Surprise Cheltenham entry for Tiger Roll as Gordon Elliott weighs up Sunday run

Cheltenham is bracing itself for yet another Irish invasion this weekend after it emerged that 57 of the entries for the three-day November meeting are trained in Ireland and among them is none other than dual Grand National hero Tiger Roll, who has been given a surprise entry on Sunday.

Eight months on from winning 23 of the Cheltenham Festival's 28 races, Irish-trained runners are well placed to exert their dominance once more at the home of jump racing's second biggest fixture.

There were only ten Irish-trained runners at the 2020 November meeting and in 2019. There were 19 in 2018 and 21 in 2017 so it looks as though there will be the biggest representation from Ireland since 2012 when 44 took their chance, and even that could be surpassed.