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In the town that coined the dreaded word "chav" - short for Cheltenham average - City turned in a glorious performance that was anything but.
The snobs of Cheltenham Ladies College came up with the dismissive nickname to describe the so-called common locals.
But the high school high-brows could hardly look down their refined noses at the quality on offer from the visitors on Saturday.
Ignore the scoreline, which suggests it was nip and tuck. In the shadows of the famous racecourse, City won at a canter.
Cheltenham will point to the controversial dismissal of skipper John Finnigan as a crucial moment of the game - but it was no turning point.
Yes, the home side were leading at the time but that was only thanks to a goal handed on a plate by a sloppy clearance and they had spent most of the opening half hour repelling a blue tide.
The third-minute setback was a shocker and hardly the birthday gift the recalled Richard Edghill was thinking about. Instead of heading Brian Wilson's cross out of danger, he misdirected it straight back across the penalty area to Kayode Odejayi, who made no mistake.
Odejayi was a thorn in City's side for most of the game and created their best chance of a second for substitute David Bird but Nathan Doyle denied him with an athletic clearance off the line.
Jerry Gill had done the same to thwart David Graham at the other end - one of a string of chances City carved but failed to take in a dominant first half.
Graham, living up to his manager's backing, was a constant menace to the Cheltenham back four and his link-up play with Dean Windass gave their young markers plenty to worry about.
They were supported by a hungry, energetic midfield who went forward at every opportunity; Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Steve Schumacher driving through the middle, while Lee Holmes and Jermaine Johnson probed the flanks.
JJ, once again, was a revelation - and a world away from the home winger of the same name. He scored one and could have had two or three more.
Pity poor Craig Armstrong, the man given the thankless task of trying to keep him quiet. Armstrong had a miserable time at City but nothing like as miserable as the 90 minutes of torture he was put through by the jack-in-the-box Jamaican.
The defender appeared to have a set-to with Colin Todd after the final whistle. He was disappointed with the way things went at Valley Parade but his frustration with his one-time gaffer was surely based more on his inability to get in the same post-code as the Bantams right winger.
And I've got bad news for Armstrong and the left-back union in League One - Johnson reckons that he can still improve.
"I know I can do more than that," he said afterwards. "It was a very good game but I was feeling a bit tired at the end.
"I've wanted to score more goals and I was very pleased but I could have had two more with a bit of luck. Armstrong said to me afterwards that I'd played well, so that was nice to hear.
"Everything felt right but I've got to come again next week. I'm looking forward to Doncaster now and I'll try hard to get another goal."
City have covered a fair amount of motorway in the past three weeks and will welcome the short hop to Belle Vue tomorrow night. The spirits will be even higher after an away win that, somehow, took a long time coming.
Johnson, Windass, Bridge-Wilkinson, Schumacher and David Wetherall all had chances to level before half-time but City were proving their own worst enemies by snatching at shots, although the skipper can count himself unlucky to see his header unwittingly blocked by the legs of goalkeeper Scott Brown.
It was Brown's first appearance since January - and first in the league at home ever - but City ensured the stand-in stopper was given plenty of work to make up for all that waiting.
Regular keeper Shane Higgs was the latest addition on Cheltenham's lengthening injury list in the week and their problems increased with the departure of capta
The snobs of Cheltenham Ladies College came up with the dismissive nickname to describe the so-called common locals.
But the high school high-brows could hardly look down their refined noses at the quality on offer from the visitors on Saturday.
Ignore the scoreline, which suggests it was nip and tuck. In the shadows of the famous racecourse, City won at a canter.
Cheltenham will point to the controversial dismissal of skipper John Finnigan as a crucial moment of the game - but it was no turning point.
Yes, the home side were leading at the time but that was only thanks to a goal handed on a plate by a sloppy clearance and they had spent most of the opening half hour repelling a blue tide.
The third-minute setback was a shocker and hardly the birthday gift the recalled Richard Edghill was thinking about. Instead of heading Brian Wilson's cross out of danger, he misdirected it straight back across the penalty area to Kayode Odejayi, who made no mistake.
Odejayi was a thorn in City's side for most of the game and created their best chance of a second for substitute David Bird but Nathan Doyle denied him with an athletic clearance off the line.
Jerry Gill had done the same to thwart David Graham at the other end - one of a string of chances City carved but failed to take in a dominant first half.
Graham, living up to his manager's backing, was a constant menace to the Cheltenham back four and his link-up play with Dean Windass gave their young markers plenty to worry about.
They were supported by a hungry, energetic midfield who went forward at every opportunity; Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and Steve Schumacher driving through the middle, while Lee Holmes and Jermaine Johnson probed the flanks.
JJ, once again, was a revelation - and a world away from the home winger of the same name. He scored one and could have had two or three more.
Pity poor Craig Armstrong, the man given the thankless task of trying to keep him quiet. Armstrong had a miserable time at City but nothing like as miserable as the 90 minutes of torture he was put through by the jack-in-the-box Jamaican.
The defender appeared to have a set-to with Colin Todd after the final whistle. He was disappointed with the way things went at Valley Parade but his frustration with his one-time gaffer was surely based more on his inability to get in the same post-code as the Bantams right winger.
And I've got bad news for Armstrong and the left-back union in League One - Johnson reckons that he can still improve.
"I know I can do more than that," he said afterwards. "It was a very good game but I was feeling a bit tired at the end.
"I've wanted to score more goals and I was very pleased but I could have had two more with a bit of luck. Armstrong said to me afterwards that I'd played well, so that was nice to hear.
"Everything felt right but I've got to come again next week. I'm looking forward to Doncaster now and I'll try hard to get another goal."
City have covered a fair amount of motorway in the past three weeks and will welcome the short hop to Belle Vue tomorrow night. The spirits will be even higher after an away win that, somehow, took a long time coming.
Johnson, Windass, Bridge-Wilkinson, Schumacher and David Wetherall all had chances to level before half-time but City were proving their own worst enemies by snatching at shots, although the skipper can count himself unlucky to see his header unwittingly blocked by the legs of goalkeeper Scott Brown.
It was Brown's first appearance since January - and first in the league at home ever - but City ensured the stand-in stopper was given plenty of work to make up for all that waiting.
Regular keeper Shane Higgs was the latest addition on Cheltenham's lengthening injury list in the week and their problems increased with the departure of capta
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