at all, but it was a different ball game when the race started.
“She battled very well up the hill. She wasn’t going to get beaten that day. Unfortunately she didn’t go on to breed much, but you often find that’s the case with the good racemares.”
