Two-time Grand National winner Tiger Roll is one of the most popular National Hunt horses in training today. Not only has he been able to win the world’s most famous steeplechase twice, but he has also been victorious five times at the Cheltenham Festival.
Tiger Roll went into the 2021 Cross Country Chase as the second favourite behind defending champion Easysland. However, Gordon Elliott’s runner produced an excellent performance to prevail by 18 lengths ahead of the race favourite. The Irish horse is priced at +600 in the betting on Cheltenham to score in the same race in 2022. He has just one runner ahead of him in the ante-post market for the unique contest.
Although his form since the 2021 festival has not been great, Tiger Roll will be one of the leading Cheltenham tips today for the meeting at Prestbury Park. His record at Cheltenham speaks for itself, and many people will be expecting him to bounce back to his best again.
This year’s Cheltenham Festival may be the last in the horse’s career. Victory in the Cross Country Chase would be met with a huge reception from the crowd at the racecourse.
Grand National Appearance Not Ruled Out
Unfortunately for his supporters, Tiger Roll did not appear in the 2021 Grand National where he would have been bidding to win the race for a third time. Connections opted to take their horse out of the marathon contest after the weights were announced.
A representative of Gigginstown Stud, who own the horse, has said they will consider the Grand National, but only after the weight allocations have been handed out. The announcement will have excited those who are desperate to see the horse win the Aintree feature for a third time, matching what was achieved by Red Rum in 1977.
Given he is now 12 years old, and likely to have more weight on his back than his previous two Grand National victories, a success in April would rank as the horse’s greatest ever achievement.
A Modern Great
Although it is his wins in the Grand National which will ensure Tiger Roll is considered as one of the best chasers of his generation, his versatility should not be forgotten. His opening victory at the Cheltenham Festival came in the Triumph Hurdle, a race over 2m1f. Not many
would have expected the small horse to go on to score over the big fences at Aintree.
Tiger Roll has won at seven different racecourses and other notable victories include his success in the 2019 Boyne Hurdle and the Munster National at Limerick. He also featured in a World Hurdle and the Irish Grand National, which shows he has been a horse for the big occasions.
The final chapter in Tiger Roll has yet to be written, but if he goes the way the majority of his career has, there is at least one more major win in there on the track for the talented horse.
