Commander could be Hennessy bound Imperial Commander could be a surprise package for the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury on November 30th. The 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero has been back in training for the last two months and connections are eyeing either the Betfair Chase at Haydock, which he won three years ago, or the big handicap chase at the Berkshire venue for his return. The 12-year-old was sidelined with injury for nearly two years before a storming run back at Prestbury Park in January when he was second to Cape Tribulation in the Argento Chase. He missed the Gold Cup itself with an infection and instead appeared in the Grand National, running prominently for some way before weakening and being pulled up at Becher's Brook second time around. "He's been back in for a couple of months. It's all going smoothly so far," trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies' assistant Carl Llewellyn told At The Races. "We got him back earlier this year than we've had in previous years. So far so good - he hasn't missed a day. We're looking forward to running him again. "There's Haydock or maybe the Hennessy. There's talk about the Hennessy because his handicap mark has dropped now. He's on 153, so he might go there."
