Hobbs & Johnson take big one at Cheltenham Village Vic made all under Richard Johnson to lead home a Philip Hobbs-trained one-two, with Champagne West second, in the Caspian Caviar Gold Cup at Cheltenham. The eight-year-old was unbeaten in two starts this term and he rattled in a hat-trick in emphatic style, making most of the weight he received from all of his rivals. Johnson judged the gallop perfectly and he had a willing partner who winged everything, unlike Little Jon who made a bad mistake in front of the stands when sitting just off Village Vic in second. Champagne West and Tenor Nivernais emerged as the only dangers approaching the final fence, but Village Vic was not for catching up the hill and he prevailed 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." Hobbs revealed that the first he'd heard of Johnson's decision to partner Village Vic ahead of Champagne West was when agent Dave Roberts had told him as much. He said: "I didn't speak to Richard about it at all, but I was happy to leave the decision to him - I could hardly predict they would be first and second. To be honest, what was going through my mind after the first few fences was that they were going too quick, but he got it just right. "He does 10st a couple of times a year. Sometimes when he does that he's dehydrated and can't talk much afterwards. I think he might be able to talk today! "Champagne West is a second-season novice and I'm hoping there is plenty of room for improvement. He had a nasty injury to his hock when he fell at Sandown last year which thankfully was no problem. He had to be operated on at Newmarket. "For Village Vic this was D-Day. It was fantastic. He had a year off with injury, some time back and has come back well now. "He had a minor tendon injury which he wouldn't have known much about. He wasn't lame or anything, so I don't think it was a big problem for him." On immediate plans, he added: "With Champagne West the obvious thing is to come back here in January, there are two races, one at the start at the month and one at the end. We'll see how comes out of it. That's the obvious option for both of them. Then there is the handicap over this trip at the Festival."
