Tiger Roll: 'He was a blue-collar horse who gatecrashed the biggest parties'

Fans' Favourites is a weekly feature in the Racing Post Weekender in which we talk to those closest to racing's most popular horses and find out why they tug on our heartstrings. This week's subject: Tiger Roll

By now, you will all be familiar with the legend of the Tiger.

The diminutive chaser repeatedly defied the odds to become one of jump racing's most popular names, and emulated the legendary Red Rum when winning back-to-back Grand Nationals at Aintree in 2018 and 2019.

Tiger Roll was also synonymous with the Cheltenham Festival, where he won five times, including an unprecedented hat-trick in the Cross Country Chase, in which he was second before retiring this season.

But he came from humble beginnings and the future did not look quite so bright for Tiger Roll in 2013, when he was sold by Darley for just £10,000 after failing to make a single appearance on the Flat.

He was bought as a three-year-old by Nigel Hawke to win a bumper and then be sold, but his jumping at home encouraged the Devon-based trainer to instead aim him at a juvenile hurdle at Market Rasen.

"He wasn't the biggest in the world, which is probably why he was so cheap, but he was very correct and had an engine," says Hawke. "He never ran on the Flat so he was the next best thing to a store horse.

Tiger Roll: alongside Nigel Hawke (left) after winning at Market Rasen

"He had a natural eye for jumping from day one. He loved it and you could send him over anything. He was bought to be sold but after his first run I thought he'd be good enough to run in something at the festival – I felt he would be suited by a race like the Fred Winter.

"Mark Quinlan half begged me to keep the horse after winning on him but the money was right and we were always going to sell him. I have got no regrets and I still feel very proud to be part of the story.

"He was always a bit quirky but he knew the job and the moment he got in those cross-country races he was just a different horse. His story has been great for racing. It shows you don't always have to spend big money and that dreams are possible, which is important."

'There will never be another Tiger Roll' – fans hail a jump racing legend

After missing out on the Triumph Hurdle Trial at Cheltenham the following month, Tiger Roll was sold to Mags O'Toole on behalf of Gigginstown House Stud for £80,000 and sent to Gordon Elliott.

"I didn't think much about him when he first arrived and was not too excited," says Elliott. "But we were still looking forward to him and as soon as he arrived, he loved his jumping. He took to it straight away and clearly Nigel Hawke did a very good job with him at the start."

He was immediately chucked in at the deep end, finishing second in the Grade 1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle before striking at 10-1 under Davy Russell in the 2014 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Tiger Roll: winner of the Triumph Hurdle under Davy Russell

And then came the first bump in the road. After promising so much, Tiger Roll won just once in his next 11 starts and was twice pulled up before Elliott went back to the drawing board and sent him chasing.

After landing a beginners' chase at Kilbeggan in June 2016, Tiger Roll won the Munster National at Limerick five months later before an ambitious tilt at the National Hunt Chase at the 2017 Cheltenham Festival.

"He was easy to train but he fell out of love with the game a little bit and he got too high over his hurdles so we had to go chasing," adds Elliott. "That sweetened him up, but it was only when he landed the four-miler that we really started to realise just how exciting he was."

He was sent off at 16-1 under Lisa O'Neill for the National Hunt Chase but, despite a few minor errors, demonstrated his agility and stamina when scoring by three lengths from Missed Approach, having taken the lead three fences from home.

Five of the best performances from the Cheltenham and Aintree hero

With each step forward, came another one back and Tiger Roll found it difficult on his next few starts, pulling up in the Irish National and the Clonmel Oil Chase in November 2017. Again, a new discipline proved the trick, and after a promising first attempt over cross-country fences, he came to life in the 2018 Glenfarclas Chase.

Tiger Roll takes the old adage of horses for courses to new extremes and recorded his third Cheltenham Festival success under Keith Donoghue, staying on gamely with Elliott suggesting that he had benefited from schooling over the cross-country fence at home.

"There's nobody dead or alive who could have trained Tiger Roll the way Gordon Elliott did," said Gigginstown's Eddie O'Leary. "He kept him sweet. Remember, this horse packed up racing a few times.

"He's a brilliant horse, but him and Gordon were a dream team. He managed to get Tiger Roll to believe he was a champion again."

Tiger Roll: won the Glenfarclas Chase three timesCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Following his two-length victory over Urgent De Gregaine, Michael O'Leary, owner of Gigginstown and chief executive of Ryanair called him a "little rat of a thing", who nonetheless had the "heart of a lion".

A month later he showed all his heart when landing the Grand National on his first encounter with the famous Aintree fences. He was a complete natural over them and eased into contention before establishing a decent lead over Pleasant Company.

Tiger Roll looked vulnerable in the last 100 yards but kept plugging away long enough to resist his gutsy rival to score by a head under Davy Russell.

He then made a low-key start to the 2018-19 season, finishing fifth in a cross-country chase at Cheltenham in November before a left-field prep race for the National. In his first outing over hurdles for almost three years, Tiger Roll showed his versatility by winning the Grade 2 Boyne Hurdle at Navan at 25-1 when many had assumed he was there just to build fitness.

Tiger Roll was perhaps at his most impressive when landing his second Glenfarclas Chase – and fourth race at the Cheltenham Festival – when beating Josies Orders by 22 lengths. It was the perfect way to prepare for the big one at Aintree a month later.

Off a mark 9lb higher than in 2018, the nine-year-old cruised into the race under Russell and drew readily clear after the last before finishing two and three-quarter lengths clear of Magic Of Light. In doing so, he became the first back-to-back winner of the National since Red Rum.

Watch Tiger Roll win his second Grand National in 2019

"That was definitely the highlight for me," says Elliott. "To come back and do it again was unbelievable. It was an amazing achievement. It's great to have a horse like him and there's less pressure with the National compared to a Gold Cup, as you're not expecting to win it."

Gigginstown won the National with Rule The World in 2016 and the significance of winning two more was not lost on Eddie O'Leary, who says: "Rule The World was a good-looking horse made for the race and we were lucky he won one. You can't sum up what it means to win two Grand Nationals, especially with a horse like Tiger Roll."

Davy Russell: partnered Tiger Roll in his two Grand National victoriesCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Their tried-and-tested route was followed the previous season but there were signs Tiger Roll was not running to the same level. He was fifth in the Boyne Hurdle and beaten in the Glenfarclas Chase.

A historic attempt to become the first horse to win three successive Nationals was still on the table in 2020, but a disagreement between his owners and the handicapper ruled out his involvement, before the coronavirus pandemic led to the famous marathon being cancelled.

"We had the debacle with the handicapper when we believed he was unfairly treated, but that wasn't Tiger Roll's fault, that was us," says O'Leary. "I think he missed his chance the year of the coronavirus when he was ten. He still remained at the height of his powers then."

Are there any regrets he was not able to go for a third National in a row? "It would have been brilliant," adds Elliott. "But he's been the horse of a lifetime and he's going to have a long retirement now."

A little rat of a thing but the heart of a lion' – top Tiger Roll quotes

Tiger Roll had been written off several times but it seemed he really had fallen out of love with the game during the 2020-21 jumps season. He ran once on the Flat, and was pulled up at Cheltenham in November before finishing last in the Boyne Hurdle, his traditional prep race.

But there was just something about the big days, and he rocked up at Cheltenham in March 2021 to land the Glenfarclas Chase, his fifth win at the festival, by 18 lengths from French raider Easysland, who had beaten him easily in the same race 12 months earlier.

This was vindication, but it was not enough to earn a National bid off what his owners believed was an unfair weight and Tiger Roll was instead aimed at the Grade 1 Betway Bowl, in which he was fourth.

Gordon Elliott: helped to mastermind Tiger Roll's careerCredit: Patrick McCann

His final season was geared towards a record-extending fourth win in the Glenfarclas Chase and it began inauspiciously. He was pulled up in the Many Clouds Chase and failed to fire in a handicap hurdle.

Given his poor performances, it speaks volumes about Tiger Roll that on unsuitably heavy ground he was sent off at just 3-1 for his bid for a sixth Cheltenham Festival victory in this year's Glenfarclas Chase.

And he was so nearly granted a fairytale ending but went out on his shield after being beaten just three-quarters of a length by stablemate Delta Work, who was booed by some as he entered the winner's enclosure.

Drama and boos as Tiger Roll denied dream end to career by stablemate Delta Work

"He was brilliant," says Elliott. "The ground went against him on the day – if it had been good he would have won, but he ran his heart out and did us proud. It was a typically gutsy performance – he's been a great horse and we just feel lucky to have had him."

It was a fitting end to a remarkable career, and O'Leary adds: "It was a fantastic achievement. We would have loved the romance of him winning on his final start, but we needed Delta Work to run too.

"I know if the ground had been better, he would have beaten him. But for him to get so close to a top horse [Delta Work is a five-time Grade 1 winner], he was as good as ever. The reception he received at the festival was second to none. We were all crying and the image of them both afterwards was special.

Tiger Roll (left) alongside his stablemate Delta Work at this year's Cheltenham FestivalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

"His achievement was magnified by getting so close to a good horse on his ground. Delta Work will hopefully take over the mantle, but nobody will replace Tiger, given all he means to us and the public."

So why was Tiger Roll so popular with the racing public?

"He's been an overachiever all his life," says O'Leary. "He was never like a Don Cossack [Gold Cup winner] or a Delta Work, or what we'd call a good horse, but he was a great one and he achieved more than we could ever have hoped.

"He was bought cheaply to win a Fred Winter, but won the Triumph. We had actually given up on him as he wouldn't rise a gallop for two years and he was on the sales list, but he then won his first chase.

"Then he won five times at the festival and two Nationals. Words can't describe what this horse means to us and what he's done for everyone who's involved with him. He was never a brilliant horse but my god, what a lover of racing and what a wonderful advert for the sport.

"He'll live a life of luxury from now on. We'll certainly pay him his dues. He's earned it and I'm glad he was taken out of the National this year. He would be nearly top weight and it would be unfair to make him carry that much as a 12-year-old. He'll have parades at Fairyhouse, Punchestown and Aintree – then that will be it for him.

"He's in everyone's heart because he pulled it out of the fire. He was gone and kept coming back. He wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was a blue-collar horse who gatecrashed the biggest parties in the world without wearing a tuxedo and became a legend."

Catch up with the latest news on this year's Grand National:

Can Rachael Blackmore repeat last year's Aintree heroics?

Gordon Elliott to run eight in Grand National with Death Duty replacing his stablemate

Confidence high for 'incredibly talented' Grand National gamble Snow Leopardess

Who will win the 2022 Grand National based on previous trends?

Racing Post Live is your ultimate racing watchalong every Saturday and during major festivals. Our experts offer uninterrupted tips, analysis and reactions to the ITV action. Subscribe to the Racing Post YouTube channel here and never miss a minute