TIGER FEAT MAY YET BE BACK ON THE CARDS
TIGER ROLL’S Grand National treble bid is back on if he is “given a chance” by the BHA’s Grand National handicapper Martin Greenwood.
The Gordon Elliotttrained star’s owner Michael O’Leary shocked punters on Tuesday saying the chances of the nine-year-old seeking to add to his National heroics of 2017 and 2018 were between “slim and none”.
But O’Leary’s brother and racing manager Eddie yesterday insisted Tiger Roll will bid for a historic hat-trick in the Randox Health-sponsored marathon on 4 April — as long as Greenwood plays ball.
“We are not trying to put pressure on the handicapper or bully him in any way,” said Eddie O’Leary. “All we want is for the horse to be given a chance.
“If he is given a chance, he will run in the Grand National, but if he’s not, he won’t.
“Every year, the weights were compressed — sometimes by 8-10lb — to encourage the best horses to run.
“We’re not looking for that much, but it wouldn’t be fair to ask the horse to run off his rating of 172, because he’s not a 172 horse.”
The National weights are set to be unveiled in Liverpool on 11 February next year — a month before Tiger Roll’s scheduled tune-up for Aintree in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, which he has won for the last two years.
But O’Leary added of the 5-1 National favourite: “If his weight is unreasonable, he’ll be retired after Cheltenham.”