Imperial Commander remains on course for the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November.
The 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero is set for an imminent return to training with handler Nigel Twiston-Davies and he will be aimed at a trip to Merseyside as he looks to recover from an injury that kept him out of action last season.
The talented chaser won the Betfair Chase in 2010 and part-owner Hugh Doubtfire explained: "Imperial Commander is still in Ireland and he has done plenty of roadwork and cantering.
"He's recently been scanned again and all is well, so I think he will be returning to Nigel's in the next week or so.
"Everything has gone well up to now. We're obviously taking it day by day with him, not because anything is wrong, but obviously it is quite a big ask for the horse after 18 months off to go straight into a Grade One.
"The Betfair Chase is the aim at the moment, and we'll see as we go along with him. He has done his pre-training and that will be stepped up when he gets back to Nigel's."
Less than a month after Imperial Commander injured himself in the 2011 Gold Cup, regular rider Paddy Brennan stepped down as Twiston-Davies’ jockey, but Doubtfire believes the jockey will keep the ride on the eleven-year-old.
He continued: "As far as I am aware, he is still Paddy's ride, but it's not something we've really talked about.
"We've obviously been more concerned about trying to get the horse back on track than who will ride him. All I would say is that the chances of anyone else riding him are slim."
Imperial Commander remains on course for the Betfair Chase at Haydock in November.
The 2010 Cheltenham Gold Cup hero is set for an imminent return to training with handler Nigel Twiston-Davies and he will be aimed at a trip to Merseyside as he looks to recover from an injury that kept him out of action last season.
The talented chaser won the Betfair Chase in 2010 and part-owner Hugh Doubtfire explained: "Imperial Commander is still in Ireland and he has done plenty of roadwork and cantering.
"He's recently been scanned again and all is well, so I think he will be returning to Nigel's in the next week or so.
"Everything has gone well up to now. We're obviously taking it day by day with him, not because anything is wrong, but obviously it is quite a big ask for the horse after 18 months off to go straight into a Grade One.
"The Betfair Chase is the aim at the moment, and we'll see as we go along with him. He has done his pre-training and that will be stepped up when he gets back to Nigel's."
Less than a month after Imperial Commander injured himself in the 2011 Gold Cup, regular rider Paddy Brennan stepped down as Twiston-Davies’ jockey, but Doubtfire believes the jockey will keep the ride on the eleven-year-old.
He continued: "As far as I am aware, he is still Paddy's ride, but it's not something we've really talked about.
"We've obviously been more concerned about trying to get the horse back on track than who will ride him. All I would say is that the chances of anyone else riding him are slim."