Gold Cup ace may be bowled over

RACING: CHELTENHAM Gold Cup hero Imperial Commander takes centre stage on the first day of Aintree’s Grand National meeting tomorrow.

Much of the post-race Gold Cup publicity surrounded the vanquished Kauto Star but, even with a clear round, there is no guarantee he would have been able to cope with Nigel Twiston-Davies’ brilliant nine-year-old.

Always travelling well and tracking Denman before being sent on two fences from home, Imperial Commander was a decisive and worthy winner of steeplechasing’s blue riband.

On form, there is nothing to touch him in tomorrow’s Totesport Bowl, but I will not be one of those punters prepared to steam in at cramped odds.

All of Imperial Commander’s best performances have come following the sort of lengthy break he enjoyed before Cheltenham and almost every one has been at that racecourse.

Admittedly, he ran Kauto Star mighty close on his seasonal reappearance at Haydock - a course not dissimilar to Aintree - but he was having his first run of the season on that occasion.

With the edge taken off him and after enduring a hard race in the Gold Cup, he is no certainty tomorrow with What A Friend and Nacarat in opposition.

Nacarat loves these flat tracks and must go well, but the Lexus Chase winner What A Friend, owned by Sir Alex Ferguson, has been trained specifically for this race and is the percentage call to cause a minor shock.

No such surprises look on the cars in the opening BGC Partners Liverpool Hurdle in which Big Buck’s can follow up his easy World Hurdle success at Cheltenham.

He hardly came off the bridle that day and although Cheltenham runner-up Time For Rupert has winning form around Aintree, he has so much to find on form that a minor berth looks the best he can hope for once again.

In an nine-runner race, the best each-way shot looks to be Souffleur, who has returned to form recently and loves this track.