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We will have to wait until next year to find out if Tiger Roll still has a third Grand National in him. A hat-trick in 2020 was the ultimate target and unfortunately we’ll never know if he’d have done it. Would he have won, though? We take a look at the argument for and against the brilliant dual-winner of the world’s most famous race. 

The motion for Tiger Roll

Weight, form and latent ability aside, there is a certain aptitude required to excel over the unique Grand National course. Tiger Roll has it, and has it in absolute spades. When he won the 2018 Grand National, he did so from a BHA handicap mark of 150. The manner in which he jumped and travelled through the race suggested that he possessed a rare affinity to the demands of Aintree, but in no way did he scream out “multiple winner” of the race first time around. 

Through the 2018-2019 season though, Tiger Roll seemed to improve. He won a Grade 2 hurdle race at a big price when it was least expected and he produced an imperiously impressive win in the Cross Country race at the Cheltenham Festival. It was pretty clear at that point that Gordon Elliott’s inmate was ready to put up a very stern defence of his Grand National crown. 

tiger roll winner

Last April, Tiger Roll couldn’t have made it look easier in winning his second National. Building on the successes of a perfect season, his jumping and the way he moved through the race was all class and he won the race easily from a 9lb higher handicap mark of 159. This season, he didn’t enjoy anywhere near as good a build-up, but it was still reckoned by most that he was the horse they all had to beat. The handicapper put a mark of 170 on his head, a remarkably lofty rating for any horse to win a Grand National from and 11lb higher than his 2019 perch. A tall order, but given the way he won in 2019 and the unique ability he has to take Aintree completely in his stride where others struggle, it is perfectly possible he would have tanked his way through the race and won his third Grand National.

The motion against…

The thing is, he may well have moved sweetly into contention once again, but there would have been a new set of 39 horses to beat, most of them geared and tailored toward winning this one race. Many of them will have been carrying handicap marks that underestimated their perceived chance of winning, provided they could produce a clear round of jumping and stay the trip. 

Tiger Roll also had some early season hold-ups and injury niggles. He failed to fire in the same Grade 2 Hurdle he’d won the previous season on his return to the track and he was beaten in the Cross Country chase he’d dominated at Cheltenham in the previous two years. In addition to a far from ideal preparation for his third Grand National, the handicap mark of 170 was the elephant in the room. 2015 winner Many Clouds was a top class staying chaser, proven to be capable of beating Grade 1 horses and he managed to win the race from a very lofty mark of 160. Could little Tiger Roll really do it from 10lb higher given his profile - even if operating at his best? 

tiger roll 2021

Tiger Roll is an undoubted legend of the sport and he may well have proven too good for his rivals in 2020. But there were more than enough question marks around him to suggest that the 2020 Grand National would have been just too much of an ask for a horse who owes the sport absolutely nothing.

What can Tiger Roll achieve in 2021?

He will be a year older, but 11-year-olds have an excellent record in the race. With injury worries hopefully behind him and a cleaner preparation, Tiger Roll can easily establish himself as a major player in the 2021 Grand National. Connections will also be hoping that they can get that handicap mark down by a few pounds. Even dropping from 170 to 168 or 166 would provide Tiger Roll with a slightly more realistic opportunity of emulating the great Red Rum.

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