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A good field tomorrow to take on the Booster .
Flame Creek ( surely a candidate for that overrated horse of the year thread )
Rooster Booster
The French Furze
Rigmarole ( RW rides DM after all)
Specular
Davenport Millenium
Hasty Prince
Spirit Leader
The latter gets 11lb from the Booster .
She to me is the only real threat receiving such alot of weight unless Specular is an Aussie Sea Pigeon
Jesus, you guys should set up your own shrine or website to Rooster Booster, I’d say Philip Hobbs has a restraining order out on you guys, bet your not allowed within 2 Miles of the rooster!:biggrin:
If he does not win tomorrow, will I arrange some counselling for you guys!!!!
<br>I’ve had a long look at the Bula Hurdle and I can’t see any prospect of a genuine pace. In a sprint from the top of the hill, I don’t see RB or the mare being totally effective as both have produced their very best in races with a strong pace.
Definitely a no bet race for me purely because of the pace concern.
AP
In the Bula, Rooster Booster has by far the best ratings, but I didn’t really want to back or lay him at the prices. I had intended to have a bit on Davenport Millenium to run into a place, but the non-runner, leaving just 2 places has changed my mind.
My theory was that many people may not remember just what a good horse he was as a 5 & 6yo. He ran some very decent races against championship class horses at level weights. He has only raced twice in the last 18 months, but both times he has ran fair races in grade 1 company when supposedly needing the run. If they get a good run at training him this year, he could surprise a few people later on in the season.
He’s another one who wouldn’t want a slowly run 2 miles though.
<br>I bet that Jonjo’s wishing he entered the Cowboy as a precaution now after Specular’s setback.
<br>I can’t believe that Jonjo’s asking him to concede over a stone, over a trip which is probably going to be well past his best on his seasonal debut also
Also for the Bula I can’t see past Rooster:biggrin:
I’m not in the least perturbed by that.
a) the horse was coughing recently.<br>b) he travelled well enough in the race<br>c) he’ll improve a lot for the run<br>d) I backed Rigmarole :biggrin: <br>e) I’ve got Rigmarole at 250.0 for the Champion Hurdle :biggrin: :cool:
It was always a possible scenario (over-reaction). I was prepared to accept last season that he’d lose a race before the big one, and he nearly did at Sandown. I sometimes think the big stables prefer if the pressure’s off, which can happen after a defeat. The press will be all about Rhinestone now and Johnjo will have to put up with the press.
Obviously I’d have preferred to see RB win but the race was a very false event. Having said that, Rigmarole showed good versatility here to win a muddling affair after defying top weight off a very fast pace at the Open meeting. I’d be very surprised if he was good enough to win but I managed to lay off my entire bet at 20.0 an hour after the race. I’m also sure Spirit Leader is a long way better than she showed here.
So, my Champion Hurdle ‘portfolio’ is looking OK:
Rooster Booster (13/2)<br>Spirit Leader (5/1, place only)<br>Rigmarole (230.0 with no downside).
Barmy news . <br>I went down to the paddock and the Booster looked fit but not at concert pitch . They crawled all the way round and he was virtually in a half Nelson . I was shouting let him go on .
When RB pulled Johnson’s arms out last year he let him go at the top of the hill and he won . Why did he not do it today ? He would have hacked up . Perhaps in future they should run Do L’Enfant D Eau as a pacemaker .
Despite the deliberate crawl set by Walsh the Booster was in front when he got the last all wrong – he would probably have won but for that mistake .
RC once again shone off a slowish pace – if he really has been made CH fav for winning a 2m 4f slowly run handicap hurdle on very soft ground when he was 7lb well in the world is barmy .
What price is the Booster ?
(Edited by Ardross at 8:00 pm on Dec. 13, 2003)
You can also get 11/8 place only Rooster Booster at betfair. Talk about buying money!!!:cool:
Alastair Down is obviously a big fan too, given his post-race commetns at the end of his interview with Hobbs.
I’ve been going over today’s events again this evening and the more I do the more I’m convinced I can cross off Rhinestone Cowboy from the danger list ;)
Talk of Davenport Milenium being a challenger is equally absurd.
He finished his interview, in which Hobbs seemed unperturbed by the defeat, by saying something along the lines of "So I can just go and back him for the Champion Hurdle [at about 5/1]…"
Hobbs just smiled.
apracing…very good call regarding the likely lack of pace and the resulting sprint finish but wouldn’t the thing to do in those circumstances be to lay those at the front of the market rather than make it a no-bet race? Where there’s no pace my view is that a race becomes little more than a lottery.
On a general point regarding Rooster Booster I’ve commented elsewhere in relation to Best Mate about the ludicrous over-reaction to one defeat and there’s more of the same in today’s Sunday Times. Andrew Longmore writes of yesterday’s race: "…the inevitable conclusion is that a successful defence of [Rooster Booster’s] title in three months’ time is a fading prospect." To come to this conclusion as a result of watching the Bula is ridiculous. The race bore no resemblance to how the Champion will be run and judging RB on the strength of it is like judging him on his unimpressive win at Sandown in February in another small field/slow pace scenario which of course immediately preceded his Champion Hurdle romp. Although I’m not intending to back RB for the Champion myself – on balance I think ten-year-old hurdlers are to be opposed at the top level – to write down his chance after yesterday is plain daft.
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