F EATURE THE TIGER ROLL STORY
Smallwonder Ask the man in the street who Tiger Roll is and the chances are they’ll tell you he’s a two-time Randox Grand National winner. Ask a racing fan about the diminutive 11 year old and they’ll also reveal his incredible successes at The Festival™ supporting WellChild. With four Festival wins to his name, only two horses in the history of the sport have had more success at Jump Racing’s most prestigious meeting. Nick Seddon reminds us of some of the most remarkable and impressive Cheltenham performances in living memory… S pecial horses win races at The Festival™ supporting WellChild, but only truly extraordinary ones win
certainly hadn’t been expected and was, ultimately, just a mere nod to much greater things to come. Victory in the Triumph Hurdle – especially in just his third career outing – automatically prompted talk of a tilt at the following year’s Champion Hurdle but, despite a bright start at the Showcase Meeting at Cheltenham, Tiger Roll’s season unravelled. Soon written o by many as a small Flat-bred horse who didn’t quite have the mettle for the jumping game, his poor run of form was such that he was even reverted back to
Tiger Roll has a pedigree that makes his success over fences seem pretty implausible, and he began his career under the ownership of an operation that is synonymous with the Flat – the royal blue silks of Godolphin. On paper, at least, he was bred to excel over middle distances and without obstacles in his way. So the fact that his very best form has been over considerably further is just another cause for intrigue. It isn’t uncommon for Flat-bred horses to make into useful hurdlers, but his victory in the 2014 JCB Triumph Hurdle, at a price of 10-1,
four times. It is hard to believe that seven years have passed since he burst onto the Festival scene as a four year old to win the JCB Triumph Hurdle. Since then he has added the 2017 National Hunt Chase and the 2018 and 2019 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase to his Festival trophy cabinet. And it was only defeat when attempting to win the cross country race for a third consecutive year 12 months ago which prevented him becoming just the third horse in history to win more than four times at The Festival. With an entry for this year’s renewal he could yet join Golden Miller – the ve-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner of the 1930s – and supermare Quevega, with six victories, at the very top of The Festival tree. It is no exaggeration to say that Tiger Roll is a horse whose successes have helped transcend racing to become a household name and a regular quiz question answer alongside Red Rum. However, it would have taken remarkable foresight to predict the success he has enjoyed. As a son of the 2007 Derby winner Authorized,
THE JOCKEYCLUB . CO . UK 37
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker