'He's been spoiled rotten' - what's life after racing like for Tiger Roll?

There he is in all his understated glory. In a field of dreams at Gordon Elliott's Cullentra House stables, dreams that have already come true, are the winners of three Grand Nationals, a Gold Cup and six Cheltenham Festival races. There is the tall, dark and handsome Don Cossack, the imposing Silver Birch and, standing small in between them, the biggest legend of the lot.

On a calm and clammy autumn morning, as the next generation begin their fitness regime for the forthcoming jumps season on the main gallop nearby, the best-known jumps horse of the modern era is proudly growing his gut and enjoying the early stages of a richly deserved retirement. His work here is done.

And what a job Tiger Roll did. He went from the stable skivvy to Cullentra's CEO in the space of eight glorious years and his leaving do at Cheltenham last March was quite the occasion too. Despite detesting the conditions, he gave every last drop of energy in his attempt to go out in a blaze of glory. A sixth festival win and fourth cross-country chase proved just beyond him as stablemate Delta Work spoiled the party but, if anything, he earned even more admirers in defeat.

Michael O'Leary with Delta Work (left) and Tiger Roll after the 2022 cross-country chaseCredit: David Fitzgerald

That was March and this is September so you may be wondering what Tiger Roll has been up to since you saw him last.

"He's been spoiled rotten," laughs Mary Nugent, his mammy, granny and nanny all rolled into one.

"He still gets three scoops even though he shouldn't. But it's very hard not to give in to him. One, because he's always hungry. And, two, because he's Tiger Roll. He just loves his food. He's so fat, but he looks amazing, doesn't he? I think he looks savage. He came back here to parade for the open day we're having."

That open day takes place on Saturday and you can guarantee Tiger Roll will be the busiest selfie server. He has certainly been popular in horse shows over the last few months as Wendy and Ted O'Leary, wife and son of Eddie, took it upon themselves to retrain him as a riding horse. That might sound straightforward but when you have spent your life trying to run as fast as you can, slowing down is not so simple, as they soon found out at Lynn Lodge Stud.

Explaining what is involved in the transformation from racehorse to riding horse, Nugent says: "It's behaviour, conformation, their showpiece and how they ride. They have to walk, trot and canter in an outline. To go from a racehorse to a riding horse is actually quite hard for them. It's like humans who aren't natural runners because they have walked their whole life. Running is a bit alien to them because it is a completely different discipline. That's what it's like for ex-racehorses.

"To get them to put their head down and just do a semi-trot is not easy. In their head they just want to go fast all the time so it's mentally challenging. It's hard work; it's just a completely different discipline. For the short time he had to retrain, it's phenomenal how well he's done really. It's nothing short of a miracle. Wendy and Ted have done an incredible job with him."

Tiger Roll (right): 'The horse of a lifetime and probably the most famous horse in Ireland'Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

That incredible job took patience. Wendy explains: "I think the biggest thing was to break his old routine. We needed him to realise that when he went out every day he wasn't going to work on the gallop and he wasn't schooling over fences. He's a very intelligent horse so once he worked all that out he settled into his new role quite quickly.

"I say all that but the first day out wasn't very successful, let's just say! A really good riding judge in Mullingar was about to sit on him but he had decided he'd had enough and when she got up on him he tried to leave the arena.

"I actually thought, 'Gosh, we're in trouble here and maybe it's too much for him'. But we went home and put our thinking caps on. We decided that every time we were bringing Ted anywhere we would bring Tiger Roll with us. He realised then that he wasn't going racing every time he left the place. That helped him settle down.

"We then brought him to the Tullamore Show and he won. He performed impeccably that day so we said we'd give it a go at the RDS [Dublin Horse Show]. But it was a huge ask in just 12 weeks. None of the other horses had been off the track for as little time as he had.

"It was really special for Ted to have the opportunity to ride him. We thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and we couldn't let it pass. I really feel he is the people's favourite horse and it was lovely for the public to see him again.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking when we got to the RDS because I was afraid he might think he was back at Aintree with all the crowds. But, in fairness, he took it all in his stride and behaved very well. Word spread quite quickly where his stable was and there were a lot of selfies and photographs taken but he was brilliant."

Jumping stars: Tiger Roll out grazing with Silver Birch (left) and Don Cossack at CullentraCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Tiger Roll came third in his class, which was won by former Irish Grand National winner General Principle.

"To do what he did in the class he was in was amazing really given the short period of time he'd been preparing for it," Wendy says. "I was so proud of him. Seanin [Mahon] was absolutely the deserved winner, she did an incredible job with General Principle, but we were delighted to finish third."

What was it like having him around the place? Wendy replies: "Oh, I loved it. It was just such a pleasure to have him around. To be perfectly honest, I actually really miss him now that he's gone. He was such a character and got on great with the other horses we have too.

"When you think of it, he won five times at Cheltenham and two Grand Nationals despite the fact he wasn't bred to do any of that. He's not overly big but he's very recognisable and he's got the most gorgeous head. He's incredibly intelligent too."

Teenager Ted, just 17 years of age, was the lucky young man who got to ride him in the shows.

"It was unbelievable to be even near him, never mind ride him," he says when asked about the experience.

"He's a horse of a lifetime and probably the most famous horse in Ireland. His brain is a bit wired but we eventually found a way to get through to him. In the first few days we weren't sure whether it was going to work out but it did in the end. We just stuck at it and it was worth it."

Nugent thinks Tiger Roll could do anything. Being successfully retrained as a riding horse is the latest in a long list of achievements that vary from the sublime to the ridiculous.

"Anything he puts his hand to, he's just really good at," she says. "Everything seems to come easy to him. He loved it when we brought him to the beach, he adored hunting, he took to the Grand National fences, he loved all the different obstacles in the cross-country races and, even the day he ran in a Flat race on the all-weather at Dundalk, he ran a cracker and finished second.

Tiger Roll (Davy Russell) jumps the last ahead of Pleasant Company in the 2018 NationalCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"The other day he was getting measured for his statue at Gigginstown and he actually stood like a statue for the whole thing. He was brilliantly behaved. They measured every single part of it and were poking away at him, but he stood still for the whole time they were doing that. He literally didn't move."

Nugent knows Tiger Roll better than anyone. She has spent the last seven years caring for him at Cullentra and so deep is her love she has not had the heart to move on since his retirement in March.

She says: "I haven't taken on any other horses. I don't want them. You'd take ten or so usually but I won't. I'm not ready to do that. Not yet."

The Tiger Roll you saw on the racetrack was special but it sounds like the Tiger Roll we don't see behind the scenes is just as special.

Nugent says of his antics: "He's such a character and has always been a character. Before he won anything at all, before any Nationals or Cheltenham wins, he was already a yard favourite. Everyone loved him because he was such a character.

"He can be hard enough to handle but he would never do anything that would purposely hurt you. It's just you can get in his way sometimes. He's like a ball of energy and sometimes that energy goes in your direction unbeknown to him. He's not good with personal space, but he would never do anything to try and hurt you.

"We took him to the Curragh on Sunday to parade as part of Irish Champions Weekend. He was really good . . . for him! There were a few moments that were a bit hairy. He likes to put on a show, you see, and he is really good at bucking. He can do it effortlessly. His front legs don't move and his back legs just let fly. He did that a few times at the Curragh but once he went into the parade ring he was good as gold."

Was he the centre of attention? "I'm biased but I'm going to say yes. Everybody always just seems so excited to see him. The one thing that struck me was how small he looked parading alongside all those horses.

"He was like a dwarf next to some of them. He paraded with National winners so the likes of One For Arthur was there. He's huge and so is General Principle. Douvan was parading as well. Tiger was tiny next to them but he's full of character so that makes up for his size."

Tiger Roll parades with Mary Nugent at the CurraghCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

It turns out one of the secrets to success are packets of Polos.

"I have shares in the company," laughs Nugent. "He was third in the RDS and behaved himself. Five packets of Polos made sure of that. Polos keep him quiet. Have you ever seen him with Polos? Or treats in general? Apples, carrots and Polos – he would eat them all day long if he could. Polos especially.

"He likes them and, when he gets them, he behaves himself so the best thing to do is to keep him happy if you can at all. I would bring five or six packets to each of the shows just to be on the safe side."

Tiger Roll might be turning into a teenager in a few months but Nugent thinks he could have continued racing, although there is a big part of her that is glad he didn't. He got out of the game in one piece and that was all that mattered to her.

"Tiger Roll himself would have raced on," she says emphatically. "Physically and mentally he's as good as he ever was. But I suppose with his age, his ability was going to get less and less and you would hate to ever see anything happen to him. He would be happily racing today if you let him. It makes no odds to him. He'd do anything you ask him to do, but it's good he retired in one piece."

Reflecting on his final appearance on that Wednesday afternoon at his beloved Cheltenham, when he went head to head with Delta Work all the way up the straight, Nugent says: "I was really proud of Delta. I thought he had lost his way a little bit so for him to win that was massive for him and I don't think Tiger lost anything in defeat.

Tiger Roll (left) and Delta Work race up the hill in the 2022 cross-country at CheltenhamCredit: Edward Whitaker

"When we were going out on to the track it was lashing down with rain. He hates the rain and he hates the muck, so we were thinking to ourselves, 'I hope he just gets around okay and finishes'. So to see him go out there and put his head down and really try, we were just over the moon. He had finished in one piece as well, you couldn't really ask for anymore.

"Obviously, you would have loved to see him win but it didn't really matter to me."

So, then, after posing for endless selfies at Elliott's open day, what's next for Tiger Roll?

"He'll be heading back to Gigginstown with Don Cossack, Roi Du Mee and all those legends, but I'm sure he'll be making appearances here, there and everywhere. He's in demand. I've been to Aintree with him, then the Mullingar show, then Tullamore, the RDS, and the Curragh. He's never short of an invitation."

The last word goes to Elliott. As he gazes at him out in the field of dreams, he simply says: "He is some legend, isn't he? A horse of a lifetime. We'll never see the likes of him again."

Indeed we won't, Gordon. Tiger Roll only comes along once in a generation. We were lucky to be a part of it.

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