Imperial Commander ruled out
IMPERIAL COMMANDER may not be seen out until he defends his Gold Cup crown at Cheltenham in March.
Nigel Twiston-Davies’s gelding was confined to his box for 10 days with a cut leg after winning his comeback race at Haydock last month.
Despite an upbeat bulletin less than a week ago, ‘The Commander’ developed a leg infection and Twiston-Davies has admitted defeat in trying to get his stable star ready for the William Hill King George VI Chase on Boxing Day. The sponsors reacted by making Kauto Star evens favourite in his bid to win Kempton’s Christmas showpiece for the fifth consecutive year.
Twiston-Davies said: “I’m not bottling it. He’s back on antibiotics and he can’t canter for two weeks. He will probably go straight to the Gold Cup.”
The Naunton trainer had some compensation when ending Paul Nicholls’s five-year dominance in the National Hunt category at the Derby awards in London yesterday, when Brough Scott, of the Racing Post, was named Racing Journalist of the Year.