Annie Power doesn't hurdle quick enough to be even competitive in this years race and unless it'a soft she'll be badly outpaced,should be running in the mares hurdle this year but that won't happen.

Annie Power has no chance of running in, and less chance of winning, the CH. She doesn't jump well enough, or possess the speed to trouble the 2m specialists.
Ricci may say that she may go there, and indeed he may at the moment believe that she might. She wont. Ruby and Willie are two of the best talkers and 'persuaders' in the business.
Ruby certainly doesn't want her running in the Champion, WPM to a lesser extent, also doesn't want her there.
Both certainly don't want her in the Mares, Its already a penalty kick winner for Ruby, why waste another bullet, and potentially two. WPM loves the record books, and loves his name in them even more. She wont take on Quevega.
World Hurdle it is, unless Quevega misses the gig. Which she wont!!

Yeah, but Hurricane will probably line up as favourite. Zaidpour has no chance in WH, and unless its a bog, Boston Bob wont have much hope either. So much more likely to run AP there. Plus, when selling it to Ricci, he can have Ruby aboard in WH.

Hasten to add I do not disagree with you that it's the least likely race she will run in. But if he doesn't believe she can win one of the others she will run in the mares.

Forty

@callitasucit -- I am not saying Annie Power will definitely run in the Champion Hurdle but that it seems every bit as likely as the World Hurdle. Much the same arguments can be deployed for either race.

Mullins has other runners for both races, though Ricci only for the World.

There is a hot favourite in each race. No, there is not. Hurricane Fly is not even clear favourite and can be backed at 100/30 in two places; Big Bucks varies from 6/4 to 5/2. And Boston Bob would be third in without AP, so hardly a forlorn hope.

I didn't say anything about 'hot favourites'?? I said Hurricane will probably line up as fav. He probably will. Unless it is soft or worse, BB will be double figures.
Running AP in the WH obviously gives WPM more chance of winning the two races, gives Ricci more chance of a winner, and gives Ruby a better chance of two winners whilst eliminating the chance of being on the wrong one in the CH. So same arguments cannot be deployed for both races.

Ruby certainly doesn't want her running in the Champion, WPM to a lesser extent, also doesn't want her there.
Both certainly don't want her in the Mares

I`m not being funny but do we KNOWthis to be true?

I would say, without doubt the Mares Hurdle trip would be her optimum at the moment. But I cant see WPM taking on and hence probably beating Quevega. Of course we don't Know this to be true. That would make it too easy!!

Also, the massive weight allowance in the Champion and World Hurdles she will get has to be taken into consideration.

I think you're right there Eeternal. 2 1/2 milers are usually better going for the Champion, especially with that uphill finish. I've been looking at her possible participation from the perspective of Mullins' other runners and the fact that the Champion looks a lot stronger than the World. If these matters were ignored, I'd definitely favour the shorter trip, seeing as though she's not even attempted the longer trip. Screw the Mares; I wouldn't consider it if she were mine, even if there was no Quevega. I'd want to know if she could win a proper race first.

Basically, if I owned her, I wouldn't be able to resist having a go at the Champion. If all three of the Mullins hopefully ran in it, what a race it would be.

I come back to my earlier assertion. If she were mine and she were fast enough to go close in the Irish Champion she'd run in the champion. If she can't go with the main protagonists only then would I take a chance and go the longer route. I also wouldn't bother with the mares race. No way would I go to Cheltenham without finding out if she has the credentials for either of the two big races which will probably be the case if they don't try her over 2 miles in the Irish Champion.

I wonder how long Willie can keep so many big owners happy.

Having read the comments from Ricci about keeping Annie over hurdles because they were hoping she'd go to the Champion in March, you can't help but think there's only so much he can take. I wouldn't be surprised if he (and/or other big owners) start sending their horses elsewhere as Mullins has too many top-notchers to please everyone.

Agree with the posts above. I think she will miss the Irish Champion but that would be a shocking decision. Rarely in racing is a situation presented that literally offers the perfect test of a horse's credentials when connections are split between options. It's so simple, as has been said above. Running in the Irish Champion would tell them which way they should go. Skipping it won't help them at all. They'll still be scratching their heads in the run-up to Cheltenham and it'll be a case of who wins the behind-the-scenes tug of war.

Another talking point: What happens if they skip the Irish Champion and then Hurricane Fly gets beaten?

@Tomdeane, I have been wondering this for a while, how long will the Barclays Mafia continue to allow their stable stars to play second fiddle. Obviously RR has spent something like £5-10m on his stock yet wants to rival JPM yet they still seem to be second best in the yard. Maybe they will bide their time knowing they have the majority of the firepower going forward and that they will dominate WM stock for the foreseeable.

Tell him to take those ****g shades off especially when it's raining****

That's spot on Eeternal. Why wouldn't you have a go at the distance beforehand if you were aiming at the World Hurdle. You've won me round; I think they're planning to run her in the Champion now.

I agree in principle, but doesn't this work both ways?

If they want to see whether they had the pace to beat the biggest and best boys over 2m, why wouldn't she run in the Irish Champion? That to me would be an indication that they're more likely to go for the World...

Not backed lol

Knocked back I meant

would it be far-fetched to suggest that Ruby passed over Big Bucks out of professional courtesy? assuming, of course, he is WPM's bona fide stable jockey and not the 'main jockey' or whatever label Nicholls came up with for Daryl in his weekend tract.

You can bet yer arse that Walsh has told em she's a World Hurdle horse and he wants to ride her

The world's full of trainers and jockeys who tried to turn horses into something they weren't and being convinced they were. Oscar Whiskey being a world hurdler one of the recent ones springs to mind. Twice. Never running over 3 miles and hoping for the best in the toughest three mile race of the season isn't my idea of a plan of action. I'm sure the leader of the light brigade would have approved though.