F EATURE THE TIGER ROLL STORY
equalled. But if Tiger Roll lines up in this year’s Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase on 17 March then it would not be the biggest shock of his incredible career if he added another Festival victory to his showreel to join Golden Miller on ve. Trainer Gordon Elliott has insisted all season that The Festival is Tiger Roll’s “number one target” – even ahead of a trip to defend his Randox Grand National crown three weeks later at Aintree. So, while he is rightly lauded as one of the Randox Grand National’s greatest ever winners, it will be his Cheltenham CV that helps secure his place in horseracing’s hall of fame.
isn’t built for races over the largest of obstacles, but his incredible bravery, agility and versatility would see him complete a unique double of back-to- back renewals of both the Randox Grand National AND the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase. It is, of course, the former for which he is now best known, but his devastating 22-length victory in the 2019 cross country race at Cheltenham took him to a scarcely-believable tally of four Festival successes. Winning on multiple occasions at The Festival certainly isn’t unheard of and he is still two short of Quevega’s record of six – all in the Mares’ Hurdle from 2009 to 2014 – which might never be
the Flat on the all-weather scene at Dundalk in a bid to reinvent him. Although the unusual move sparked some modest improvement, it was only when he was switched to chasing the following season that Tiger Roll edged back towards our radars again. A couple of runs in staying hurdle events were to little avail, so an entry in Limerick’s three-mile Kerry National in October 2016 was a step into the unknown, and the rst taste of the ‘Grand National’ scene for Tiger Roll. However, it was a test he would pass with ying colours, winning by seven lengths, and a second Cheltenham Festival victory followed that season in the National Hunt Chase over four miles. Tiger Roll was quickly becoming a Festival favourite and, despite having struggled over the Cross Country fences at the 2017
International Meeting, won again in front of his adoring fans in that season’s
Glenfarcas Cross Country Chase, in March 2018.
At just over 15 hands in size, Tiger Roll certainly
It is no exaggeration to say that Tiger Roll is a horse whose successes have helped transcend racing to become a regular quiz question answer alongside Red Rum
38 THE FEST I VAL TM SUPPORT I NG WELLCH I LD PREV I EW MAGAZ I NE
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