Final Punchestown for Robbie Power as he retires on Friday

Experienced jockey Robbie Power began to wind down his career with victory on Magic Daze at the Punchestown Festival on Thursday.

The 40-year-old will cease riding after the Festival and will look back on a rich career which has seen him win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Grand National and the Irish Grand National among various other major jumps races.

Despite being hamperered by injuries Power almost went out with a bang and finished second in the Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Minella Indo.

The win on on Henry de Bromhead's Magic Daze in the Pigsback.com Handicap Chase was a great way to look towards the next phase in his life but he still has a couple of rides culminating with one on Gordon Elliott's Teahupoo in the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle.

Power said: "It's down to the injuries. I had my back operated on last summer, got back in October and then I fractured my hip. I'm 41 next month and I'm not getting any younger. I had injections in my hip but it didn't really work.

"The whole family are coming tomorrow and I've got a couple of good rides left. My wife knew and my agent knew, but my father always told me if you tell one person you've told one person too many so I was trying to keep it as quiet as possible.

"There's been several days I've woke up thinking this was it. If I'd won the Gold Cup I'd have gone then, but Punchestown has been lucky for me so to go here, where I rode my first winner and now I'm guaranteed to ride my last one here, that will do.

"It's a relief to announce it, as even this morning my agent was asking me if I was sure. I wanted to go out on something of a high but I have to do exercises every morning just to enable me to ride.

"I've been doing it 21 years and if someone said I'd ride the winners I have I'd have taken it. To ride for Jessica Harrington basically my whole career, I've been very lucky. She took me under her wing and nearly all my big winners were for her.

"She stood by me through all the highs and lows and has been an unbelievable mentor to me."