Richard Hobson believes the best is yet to come from Fugitif following his brave second at Cheltenham on Festival Trials Day.
An emphatic winner at Chepstow on his penultimate start, he was sent off the 7-2 favourite for the Paddy Power Cheltenham Countdown Podcast Handicap Chase at Prestbury Park and justified those odds to run a fine race for the silver medal.
He was just one length adrift of winner Il Ridoto at the line after the two were embroiled in a titanic tussle all the way from the home turn and up the Cheltenham hill to the winning post – with the duo some 16 lengths clear of Precious Eleanor in third.
Up 6lb for that effort to a mark of 149, Hobson is now excited to see how far the eight-year-old can rise through the ranks and is relishing the prospect of stepping Fugitif up to three miles next season.
He said: "He went there in great order and he was flat to the boards the whole way which suggests one day he is going to get further and stepping up in trip next year will be absolutely key for him.
"The ground wasn't for him at Cheltenham, I was concerned about the ground and it was nearly riding good ground on the day. As you know from his Chepstow performance, the wetter the better helps him a bit.
"He was bucking round the paddock and you just knew if he was first, second, third or fourth he would run a big race. But if he has those key factors in his favour – i.e. soft ground so he can just travel a bit more in his comfort zone – then he is going to be very, very dangerous moving forward given those conditions.
"I said he was a Saturday afternoon horse two years ago and he's definitely a graded horse on that performance."
He went on: "If he does have the stamina I think he has – with that huge action of his and with the way he can jump and get himself into a two-and-a-half-mile race, imagine how dangerous he could be over three miles when getting a breather the whole way.
"He didn't half put it up to a quick horse the other day and at this stage it is just exciting to be where we are. Hopefully we can enjoy a big race success somewhere before the end of the season."
