Village Vic ran his rivals ragged as he made the most of his light weight with an all-the-way win in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
Village Vic ran his rivals ragged as he made the most of his light weight with an all-the-way win in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham.
Title-chasing jockey Richard Johnson's decision to ride the Philip Hobbs-trained eight-year-old instead of stablemate Champagne West paid off in style and it was the latter who gave him the most to do.
Village Vic (8-1) enjoyed himself in front and the handicap snip, carrying the feather weight of 10st, galloped on resolutely up the hill to beat Champagne West by four and a half lengths.
Tenor Nivernais was a length away third, with Buywise fourth.
Johnson said: "He's been a fantastic horse, we thought the world of him as a younger horse, but he had injuries and the owners have been very patient.
"He's just starting to show the ability we thought he had two or three years ago.
"This is the first time he's really stayed two and a half on a very stiff track, but I always felt like he was going to find a bit more."
He added: "I wouldn't do 10st too often these days, but I always thought he had great chance and it's been well worth the while."