TIGER’S NATIONAL TILT TAKES A HIT

The prospect of Tiger Roll becoming the first horse to win back-to-back Grand Nationals since Red Rum 45 years ago became tougher with the news that the weights for the race will rise 4lb following the withdrawal of original top weight Bristol de Mai. The decision to run the Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained Cheltenham Gold Cup third in the Betway Bowl on the opening day of the meeting means Anibale Fly, the Gold Cup runnerup, takes top weight of 11st 10lb. Tiger Roll will carry 11st 5lb in the four-and-aquarter-mile race, but he remains 7-2 favourite for the April 6 race. Nicola McGeady of Ladbrokes said: ‘Tiger Roll is only carrying 6lb more than he did last year, so it’s not a worry for us. he will be the worst result for us in National history.’