THAT'S RICH!

Hobson relieved by Fugitif's great escape

- DAVID YATES

FUGITIF got out of jail in the December Gold Cup to stretch Gavin Sheehan's hot streak and free Richard Hobson from Cheltenham's cold list.

As Il Ridoto and Bryony Frost hurtled into a clear lead on the run to the second-last-3-1 favourite Thunder Rock and Sean Bowen had drawn stumps two fences earlier - victory for the Paul Nicholls sixyear-old looked assured.

But Sheehan, at his masterful best aboard Datsalrightgino in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury two weeks earlier, urged his mount in pursuit to nail the longtime leader strides from the finishing post for a short-head margin.