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Rooster is the call to outgun the Cowboy
By Graham Cunningham, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 10.03.03By half past three tomorrow, the whole racing world will know whether Rhinestone Cowboy is the new Istabraq or just another imitation diamond.
If ante-post money talks then Jonjo O'Neill's gelding is the natural heir to the triple champion, but ignore the hype in the Smurfit Champion Hurdle and take an eachway punt on Rooster Booster.
The case for Rhinestone Cowboy is simple, according to those who have backed him down from 16-1 to 9-4 over the last three months.
It runs as follows. Here is a horse who was fast enough to lead some of the world's best Flat horses in his early days at Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle yard and has never come off the bridle in four runs over hurdles.
Add on the fact that he's trained by the charismatic Jonjo O'Neill and it's hardly surprising to see him quoted as market leader. But is he a betting proposition? Some pundits seeking chinks in his armour have pointed to his inexperience, while others have hinted at potential flaws in his jumping.
And yet the most important question the favourite must answer relates to whether he's really good enough to beat the very best.
Granted, he had bundles in hand in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton last time but, with the current champion Hors La Loi out of sorts, he only had his fellow novice Thisthatandtother to beat.
A clearer view of that form will emerge once Thisthatandtother contests tomorrow's Supreme Novices' Hurdle. But until then, Rhinestone Cowboy is best judged on the one occasion when Norman Williamson had to ask him to dig deep.
It came in the Champion Bumper on the Wednesday of last year's Festival. To his credit, Rhinestone Cowboy found plenty in going down narrowly to Pizarro, but he didn't produce the killer turn of foot his supporters were hoping for. In short, he's well worth taking on at skinny odds.
Rooster Booster's remarkable progress since winning the Vincent O'Brien County Hurdle for Philip Hobbs and Richard Johnson here last year marks him out as the ideal alternative.
You could spend from now until next year trying to pin down the exact reasons why a horse who suffered 16 consecutive defeats prior to that Festival victory should suddenly blossom in the way that this striking grey has. But the form book doesn't lie, and the turn of foot Rooster Booster unleashed to win a high-class handicap and the Bula Hurdle here before Christmas was hugely impressive.
His latest win in a tactical contest at Sandown was nowhere near so convincing, but with a true gallop guaranteed this time he should be back in his element.
As always, ground conditions will have a big say in the outcome. Good ground is a worry for the big Irish hope Like-A-Butterfly, but Rhinestone Cowboy's stablemate Intersky Falcon will relish conditions and rates a danger to all with his slick jumping.
Flame Creek is also the sort to relish a sound surface, while Hors La Loi's superb Festival record makes him far from a lost cause despite his lack of solid form this season.
Last year's runner-up Marble Arch looks harder to fancy despite a recent win on the Flat, so anyone seeking a likely long-shot capable of getting involved should keep a close eye on Landing Light.
Nicky Henderson's quirky gelding wore blinkers for the first time when running a blinder to chase home Rooster Booster in the Bula and is 4lb better off this time around.
He's much better than his current position among the 16-1 shots would suggest, but whether he can beat a peak-form Rooster Booster remains to be seen.
Either way, the stage is set for a take-noprisoners battle in which Intersky Falcon will almost certainly try to slip his field coming down the hill.
One of the biggest roars of last year's Festival came at a similar stage in the Bumper, when racecourse commentator John Hunt whipped the packed stands into a frenzy by saying "there's a cowboy riding into town".
Those who lumped on at 5-2 on that occasion will recall that the cheers died in their throats close home.
And it could be a similar story again tomorrow.
And, if the Cowboy proves gunshy again then
Rooster Booster looks just the horse to take advantage close home.
