Tiger Roll aims to roar in Bowl
TIGER Roll is set to face eight rivals as he bids to add the Grade One Betway Bowl Chase to his remarkable list of high-profile victories.
The five-time Cheltenham Festival winner and dual Grand National hero has become a household name without taking on top staying chasers at level weights.
But owners Gigginstown House Stud decided to make an exception this time, and Tiger Roll runs at Aintree tomorrow – rather than the Randox Grand National at the weekend.
The 11-year-old, trained by Denise Foster, had been out of form since his second National triumph in 2019 before bouncing back with a convincing victory in the Glenfarclas Cross-country Chase at Cheltenham last month.
Heading the opposition to him this week is 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Native River, who was fourth in the latest renewal of that great race. Clan Des Obeaux, winner of the King George VI Chase in 2018 and 2019, looks a formidable foe too – as does Waiting Patiently, runner-up in this season’s King George and winner of the Ascot Chase in 2018.
Aso, Clondaw Castle, Militarian, Mister Fisher and Real Steel complete the list of contenders for the three-mile one-furlong feature. Meanwhile, Buveur D’air will bid to roll back the years and win a second Betway Aintree Hurdle.
Nicky Henderson’s 10-year-old lifted tomorrow’s Grade One prize over two-and-a-half miles in 2017, and was runner-up in 2019. The dual Champion Hurdle winner was sidelined for 420 days when suffering a freak injury in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle in November 2019 – and returned to action only in January when he was beaten by Navajo Pass at Haydock.