McCain: Tiger Roll can emulate Red Rum and follow up in Grand National

Should Tiger Roll justify favouritism and win Saturday's Randox Health Grand National he would be the first back-to-back winner since the legendary Red Rum.

The most famous horse in the history of the race won in 1973 and 1974 before claiming it for a third time in 1977. Trained by the late Ginger McCain, Red Rum's feat has stood the test of time, but following a dominant performance in the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, punters and bookmakers feel Tiger Roll has an outstanding chance of matching the achievement.

Tiger Roll: at home at Cullentra House StablesCredit: Patrick McCann

McCain's son Donald himself triumphed with Ballabriggs in 2011, and while he rates Tiger Roll's chances of succeeding again highly, he does not think the achievements can be compared directly.

"I think Tiger Roll has a great chance of winning another National, and Gordon [Elliott] is making a fantastic job of him," McCain said on Sunday.

"But in regards of emulating Red Rum, and I know I'm a little bit biased, that ship has sailed."

In the 40-plus years since Red Rum won his three Grand Nationals, the race has undergone significant changes, including making the course and fences safer, along with how the race is formed from a handicapping perspective with the compressed weights.

Ballabriggs: won the 2011 Grand National for Donald McCainCredit: Mark Cranham

Such alterations, McCain believes, make the Aintree marathon a very different test in the modern era, and he added: "You didn't get 9lb for winning a Grand National in those days, you went from 10st 5lb to 12st and carried top weight every year afterwards.

"You were giving two stone to horses and weight to Gold Cup winners. The race has changed completely and I find it a little mind-boggling every year that a Grand National winner can go up 7lb or 9lb, and I've had one of those as well.

"It doesn't seem like the Aintree factor comes into winners somehow. The modern day Grand National is a good quality staying handicap chase, the other factors have been taken out of it a bit."

Watch: Tiger Roll canter to a fourth festival win

McCain does think Tiger Roll has a lot in his favour ahead of his National defence, and said: "He's been trained for the day and I imagine the Cross Country will have put him spot on. If anybody can get the job done, Gordon can.

"If Tiger Roll can go and win a second Grand National it would be a feat that's not been done for many years and it might be a long time before it is done again in the modern era, but the race and the conditions have changed beyond recognition compared to those [Red Rum's] days."

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