Commander has Gold Cup written all over him.

Byline: PETER THOMAS

AS UNOFFICIAL life president, chairman and hon. sec. of the Imperial Commander Fan Club, I'd have to say I was choked by the great beast's narrow defeat at Haydock, albeit at the hands of the best chaser of his generation. I shall be magnanimous in defeat, mainly because it's easy to be magnanimous when you've got 20-1 about a 10-1 shot for the Gold Cup.

I still think, despite the official verdict, that the Commander won the Betfair Chase, and no amount of conclusive evidence will change my mind, but having tipped him as a winner of the ultimate contest in March, I feel vindicated, despite the judge's verdict.

To me, he dispelled all stamina doubts, coming back at Kauto Star at the death, and looked every inch a horse who will turn in an even better effort on better ground at a track he adores at Cheltenham. True, Kauto Star will up his game too, but this display showed Twister's charge is right up with the best and could be better suited by not having to make quite so much of the running.

The big mystery now is how can Kauto be 7-4 and the Commander 10-1 when they've been separated by only the shortest of short beaks at level weights? More to the point, how can IC still be the same price as Cooldine when one has shown himself to be the equal of the best chaser in training and the other was stuffed at Punchestown on his last run in April? Baffled? I am. Which isn't to say Kauto is no longer the most likely winner of the Gold Cup, just that there's another serious contender for a race that threatens to be even better than the last three memorable ones.

As a generation of racing fans, we are truly blessed.