No stretch of turf in British racing – or perhaps in all of sport – delivers last-gasp drama as reliably as the uphill run from the final fence to the line at Cheltenham. The climax to the December Gold Cup on Saturday proved the point once again, as Fugitif made at least four lengths from the last and caught Il Ridoto in the shadow of the post.
But while the head-bobbing finish in the final split-second of the race understandably grabbed the headlines, the 511 seconds beforehand were a spectacle too. Bryony Frost ended up, albeit narrowly, as the loser on the day, but her performance on Il Ridoto was as fine a ride in defeat as you could ever wish to see.
