Annie Power’s career in doubt
The Willie Mullins-trained Annie Power may not be seen on a racecourse again after she did not run at the Punchestown Festival last month after she was taken out of the Mares Champion Hurdle at the meeting.
The daughter of Shirocco won the 2016 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival but was ruled out this year’s meeting due to a leg injury.
She has not been since on a racecourse since the April 7 2016, when she decisively plundered the G1 Doom Bar Aintree Hurdle.
Mullins dropped a bombshell earlier this year by informing the media that the superstar mare was in foal to Camelot who, when trained by Aidan O’Brien, was winner of the QIPCO 2000 Guineas, the English and Irish Derby, and also missed out on completing the triple crown when second to Godolphin’s Encke in the 2012 St Leger, under a ride by Joseph O’Brien which was pretty questionable after he gave the Godolphin colt too much of a lead.
Therefore, with that in mind, a run at Punchestown was identified as potentially being Annie Power’s final ever run but after she was not declared, the rumour has therefore gone into overdrive that we will not see her on a racecourse again.
One of the stars of Rich Ricci’s battalion of horses, Mullins said:
I thought she worked very well last week, but she was just not showing any sparkle this week and I didn’t feel happy running her. That is the reason we are not running. I don’t want to say anything about retirement yet as I need to have a discussion with the owner.
We need to be respectful to the owner and we will be discussing it in the next day or so.