Mystical Power, the first foal of champion race-mare Annie Power, won on debut at Ballinrobe on Monday.
Annie Power enjoyed a lucrative career for owner Rich Ricci, winning fifteen times from seventeen starts. Second in the Stayers' Hurdle on her first attempt at the Cheltenham Festival, the mare will probably be best remembered for, the wrong reasons – her last-fence fall in the Group 1 Stayers' Hurdle in 2015.
Connections took the brave decision to let Annie Power take her chance in the Group 1 Champion Hurdle at the 2016 Festival and she rewarded their daring move with a four-and-a-half length success over My Tent Or Yours. On her final start at Aintree in the Group 1 Mersey Hurdle, she beat the same foe by eighteen lengths.
A daughter of Shirocco, Annie Power is a half-sister to Listed Prix de L'Avre winner Air Trooper and three-time hurdle winner Head Waiter. Trained by Andre Fabre, the Godolphin-owned Air Trooper won his only two racecourse starts before being gelded. Head Waiter enjoyed a long and fruitful career over fences, achieving earns of nearly £110,000.
Monday's winner Mystical Power, by champion sire Galileo, started favourite for the 2m½f Flat Race and produced a good performance to win by two-and-three-quarter lengths.
Jockey Patrick Mullins said: "I'm happy with that. His mother was all out to win in Galway first time and improved significantly, so he's equalled his mother this far anyway.
"He's a horse that has improved. The more work he's got the more he's improved and I think he'll continue to improve. He got to the front very easily but I don't think he did an awful lot when he got there.
"He'll win plenty of races and I have to commend Ballinrobe on the fabulous job they've done with the ground here. We weren't afraid to bring up a good horse like that. They do a super job and I hope they enjoyed seeing him here.
"He has been in Enda Bolger's before coming to us and has done loads of jumping. Whether he goes for a winners' bumper or maiden hurdle I don't know, but he has lots of jumping done and jumps well."
