Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Imperial Commander is on course to defend his crown at next month’s Cheltenham Festival after the superstar pleased trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies with a gallop at Warwick on Monday.

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The ten-year-old returned to action with a victory in the Betfair Chase at Haydock on November 20th but was ruled out of a mouth-watering clash with Kauto Star and Long Run in the King George VI last month.

Imperial Commander will now head straight to the Festival as he continues to recover from his setback and his trainer has assured punters that the Gold Cup is still very much his target.

"He's just come back from Warwick racecourse where he galloped over two miles this morning," Twiston-Davies explained.

"He went really well and that's his first really serious racecourse gallop.

"He'll go to Kempton on Racing Post Chase day and have another gallop there and hopefully that will put him absolutely brilliant for the Gold Cup."

Imperial Commander heads the betting for this year’s Gold Cup with leading Irish bookmaker Paddy Power and there are plenty of punters that think the reigning champion will be able to resist the challenge of an outstanding bunch of rivals, including the likes of Long Run, Kauto Star and Denman