Trainer Gordon Elliott says Tiger Roll is in “great form” ahead of his seasonal reappearance at Navan on Thursday.
The dual Grand National winner has not been seen in competitive action since missing out on a remarkable fifth success at the Cheltenham Festival when finishing second to Easysland in the Glenfarclas Chase back in March.
The 10-year-old had been due to challenge for an unprecedented third successive triumph in the Grand National at Aintree the following month, but that race was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Elliott now admitting that it may have actually been a blessing in disguise for his stable star.
“It wasn’t that annoying at all (to miss the Grand National) because he’d had a very hard race in Cheltenham and came home a bit stiff and sore behind,” the Cullentra trainer told reporters.
“The decision was made a week after Cheltenham that Aintree wasn’t going to go ahead, so we didn’t really get to think about it that much.
“It was going to be a tough couple of weeks to get there, anyway, because he hadn’t a brilliant preparation for Cheltenham.”
Tiger Roll will now return to action at Navan on Thursday when he runs in the one-mile-six-furlong Flower Hill Maiden and Elliott, who has described the gelding as a “horse of a lifetime”, feels he is good shape despite his advancing years.
“He’s absolutely in great form. Simon McGonagle, my head man, rides him out most days,” added Elliott. “I think ground is the big key to him – the better the ground, the better he is.”
