Princess Zoe Twitter spat over as owner and trainer keen to move on to Fairyhouse with star mare

Paddy Kehoe, the joint-owner of Princess Zoe, has told the Racing Post he regrets sending out a tweet criticising Danny Mullins' ride on his star mare at the Cheltenham Festival. 

The Prix du Cadran winner was supported into 9-1 for the Jack de Bromhead Mares' Novices' Hurdle last Thursday but crashed through the last and finished a never-nearer fifth behind You Wear It Well. 

Kehoe took to Twitter on Monday to publicly criticise the father-and-son team of Tony and Danny Mullins for the tactics employed, but has said it was a spur of the moment decision that he now regrets. He has since deleted the tweet. 

Kehoe said: "I was bitterly disappointed in the aftermath of the race and I shouldn't have said what I did. I regret it. It was just a spur of the moment thing. That was my best chance of having a Cheltenham winner and I even brought my 96-year-old mother over to collect the trophy. That's how sure I was that she would win!

"Mistakes were made and we will move on. There are plenty of races coming up that we can look forward to with Zoe. I've never had a problem with Tony and the way he has campaigned the mare. He's done a wonderful job and she always looks a picture before her races."

He added: "I was so proud of her at Cheltenham. She ran her heart out. She always runs her heart out. She doesn't have legs like Marilyn Monroe but the ones she does have don't half move! She's a mare of a lifetime and we're so lucky to have her. She could run over any distance, be it two miles or ten miles. It doesn't seem to matter to her. We'll head on to to Fairyhouse or Punchestown with her now and hopefully she'll continue to prove everyone wrong, just as she has spent her whole career doing."

Tony Mullins: "There's been no falling out"Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Tony Mullins stressed there had been no permanent damage to his relationship with Kehoe and was keen to put the issue behind them. He said: "There has been no falling out between myself and Paddy. I know Paddy gets very excited before a race and it's only natural for him to be disappointed afterwards. I don't blame him for that. 

"I've known Paddy for a very, very long time. I've ridden and trained plenty of winners for him. I've been with him for 40 years and we're not going to fall out now after all this time. I don’t like to see Paddy getting stick. He's a great character in racing and a great supporter of my yard. We'll just put it all behind us and move on."

Princess Zoe is set to bid for Grade 1 glory at Fairyhouse next month, when she is being aimed at the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final, the race in which Brandy Love beat Love Envoi last year. 

Mullins said: "The next stop for Princess Zoe is Fairyhouse. It is a Grade 1 so that means she won't be getting 5lb like she was at Cheltenham from a few of the mares. What negates that is the extra few furlongs which will really suit. We're looking forward to Fairyhouse now."

When asked whether his son Danny would keep the ride at Fairyhouse, the trainer replied: "Yes, Danny will definitely ride."

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