December Gold Cup winner Fugitif must do more to become a serious Cheltenham Festival contender

The highlight of Saturday's action was the December Gold Cup at Cheltenham, with the race providing a great finish as Fugitif got the better of longtime leader Il Ridoto at the post. 

In winning, progressive chaser Fugitif achieved a career-best Racing Post Rating of 162 with Il Ridoto running up to his career-best RPR of 154. Both improved on their seasonal reappearances in the Paddy Power Gold Cup from a month earlier. 

Plans for the first and second for the rest of the season are unlikely to be concrete at this stage, but both are likely to be aimed at the festival in March, where last season they competed in the Plate with Fugitif finishing second and Il Ridoto further down the field in sixth.