Imperial burst in Gold Cup Imperial Commander, last year's champion, was found to have burst a blood vessel and was pulled up before the last fence. The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained 10-year-old will be assessed over the coming days, but is unlikely to run again this season, according to part-owner Hugh Doubtfire. Doubtfire said: "He bled from the nose, but I believe he trotted up soundly after the race. "It's a great shame because he got into a nice jumping rhythm and travelled really well. "He's not done it (bled) before, but once horses get blood into their lungs they can't breathe, which is probably why he seemed to stop very quickly. "There will be options to consider as to what we do now, but it's early days, so I think we'll have to see how he comes out of this first. "If he did anything else this season it would probably be Punchestown, but it seems very unlikely at this stage. "We were so fortunate to win the Gold Cup last year, so we can't get too disheartened - as long as the horse is OK, that's all that matters. "Long Run is a fantastic horse and it was a fantastic race."
