Tiger can still roar with his fifth win
TIGER Roll added another remarkable win to his extraordinary career with a third victory in the Glenfarclas Chase.
The 11-year-old grabbed a fifth victory at Cheltenham as, under Keith Donoghue, he roared up the hill he knows so well.
Formerly trained by the banned Gordon Elliott, Tiger Roll won’t be bidding for a hat-trick of victories in the Randox Grand National at Aintree Racecourse on April 10 after his owners withdrew him from the race following a dispute over his handicap rating.
Instead, he could line-up at Fairyhouse on Easter Monday and bid for a first win in the Irish Grand National or maybe a trip to the Punchestown Festival is more likely later on next month.
Wherever he goes next after what he has already achieved in his career, few would bet against him landing another landmark victory.
Tiger Roll became only the third horse to win five times at the Festival following five-time Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Golden Miller (1932-36), with only Willie Mullins’ Mare Quevega – who won the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle six times between 2009 and 2014 – having more glory at the Prestbury Park extravaganza.
But while those two Cheltenham legends won the same race, Tiger Roll has won three different contests with victories in the two-mile JCB Triumph Hurdle, the National Hunt Challenge Trophy and now three in the Cross Country Chase.
Sent off at 9-2, Tiger Roll turned the tables on evens favourite Easysland, who beat him into second in this race 12 months ago, to score by a superb 18 lengths.
Now in the care of Denise Foster, who took over from Elliott at his Cullentra House Stables in County Meath following his ban, Tiger Roll put his rivals to the sword coming to the latter part of the 3m6f contest.
And despite Easysland trying to bridge the huge gap, he couldn’t get near Tiger Roll this time.
The French raider had to settle for distant second with Some Neck (17-2) a further two-and-a-quarter lengths back in third.
Eddie O’Leary, racing manager for owners Gigginstown House Stud, said: “That was unbelievable – what a fantastic horse, we’re over the moon here. He’s a legend of a horse.
“There was a rush to retire this horse earlier in the season, but he’s a cross-country horse, that’s what he is, and we always said we’ll wait to see how he gets on over the crosscountry fences once more. To win at five Festivals is amazing, what a horse.
“Aintree is off the agenda and we’ve no regrets about that. Both him and Easysland are rated too high. He is rated the equal of our Gold Cup horse, Delta Work, and we know he’s not as good.
“It’s going to be hard to retire him after that, now, and he loves racing in any case. He’ll probably have to run at Punchestown in the Grade
One, where he will probably prove he is nowhere near a 166-rated horse, and it is a pity we have to do that.”
Winning jockey Donoghue added: “He really came alive today and jumped brilliant. I was in control of the race from halfway and within his comfort zone – when Tiger Roll is like that, you don’t take him back.
“We never doubted that we had him peaking for the right time. We were happy with his last run in Navan on ground that he absolutely hates.
“I knew the way he was going today, it would take a good horse to get by him.
“We had the faith and knew what this horse could show.”