2003 Champion Hurdle
| 73rd Champion Hurdle Cheltenham, 11 March 2003 |
| won by Rooster Booster (GB) |
The 2003 Champion Hurdle was a horse race held at Cheltenham Racecourse on Tuesday 11 March 2003.[1] It was the 73rd running of the Champion Hurdle.
The race was won by Terry Warner's Rooster Booster, a nine-year-old gelding trained in Somerset by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Richard Johnson. His victory was the first in the race for his owner, trainer and jockey.
Rooster Booster started at odds of 9/2 and won by eleven lengths from Westender, with the favourite Rhinestone Cowboy in third. Hors La Loi III who refused to race and was left at the start, was the only previous winner of the race to line up for the race: other runners included Intersky Falcon, Landing Light and Like-A-Butterfly. Fourteen of the seventeen runners completed the course.
Race details
- Sponsor: Smurfit
- Purse: £300,000; First prize: £174,000
- Going: Good
- Distance: 2 miles 110 yards
- Number of runners: 17
- Winner's time: 3m 54.70
Full result
| Pos. | Marg. | Horse (bred) | Age | Jockey | Trainer (Country) | Odds |
| 1 | Rooster Booster (GB) | 9 | Richard Johnson | Philip Hobbs (GB) | 9/2 | |
| 2 | 11 | Westender (FR) | 7 | Rodi Greene | Martin Pipe (GB) | 33/1 |
| 3 | 3 | Rhinestone Cowboy (IRE) | 7 | Norman Williamson | Jonjo O'Neill (GB) | 5/2 fav |
| 4 | ¾ | Self Defense (GB) | 6 | Barry Keniry | Emma Lavelle (GB) | 100/1 |
| 5 | 2½ | Intersky Falcon (GB) | 6 | Liam Cooper | Jonjo O'Neill (GB) | 5/1 |
| 6 | 4 | In Contrast (IRE) | 6 | Barry Geraghty | Philip Hobbs (GB) | 25/1 |
| 7 | 2 | Landing Light (IRE) | 8 | Mick Fitzgerald | Nicky Henderson (GB) | 14/1 |
| 8 | 2 | Holy Orders (IRE) | 6 | J. R. Barry | Willie Mullins (IRE) | 100/1 |
| 9 | 5 | Santenay (FR) | 5 | Ruby Walsh | Paul Nicholls (GB) | 33/1 |
| 10 | hd | Like-A-Butterfly (IRE) | 9 | Charlie Swan | Christy Roche (IRE) | 13/2 |
| 11 | 4 | Scottish Memories (IRE) | 7 | Paul Carberry | Noel Meade (IRE) | 25/1 |
| 12 | 1 | Marble Arch (GB) | 7 | Timmy Murphy | Hughie Morrison (GB) | 25/1 |
| 13 | 16 | Flame Creek (IRE) | 7 | Seamus Durack | Noel Chance (GB) | 14/1 |
| 14 | 2½ | Scolardy (IRE) | 5 | David Casey | Willie Mullins (IRE) | 66/1 |
| Fell | Copeland (GB) | 8 | A. P. McCoy | Martin Pipe (GB) | 25/1 | |
| LFT | Hors La Loi III (FR) | 8 | Tony Dobbin | James Fanshawe (GB) | 14/1 | |
| Fell | Iberus (GER) | 5 | Tom Scudamore | Martin Pipe (GB) | 100/1 |
- Abbreviations: nse = nose; nk = neck; hd = head; dist = distance; UR = unseated rider; PU = pulled up; LFT = left at start
Winner's details
Further details of the winner, Rooster Booster
- Sex: Gelding
- Foaled: 1 April 1994
- Country: United Kingdom
- Sire: Riverwise; Dam: Came Cottage (Nearly A Hand)
- Owner: Terry Warner
- Breeder: Mrs E Mitchell
References
- ^ "Champion Hurdle result". Racing Post. 11 March 2003. Retrieved 2014-03-18.