Mileage is what counts says Gold Cup winner’s trainer

The trainer knows that history is against this Cheltenham course-specialist. Only Kauto Star, one of Imperial Commander’s chief rivals, and three-time winner Best Mate have successfully defended the Gold Cup since Arkle galloped into immortality in the 1960s.

Ten-year-old horses – Imperial Commander now falls into this category – have a poor record in this race. In recent times, only the Adrian Maguire-inspired Cool Ground (1992) and the Andrew Thornton-ridden Cool Dawn (1998) have triumphed at such an age.

However Twiston-Davies scoffed at the concept of Imperial Commander being too old to win another Gold Cup by pointing out that his stable star is a year younger than both the aforementioned Kauto Star and the 2008 hero Denman.

He also recalled that Imperial Commander’s Gold Cup chances were written off before he won top honours at last year’s NH Festival,

And Twiston-Davies also pointed to his charge’s lighter career of just 18 races under Rules and a solitary Irish point-to-point.

“How old was Kauto Star comparatively, when you think how early he started (in France)?” queried the outspoken trainer.

“Imperial Commander has had very few runs. He started at a very late age, so this ageing thing doesn’t seem the same with horses – it depends how much they have done. It’s miles on the clock.”

Imperial Commander is the 7-2 favourite ahead of King George winner Long Run at 5s and Kauto Star and Denman at 13-2, with Twiston-Davies believing it will boil down to the older trio again.

But he is typically confident that his Cheltenham specialist will be the one to lead them home, even though Imperial Commander has not run competitively since winning the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November – his only run of an injury-hit season.

“Everyone makes too much of racecourses,” he went on. “He could run the other way around and he wins there (Cheltenham) because he runs there most. I don’t think his form at Haydock is very bad either.

“I suppose it inconveniences others more, because he does jump well. With the ups and downs, I don’t know whether Long Run or Diamond Harry, the Hennessy winner, will be quite so comfortable as they were around Newbury or Kempton respectively.

“But certainly I fear the old brigade of Denman and Kauto Star. They are the ones that proved it and worry me more, but having said that, he’s beaten them.

“I can’t see what should be ahead of him in the betting. That’s why he’s the favourite, there’s no young whippersnapper that frightens me.”

Following Imperial Commander’s recovery from a cut leg, Twiston-Davies took him to work first at Warwick and then Kempton last Saturday. “He’s easy enough to get fit and has had two racecourse gallops,” he added. “If he’s not fit then, he never will be.”

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