Detroit City put in another impressive display at Cheltenham

Richard Johnson's mount, the 2006 Triumph Hurdle winner, went off as 4-6 odds-on favourite.

He raced away from the dual Champion Hurdle winner on the long run-in to the final fence.

Although Hardy Eustace battled back strongly up the Cheltenham hill, Detroit City held on for victory.

Detroit City did not look fluent over some of his hurdles but warmed to his task as the tempo quickened, with Johnson looking around momentarily before the pair turned into the home straight.

Hardy Eustace quickly drew alongside on the sprint to the last but Detroit City found an impressive burst of speed to quicken two or three lengths ahead on the approach and looked in control after that.

Trainer Philip Hobbs was happy with his charge's run: "It was always likely to be a falsely run race and I think it probably was.

"He was a bit sloppy early on but I suppose he doesn't really have that much experience.

"A few of those hurdles early on, he wasn't very slick at, but he's probably still learning and hopefully he's still improving.

"I really don't know what the next target would be but I suppose part of the programme would probably be the Agfa Hurdle at Sandown in early February. We'll have to see if he runs before that."

He's just a fantastic horse to ride. He keeps improving Detroit City's jockey Richard Johnson

Hardy Eustace's trainer Dessie Hughes was far from downcast with the defeat.

"We'll see in March as he was beaten a length giving away 4lb and it was a messy race," he said. "He really doesn't like this ground and it was the same tacky ground at Aintree which is what he really doesn't need."

Earlier, Exotic Dancer completed a Cheltenham double with an impressive victory in the Boylesports.com Gold Cup.

The 8-1 chance, who was ridden by Tony Dobbin, had also won last month's Paddy Power Gold Cup under Tony McCoy at the same track.

The Jonjo O'Neill-trained six-year-old fought out an exciting battle with Knowhere from the final turn.

But he jumped the final two fences much better than his rivals and came away up the hill for a confident victory by a length and a half.

International Hurdle
1. Detroit City (R Johnson) 4-6 Fav
2. Hardy Eustace (C O'Dwyer) 6-4
4 ran