The dual Grand National winner lines up over traditional fences on Thursday and misses his chance for Aintree immortalityTiger Roll, one of Aintree’s – and racing’s – favourite sons, returns to Liverpool on Thursday for what may well be the final time in a truly extraordinary career. From one angle, he is 363 days too late, from another he has turned up two days early – and by 3pm it could be both.There is an alternative reality in which Tiger Roll is 48 hours away from a possible date with destiny, and the tilt at a record-equalling third Grand National win which his illustrious record deserves. Michael O’Leary, his owner, thought long and hard about the weight his remarkable little...
The three-day Grand National meeting at Aintree opens on Thursday with Tiger Roll set to be the centre of attentionThe three-day Grand National meeting at Aintree opens on Thursday with Tiger Roll set to be the centre of attention as he faces eight rivals in a bid to add the Grade One Betway Bowl Chase to his remarkable list of high-profile victories.The five-time Cheltenham Festival winner and dual Grand National hero has become a household name without taking on top staying chasers at level weights. But owners Gigginstown House Stud decided to make an exception this time, and Tiger Roll runs at Aintree on Thursday – rather than last Monday’s Irish Grand National or the Grand National at the weekend....
‘He never went a yard,’ says official handicapper, who is not minded to slash star horse’s rating in the wake of Friday’s runConnections of Tiger Roll will be disappointed to learn that the British handicapper is not minded to make a significant adjustment to the horse’s rating, following his flop at Cheltenham on Friday. It means the veteran steeplechaser will have to beat a very high rating of around 169 if he is to win a third Grand National next year, as he is not expected to race over fences again before the National weights are fixed in mid-February. Related: Talking Horses: time for racing industry to talk about motherhood An upset in the Cross Country Chase @CheltenhamRaces as 11-year-old...
Tiger Roll makes a surprise return on the Flat as the chaser starts his build-up to a bid at Grand National historyTiger Roll, the Grand National winner in 2018 and 2019, already has strong claims to be the most versatile National Hunt horse in training as well as the most popular, and he will attempt to break new ground once again on Thursday by recording his first win on the Flat at the age of 10.“It’ll be a racecourse gallop and he’ll come on plenty for the run, but it’s a nice starting point for the season,” his trainer, Gordon Elliott said on Tuesday. “We don’t think he’s going to be winning it, we just want him to have a...
It is reasonable for Tiger Roll’s owners to expect a reduction in their horse’s rating for Aintree but 8lb may be asking too muchTiger Roll’s chance of winning a third Grand National hangs in the balance and will do so until the weights are unveiled for the famous race at a ceremony in Liverpool 12 days from now. I’m very much afraid that his owners are not going to be given everything they want by the official handicapper and there is therefore the distinct possibility that the horse may be withdrawn before the race itself in early April.Eddie O’Leary, who runs the ownership operation on behalf of his brother, Michael, made it clear in quotes reported by the Racing Post...