Trainer seeking first Cheltenham triumph confident 'stronger' Paddy Power Gold Cup hope Fugitif can defy weight rise

Richard Hobson is full of hope he can break his Cheltenham duck in spectacular style by landing the Paddy Power Gold Cup on Saturday.

The trainer could not be happier with progressive chaser Fugitif, who finished second three times at his local course last season, and does not believe a career-high mark will stop him in the £160,000 showpiece.

"It's exciting," said Hobson, whose Gloucestershire yard is less than 20 miles from Prestbury Park. "He's so well and he's really strengthened up. He's got to defy a rise in the weights but I think he will.