The Gloucestershire-trained Fugitif is primed and ready for the showpiece race at the November Meeting.

The nine-year-old will be up against some big names in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham on Saturday (2.20pm), including the Paul Nicholls-trained Ginny’s Destiny and Ga Law, who is trained by Jamie Snowden, but trainer Richard Hobson and his team are looking forward to the challenge.

And they know what to expect, too, because Fugitif ran in the two-and-a-half-mile race last season and impressed when finishing fourth in a race that was won by Stage Star.

That was another winner for Nicholls, but Hobson is hopeful that Fugitif, who will be ridden by Kielan Woods, can go even better this time around.

“I’m hoping we can finish in the top three,” said Hobson, who is based at Little Rissington in the heart of the Cotswolds.

That would be some run but Fugitif has been a regular runner at Cheltenham – he ran there four times last season – and knows what it’s like to win at the home of National Hunt racing.

That win came under Gavin Sheehan in the Gold Cup Handicap Chase in December last year.

It was run over just over two-and-a-half miles and he beat the Nicholls-trained Il Ridoto, who is among the leading fancies for the big race on Saturday, into second place.

Sheehan was on board Fugitif in last year’s Paddy Power Gold Cup – he’s riding Ga Law on Saturday – and Hobson said: “Kielan was his original jockey, he’s had a winner on him at Newcastle, he’s a good jockey.”

That was one of five wins for Fugitif in 24 races – his other wins have been at Chepstow, Worcester and Uttoxeter – and he’s also finished second at Cheltenham on three occasions, including in the Magners Plate Handicap Hurdle at last year’s Festival.

He ran in the Festival again this year in the Ryanair Chase but was pulled up with five jumps to go and he was also pulled up at Aintree a month later in the William Hill Handicap Chase.

That was his most recent outing and Hobson said: “The first three races of last season were tough, he had a hard Clarence House Chase.”

Fugitif had a wind operation in September and Hobson continued: “He had one four years ago, too, that was when he started climbing the ladder.

“We’ve done enough for him to run a good race on Saturday.”

Fugitif can be backed at around 16-1 with Ginny’s Destiny set to go off as a favourite.

The three-day November Meeting starts on Friday with the first race at 1.10pm.