Rooster boost for Bula

Reigning champion hurdler Rooster Booster remains on course to return to action in the Tote Bula Hurdle at Cheltenham on Saturday week.

The Pertemps ‘Fighting Fifth’ Hurdle at Newcastle last month had been mentioned as a possible starting point for the Philip Hobbs-trained nine-year-old, but a number of factors ruled him out of that contest.

“The Bula Hurdle is the plan for Rooster Booster,” Hobbs said today. “The ground was a bit too quick at Newcastle and also it was going to cause us jockey problems as we knew Richard (Johnson) was going to be at Newbury.

“It didn’t really suit the owner (Terry Warner) as well come to that so it was easier to wait for Cheltenham.”

Plenty of trainers have been forced to delay the seasonal reappearance of their stable stars due to a lack of rain and unsuitable ground.

But Hobbs has had few opportunities to run Rooster Booster due to the grey’s vast improvement during the last campaign.

“Rooster Booster is now rated 170 and there just aren’t the options for him that there were last year – that’s the only difference,” he explained.

Despite Rooster Booster having risen almost a stone and a half in the ratings since the beginning of last season, Hobbs is cautiously optimistic that his charge may find further improvement during this campaign.

“Everything is possible – he improved enormously last year so we hope that he might have done again. But obviously he is getting older,” he added.

Rooster Booster got the better of Landing Light in this event last year and would join an illustrious band of hurdlers if he can repeat the feat – Comedy Of Errors (1973 and 1974), Bird’s Nest (1977, 1978 and 1980), Large Action (1994 and 1996) and Relkeel (1997, 1998 and 1999) being the only multiple winners of the race.