Imperial Commander Profile
Details for Imperial Commander are important to close followers of the Cheltenham Festival because the horse is a massive favourite to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Imperical Commander is a ten-year-old Bay Gelding trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies.
Details for Imperical Commander are vast because the horse has raced 18 times in top quality competition. These 18 races have produced a grand total of eight wins, one second place and one third place.
Career of Imperial Commander
The career of Imperial Commander started on October 25 2006 when the horse won by eight lengths over 16 furlongs at Cheltenham. Twiston-Davies then switched the distance of Imperial Commander's next two races at Cheltenham to 21 and 24 furlongs. These races produced sixth and eighth place finishes.
The career of Imperial Commander did not really take off until the back end of 2007 when two wins came from three races. Both of these wins came at Cheltenham and both came in impressive fashion that made the horse famous within the National Hunt community.
Attributes of Imperial Commander
There are many attributes of Imperial Commander that have been built up and made stronger by Twiston-Davies over time. The best out of all attributes of Imperial Commander is the horse's ability to make the running in a race.
Imperial Commander is a horse that likes to be right at the front of the pack and controlling the pace of a race. This allows the jockey to keep Imperial Commander in check before trying to open up a gap over the closing stages.
Power is one of the biggest attributes of Imperial Commander. The Bay Gelding is a huge horse and does not have to work overly hard in a race to set a high pace. Twiston-Davies has worked hard to keep the power of Imperial Commander high. This effectively allows Imperial Commander to bully lower quality runners.
Imperial Commander in the Gold Cup
Imperial Commander in the Gold Cup has been a great success to date because the ten-year-old won the race at the Cheltenham Festival in 2010. Imperial Commander saw off a field of seven to beat Denman by seven lengths, a horse that has also won the race.
Imperial Commander in the Gold Cup is a very strong proposition because the horse has never shown any signs of making mistakes over jumps, being flustered by the crowds or generally making any of the errors that could cost a horse this sort of title.
Imperial Commander's Form in 2011
Imperial Commander's form in 2011 cannot be judged until the horse has won a race this year. However, Imperial Commander's recent form has been very good. The last race the horse took part in was a win on November 20 2010 over 24 furlongs at Haydock Park.
The decision by Twiston-Davies not to have raced Imperial Commander yet in 2011 is a smart one because it allows the horse to be in top condition before arguably the biggest race of the National Hunt calendar.