Tiger Roll

There was no victory lap for the legendary stallion as he bowed out with defeat to stablemate Delta Work.

While he has only won 13 of the 44 races he has ridden, more than half of them have come at Cheltenham and Aintree. In total, he has earned winnings of more than £1.4m for his owners, with Elliott having bought him as an 'afterthought'. But his career has now come to an end with the stallion set to be put out to pasture following the Cross Country Chase on Wednesday. Former jockey Ruby Walsh told Paddy Power: "He's a wonderful horse. He's won two Grand Nationals. He's won a Triumph Hurdle, a National Hunt Chase and now he's trying to win his fourth Cross Country Chase. "Whatever accolades have been thrown at the horse, you'd have to say his trainer deserves them every bit as much." Scottish CupCeltic vs Rangers and Hearts vs Hibs dates and kick off times confirmed for Scottish Cup semi finalsTwo massive derbies play out in the National Stadium next month and we now know exactly when they'll take place. Trainer Gordon Elliott bought Tiger Roll in 2013 after he had been bred in Ireland, before selling him on to Ryanair founder Michael O'Leary. He has become a legend of the sport over his nine-year career, winning the Grand National twice. Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow meTiger Roll was downed late on by stablemate and same-owned Delta Work – with the winning horse being booed as it passed the post and as it passed the stands afterwards. Tiger Roll heroically took it up after travelling well but Delta Work - a previous winner at Cheltenham and also owned by Ryanair supremo Michael O'Leary - battled past him on the run-in to head him late home.

The fairytale ending was not to be. Tiger Roll could not sign off his fabulous career with victory in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham, ...

He likes to get to the front at some stage of the race at this age of his career as he likes to boss a race. Davy Russell, rider of Tiger Roll, said: “He is a great horse and he has got a fitting send off so it is great. The first National was a bit heart and mouth stuff with the photo finish but the second one was marvellous. He ran his race - the other two horses are rated a lot more highly than him, so we’re delighted.” It was great to see Tiger Roll run like he did, but we’re delighted with our fella.” "He's been the horse of a lifetime and in many ways Cheltenham has been his spiritual home. It is such a marvellous sport we have and we are so lucky. The reaction from the crowd didn’t really surprise me to be honest and if he’d have won the cheer would have been unbelievable. He will be a big loss for the yard but he’ll only be at Gigginstown which is down the road, so they can go and see him whenever they want. He’s been with us for nine years now and to be honest I had a tear in my eye there, it’s unbelievable. But Delta Work, on his first try over the cross-country fences, was always close enough under Jack Kennedy, and slowly, with every stride, inched closer and eventually put his head in front 200 yards from the line to go score by three-quarters of a length. The fairytale ending was not to be.

Delta Work and Jack Kennedy defeated Tiger Roll in the legendary horse's final race at Cheltenham Festival on Wednesday before the two-time Grand National ...

He added: “He’s been the horse of a lifetime and in many ways Cheltenham has been his spiritual home. Pick up your Daily Mirror every day of the Cheltenham Festival for a FREE £2 shop bet with William Hill which can be used on any of the sporting action! Regardless, both Delta Work and Tiger Roll emerged in the winners’ enclosure together to rapturous applause. “I really would have loved to see Tiger go out on a win,” an emotional O’Leary said. I suppose it was in my head that he might not get up the hill as well as my lad on that ground.” There were boos from the crowd as Delta Work took the win, but Kennedy was sympathetic as he understood the occasion.

Tiger Roll won the Grand National in 2018 and 2019, has five wins at the Cheltenham Festival and has become one of the most prolific National Hunt rac.

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Tiger Roll retired: the dual Grand National winner finished second at the Cheltenham Festival on what was his final ever race.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. He got the reaction he deserved [from the crowd] and we’re very proud of him. He’s a warrior,” said Michael. “The great thing is he has finished in one piece and has come back safe and sound.

Journey With Me and jockey Rachael Blackmore fall in the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle during day two of the Cheltenham Festival. Photo: Mike Egerton/PA Wire.

“Yes, he put some water on because the boys felt last night coming down the hill (getting faster) which is a dangerous place to be getting quick. In the event, Tiger Roll looked a winner for so much of the race that his being led into a heaving winner’s enclosure alongside Delta Work afterwards didn’t feel so much a nod to emotion as just reward. Asked on ITV if he understood the decision to water, he bluntly replied: “No, not at all. Having applied a precautionary 5mms of watering overnight, Sods Law dictated that it bucketed on Wednesday and ground conditions turned ultra-testing. With no Delta Work there would have been a record-equalling sixth festival victory for Tiger Roll and a perfect send-off into the retirement sunset. Booing from a sizable minority swept along the stands and was repeated as Delta Work and Jack Kennedy walked back in front of those stands.

Tiger Roll never made it to the track for Godolphin, going through the ring again in August 2013 when trainer Nigel Hawke forked out a mere £10,000 for the ...

You may click to consent to our and our partners’ processing as described above. Not since Red Rum, though, had any horse won the National more than once.The following year would clearly be built around going back to Merseyside and the signs were ominous for the rest when he had his prep for the Glenfarclas Chase in the Boyne Hurdle – and won at 25-1.It therefore should not have surprised anyone when he fairly bolted up at Cheltenham, by 22 lengths, and he headed to Aintree as a strong favourite.This time, on better ground, Russell just had to avoid trouble and even off a 9lb-higher mark than 12 month earlier, he comfortably accounted for Magic Of Light to write his name into folklore.Tiger Roll (right) had to see off Magic Of Light to win a second Grant National (Nigel French/PA)A third Aintree win and the chance to do something Red Rum could not in winning three successive Nationals was the 2020 aim and while Tiger Roll came up short in a soft-ground cross country, it appeared as though a new record could be on.However, fate intervened and as the coronavirus pandemic paralysed the world, the National was cancelled and with it went Tiger Roll’s hat-trick hopes.O’Leary had not been totally convinced about an Aintree run, thinking the handicapper’s assessment of his star was harsh, and that has been the running theme since with neither party willing to meet the other’s expectations in what became a tiresome sub-plot.Handed a mark of 166 for the 2021 renewal, O’Leary had already ruled out the National as Tiger Roll stormed round the cross-country course to claim a fifth overall Festival success and exact his revenge on Easysland by 18 lengths.He eventually did appear on Merseyside as connections seemingly sought to prove a point by running him in the Grade One Betway Bowl – an outing which unsurprisingly ended in abject defeat on his first run over conventional fences for four years.A further reverse over park fences at Aintree in the Many Clouds Chase, when Tiger Roll never went a yard, resulted a marginal move from the handicapper for this year’s National. But just a few hours after Elliott expressed his hopes of taking up the challenge, O’Leary had vetoed the idea calling his rating “absurd” and announcing the gelding would sign off at Cheltenham.Tiger Roll jumps the final fence of his career (Mike Egerton/PA)And so to the Festival once more, where Tiger Roll so nearly managed a perfect end to the fairytale, battling stablemate Delta Work, who clearly did not get the memo, all the way to the line, with the pair both returning to the winner’s enclosure for a rapturous welcome.Tiger Roll may have been beaten in the race, but he has certainly won the hearts of the public – the Godolphin cast-off who found his niche and secured his place in the racing Hall of Fame.It will be quite some time before we see his like again.Watch the stories that matter, right from your inboxThanks, your email has been added to our newsletter.Thanks, your email has been added to our newsletter.First thing Nazanin wants is for me to make her a cup of tea – Richard RatcliffeNazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ‘at Tehran airport and on her way home’PM says ‘no way’ Ukraine joining Nato any time soon as Zelensky sees hope in peace talks We value your privacyWe and our store and/or access information on a device, such as cookies and process personal data, such as unique identifiers and standard information sent by a device for personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, and audience insights, as well as to develop and improve products. As a son of 2007 Epsom hero Authorized and a half-brother to classy Flat types like Ahzeemah and Austrian School, John Ferguson would hardly have had Aintree in his mind when he bid 70,000 guineas for him as a foal in 2010.Tiger Roll never made it to the track for Godolphin, going through the ring again in August 2013 when trainer Nigel Hawke forked out a mere £10,000 for the gelding, who more than recouped that outlay when changing hands again for £80,000 at the end of the year following a hurdles win at Market Rasen.Sent to Gordon Elliott, he made his debut for Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud in Ireland in Grade One company and just came up short behind Guitar Pete. But he turned that form around when winning the Triumph Hurdle in 2014 – a precursor to what lay ahead.While he did return to Cheltenham for his first run the following season and left successful, a spell in the doldrums followed and like several Triumph winners before him, he appeared to have completely lost his way.A well-beaten 50-1 chance in the 2015 Stayers’ Hurdle, connections would have been forgiven for sending him back to the sales.However, they persevered, sending him over fences and he was soon off the mark, eventually bolting up in the Munster National at 20-1 that October, his eighth run since May but his first over three miles and fences, suggested he could excel in staying chases.Two outings later he was a Cheltenham Festival winner once more in the National Hunt Chase when it was still over four miles, ridden by Lisa O’Neill, proving once and for all that stamina really was his forte.The following season Elliott had two races in mind, the Cross Country Chase at the Festival and the National and given he had been beaten at Cheltenham’s November meeting, he was a relatively easy to back 7-1 chance when he pulled off the first objective.Then it was on to Aintree where, as a three-time Festival winner already, he was among the favourites at 10-1 but the heavy ground was not supposed to be in his favour.When Davy Russell cruised into the lead before the last fence he looked like being one of the easiest National winners ever, but having gone by the Elbow with five lengths in hand, the petrol gauge was suddenly on empty and Willie Mullins’ Pleasant Company got to within a head at the line.No longer would Tiger Roll be just another horse. 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The 4.10 at Cheltenham looked to be heading for an iconic finish as the 3/1 Tiger took the final jumps in the lead, in pursuit of a sixth victory at the ...

He's a legend.” “He's been the horse of a lifetime and in many ways Cheltenham has been his spiritual home. The 4.10 at Cheltenham looked to be heading for an iconic finish as the 3/1 Tiger took the final jumps in the lead, in pursuit of a sixth victory at the Festival.

Wednesday: Glenfarclas Chase, Cheltenham. Dual Grand National winner Tiger Roll was denied a historic sixth Cheltenham Festival win by his own stablemate on ...

Sign up to William Hill here and get 30-1 on Allaho to win the Ryanair Chase for the second year in a row on Thursday of the festival. I wanted Tiger to win, I really did but, look, Delta Work won and it was a great race." If he did, the "little rat of a thing", as O'Leary once infamously described him, would be long forgotten by now. I actually expected to pick him up a bit easier, but my lad just ground him down in the end. The wrong horse won and it would have been a dream come true if Tiger had won, but he did us proud and Tiger Roll made the race what it was. Tiger Roll did his very best to fight him off, he rallied once, twice, three times, but the younger and classier legs prevailed. "I'd say a lot of people will hate me now but it doesn't really bother me," said the winning rider. Back at his happiest hunting ground, flicking over Aintree-style fences, gobbling up the cheese wedges and skipping over the stuffed hurdles, he loved every single second of it. You have to throw as many darts as you can at the dartboard here and hope something sticks. By the time they got to the 25th obstacle, another railed hedge, Tiger Roll's rider Davy Russell couldn't wait any longer. I would have loved to see him win it." "I'm disappointed," he said, his voice already beginning to quiver.

Two-time Grand National champion Tiger Roll came agonisingly close to a fairytale farewell to the sport he adorned, only to be denied by his stablemate ...

Unfortunately it was not to be today." "A winner in Cheltenham and I'm disappointed. But the tiny horse once again showed he had, as rider Davy Russell had said, a "heart of a lion".

Tiger Roll was chasing his sixth Cheltenham Festival win in the cross country chase on Ladies Day. The crowd sensed victory as he hit the front, ...

Tiger Roll won back-to-back Grand National titles for trainer Gordon Elliott in 2018 and 2019. But stablemate Delta Work was the one to spoil the party, overhauling the legend up the run-in by three-quarters-of-a-length. Fans were in full voice as he hit the front, on ground softer than ideal – and they sensed another memorable victory on day two of the 2022 edition

Tiger Roll was hailed a legend and a hero by his legion of fans after finishing an honourable second on his last run in the Glenfarclas Chase.

Incredible longevity, an unbelievable CV and what a way to bow out with a huge run on the biggest stage. Sign up to William Hill here and get 30-1 on Allaho to win the Ryanair Chase for the second year in a row on Thursday of the festival. The words hero and legend get overused all the time, but as racehorses go, Tiger Roll couldn't fit those bills any better. Incredible longevity, an unbelievable CV and what a way to bow out with a huge run on the biggest stage. Thanks for the memories, Tiger." I found him, taught him the job and I feel very proud of that fact."