Imperial may race on Connections of Imperial Commander will wait until the autumn before making a decision on whether the 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero takes to the racecourse again next season. The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained 12-year-old bounced back from a near two-year absence with a fine run in the Argento Chase at Cheltenham in January, but missed the chance of regaining his Gold Cup crown after suffering a lung infection. Imperial Commander returned to action in the John Smith's Grand National, but was pulled up along the second circuit. Paul Costello, spokesman for the owning syndicate Our Friends In The North, feels the veteran had not fully recovered from his setback. Costello said: "He'll be going back to (bloodstock agent) Kevin Ross' place in Ireland before too long and there'll be no decision on his future until the autumn. "He definitely won't run again this season, he'll have a break and then we'll see how he is when Kevin starts him back (in pre-training). "We'll just take it step by step. If he comes back in and still looks like he has plenty of enthusiasm and is enjoying it, then we'll carry on with him. "He looked to be enjoying himself in the Grand National for about two and half or three miles, and Sam (Twiston-Davies, jockey) said he just stopped very quickly. "I don't think it was a lack of stamina, I just don't think he was fully over the bug he had earlier on. I don't think he'd fully recovered. "If he is enjoying himself after his summer break there are plenty of races for him, races like the Charlie Hall at Wetherby. "The Betfair Chase at Haydock would also be a possible, depending on what turns up, as we know he likes it round there."
