The Cheltenham Festival burst into life on Tuesday, and the mare Annie Power stole the show winning the Champion Hurdle.

Trained by Willie Mullins, she was sent to the front by Ruby Walsh, and kicked away from her rivals at the top of the home straight and made no mistake at the final flight this time, having come to grief in the same position in the OLBG Mares' Hurdle 12 months ago.

She scored in a course record time of 3m 45.10s, eclipsing the previous record of 3m 45.25s set by Jezki in 2014 and became the first mare since Flakey Dove in 1994 to win the Champion Hurdle and only the fourth in the race's history.

My Tent Or Yours, who travelled well for a long way on his first start in more than 700 days, took second for Nicky Henderson, with the winner's stablemate Nichols Canyon in third.

The win sparked wild scenes of celebration both among connections and in the packed grandstands, with Walsh failing to hold back the tears as he made his way back to the winner's enclosure.

An emotional Walsh admitted he had taken inspiration from the Champion Hurdle victory of the great Dawn Run in 1984 as he formulated his game plan.

"We always thought she had [the pace to win a Champion Hurdle]," said Walsh, as the mare was installed as a 5-1 chance with William Hill to retain her title in 2017.

"Willie asked me the other day what I was going to do and I'd looked up Dawn Run the other night and I said I was going to ride her like she's Dawn Run. If they catch me, they catch me.

"She's put in a brilliant performance and it was brilliant of Rich and Susannah to supplement her. She's a cracking mare."

Walsh was not the only one in tears after the race, with owner Rich Ricci delivering on his promise of crying in the event of his star mare finally coming home in front at the Festival.

The win followed not only last year's Mares' Hurdle heartache but an agonising defeat by More Of That in the World Hurdle two years ago.

Whatever Tuesday delivered, Wednesday matched it all the way, with Sprinter Sacre receiving the loudest cheer I've ever heard after landing the Queen Mother Champion Chase.

When Sprinter Sacre swept into the home straight with Nico de Boinville high in his irons as he had done 12 months previously after the Cheltenham Gold Cup, they met a roar that the jockey later compared to Coneygree’s triumph.

“Dreams do actually happen, they come alive,” emotional trainer Nicky Henderson said.

“There is something about a dethroned king coming back because it is tough to do. This has probably given me most pleasure. We can go back to the good old days of See You Then when we were young and thinking it was good fun. This place is very special.”

And today, at Cheltenham, it's all eyes on the Gold Cup, a cracking renewal - and I'm firmly with Don Cossack.

Trained in Ireland by the excellent Gorden Elliott, he will relish the drying ground and Bryan Cooper has confirmed he will ride ahead of Don Poli in the Grade One contest.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, Cooper told me: "I will ride Don Cossack.

"The ground is plenty dry enough, he's officially the highest rated horse in training. The decision is made and I won't be changing my mind.

"I haven't waited this long (to make a decision for nothing), there was a lot of water to go under the bridge It wasn't an easy decision because if you get it wrong, you'd be kicking yourself for the next six months.

"He's in tremendous form, Gordon has him in top shape. We'll be out to prove to all the doubters that he doesn't handle Cheltenham that they're wrong."