@impossible123 -- you are right but where does it get us? As I see it, we can't back Faugheen antepost but nor can we back against him.

If Faugheen wins impressively on his reappearance, he will harden for the Champion Hurdle but he is already short enough given the doubts.

If Faugheen is turned over, then we can't bank our antepost slips on any of his rivals because suddenly all sorts of runners will be rerouted to the race which will then have a completely different shape.

All we can do is wait and see.

Can't really agree about Annie SF... she hasnt been seen before Christmas the past two seasons. They clearly plan for her to appear in the New Year and then target the Spring Festivals.

Agree about Faugheen though, much more of a worry.

Everything suggests shes heading for the Mares Race to me.

Faugheen cant beat Annie at home ,why would he beat her at the race track.

Then again if he does appear on the morning paper as a runner in Leopardstown, he will by then be evens for Cheltenham

Dont mind Brassneck. He's dreaming and the Annie photo has fallen from the bedroom ceiling on top of him.

nice form boost for the ascot form from modus their !

meet the legend btn 40+ lenths in the ascot race won by bp  ,2 lenths up when falling (fately rip)  the last 3.45 kempton today .........

its husband v wife ,Susannah owes Annie and rich owns faugheen ,so there should be some fun in ricci family.
Now if husband and wife were to argue over something both might insist that their horse runs in the CH.

Previous years yes, but as Duffy says they don't have the luxury this year of having odds on shots in almost every G1 race (which I personally is much better).

I don't see why the wouldn't put them both in the CH, then separate them for Aintree and Punchestown if fit.

Still likely they'll win the CH, Mares Novice along with live chances in the Mares and Stayers, so not too bad!!

I'll be very surprised (and pleasantly) if Faugheen lines up at Leopardstown

WILLIE MULLINS on Thursday gave the biggest indication yet that Annie Power and Faugheen, winner of the last two Champion Hurdles, are on the verge of returning to the track for the first time this winter.

Mullins told At The Races: "Both worked nicely this morning so I'm very pleased with them. Both horses are pleasing me a lot more now than they have been."

Faugheen has not been seen on the track since his BHP Irish Champion Hurdle win last January, arguably the performance of his career. He achieved an RPR of 177, which ranks him as the best two-mile hurdler since Istabraq on that scale.

Annie Power made a late reappearance last season too, returning at Punchestown after Faugheen had been ruled out of the Champion Hurdle and taking his place at Cheltenham on the strength of her success there.

She too emulated Istabraq by going on to complete the Champion Hurdle-Aintree Hurdle double, which had last been achieved by that horse 17 years earlier.

Mullins seemed hopeful of bringing both horses back to a similar level of form compared to 12 months ago.

"We're well on course with both of them," he said. "We'll see how they go between now and then [Irish Champion Hurdle]. I'd like to get Faugheen there and Annie Power to the mares race at Punchestown, that would be the ideal scenario."

It is widely expected that only one of Faugheen and Annie Power will run in this year's Champion Hurdle. The 2015 winner Faugheen is the 9-4 favourite, while Annie Power is 5-1 but only 2-1 with firms offering non-runner, no bet.

DONT forget anyone taking on Annie would need to have a 180 rating because Annie rating is based on what she has done and was injured last year and she gets a mares allowance even the great thistlecrack would not beat her over the champion hurdle trip.
unless Willie thinks Faugheen can win the CH But he knows he would never get near Annie.

Brassneck you wouldn't need to run to anywhere near 180 to beat Annie, Faugheen would beat her if they were all at the same fitness level.

Annie beat MTOY 4 lengths last year when getting 7lbs, when MTOY was off the track 2 years and Nichols Canyon was less than a length behind.

She was 162 after that race, so over 2m she is effectively 169.

Her best distance is 2.5m as shown at Aintree which is what her current 166 rating is based on.

As CCM says, Faugheen is the crack 2m in the stable without a doubt. Just watch his last run before he got injured for proof.

Annie is very very good, don't get me wrong, but Faugheen on the other hand is at another level.

then why did Willie enter faugheen in the stayers hurdle,Annie can act or run on any going while faugheen 's not fond of the heavy rain,so my guess is that willie wants an entry in champion hurdle no matter what way the going is on the 14th march,now the problem is that ruby says you can rest assured I will be in the saddle when Annie runs,so that omits both taking on each other(if wellchief view is correct )but the dogs on the street know that Annie burns faugheen off every time they race at home .so why would ruby Annie AND why do people think the machine can beat Annie IF the world and his mother know he cant.

what option is he covering entering Faugheen in the stayers.it not that he is short of horses.

Its crazy to suggest that Faugheen would run in the Stayers. If he's fit and well the CH all day every day.

I don't see the angle that Faugheen is better than Annie over 2 miles myself, with the mares allowance I think there is little between them. Faugheen's 176 was around Punchestown too. His Champion Hurdle win was a 173 according to the handicapper.

People say Annie was better at Aintree. She was, but in my opinion it wasn't because of the trip, it was because she wasn't fully fit at Cheltenham, and she was at Aintree. Cheltenham brought her on for Aintree. That egg and spoon mares race she won at Punchestown last february is highly unlikely to get her fully race fit 3 weeks out from the festival. She didn't even break a bead of sweat.

If Annie is fit and ready to go like Mullins says she is, then it looks like nothing other than the mares hurdle. It's a shame, as it's criminal to see a horse of that class in such an average race, and we'll lose a race from a betting perspective, but this sport is seemingly becoming more and more of a business at the elite level after all. Number of winners triumphs seeing the best horses race each other. Fair enough.

If Ricci really does care about the NH game like he tries to make out, he has a funny way of showing. He'd be a proper wetty by not letting his two best hurdlers go at it in the biggest hurdle race there is.

AP running in the mares race before she had won the CH was bad enough (quevega before here the same), running her in it when she's now actually proven her ability on a higher level makes it even worse.

Winning as many races as possible at the festival means absolutely nothing because if AP runs in the mares race it will mean nothing and will be quite frankly embarrassing for connections.

The one thing above all other things that the Mullins/Ricci/Walsh triumvirate have never been able to get their collective heads around is the fact that running the top horses against each other resulting in one getting beat doesn't mean it devalues the loser, they are far too precious in this regard.

If both horses are fit and well they should both be in the CH, my guess is that we may get a "vautour"...in that we will be told that Annie isn't 100% so will take the Mares option.

All you guys are taking it for granted that the going is going to be good to firm on the 14th,but Annie does not mind what the going is like,in fact the more rain the better for Annie just in case ruby has to push the half a stone mare's allowance button running up the famous hill,but Annie will be well on front before the hill and Faugheen will still be waiting a day or two more for the stayers hurdle hoping the ground dry's up.