Commander primed for Gold defence

Imperial Commander continues to please Nigel Twiston-Davies ahead of his totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup defence on Friday.

The 10-year-old has been seen just once in competitive action this season, landing the Betfair Chase at Haydock, although he has enjoyed a couple of racecourse gallops in recent weeks.

He was largely dismissed in the race 12 months ago with much of the hype surrounding Kauto Star and Denman, but this year Imperial Commander heads the market and his trainer admits there is much more pressure this time.

After seeing his star turn enjoy a canter with Christie’s Foxhunter hope Baby Run, Twiston-Davies told Channel 4 Racing: “It’s going well. He did a really good bit of work yesterday and is having an easy day today.

“There is a lot more pressure this year but hopefully he’ll be back where he belongs.

“If he’d finished third last year everyone would have been delighted. We knew he was really well and we know he’s really well this time, so hopefully he can do it again.”

The Naunton handler also issued an upbeat bulletin on Champion Hurdle hope Khyber Kim, who chased home Binocular in the race last year.

“We’re very happy with him. People forget he was only three lengths behind Binocular and he’s in as good a form this year,” the trainer added.