2010 was the year when Imperial Commander and Paddy Brennan crashed the Denman and Kauto Star show to win a famous victory in the Cheltenham Totesport Gold Cup. Imperial Commander had won the Ryanair Chase at the previous year’s Festival, but had been unable to follow this up at the Punchestown Festival, when something was clearly amiss with the horse. Despite this undoubted set back, Nigel Twiston-Davies never waivered in his believe that Imperial Commander could win the top prize in National Hunt racing, The Cheltenham Gold Cup. His first run of the new season saw him come up against the Champion Kauto Star. Many trainers may have dodged this meeting with Kauto, so early in the season, but not Nigel. The Betfair Chase at Haydock was the perfect start to the season, despite the result, which still seems odd, as I think 99% of people there felt that he’d won. The result showed however that Kauto won by a nose. It did show however, that Imperial Commander did indeed have the necessary class to make an impact in the top races. Next up was the King George, where it is fair to say the Twiston-Davies camp must have felt they had a fighting chance of upsetting the odds against Kauto Star. It wasn’t to be their day as Kauto Star was at his brilliant best, on the track he loves the best.
Three months on and Imperial Commander looked the business, Nigel kept saying that his horse could win, but i’m pretty sure that most people didn’t believe it. Well that’s racing folks, Kauto Star made one to many mistakes, before coming down four out, and Denman had no answers as Imperial Commander and Paddy Brennan stretched up the hill to win as he liked. Our race photo of Imperial Commander shows them going over the last on their way to victory.
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