Gigginstown House Stud racing manager Eddie O’Leary says Tiger Roll will be given the chance to prove he wants to keep racing.
Trained by Gordon Elliott, Tiger Roll is one of the greatest jumps horses of all time and he had been on course to complete a hat-trick of consecutive Grand National wins this April, only for world-famous steeplechase to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Upon his return from a summer break, the 10-year-old has struggled to get back into the groove, finishing sixth at Navan on his seasonal reappearance in October before being pulled up at Cheltenham last Friday in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Handicap Chase – a race he won in 2018 and 2019.
In the aftermath of that disappointing performance, connections had suggested the gelding could be retired, but O’Leary has now come out in spirited fashion and insists Tiger Roll could still head to Aintree next year.
“Tiger Roll will be retired when Tiger Roll tells us he wants to retire,” said O’Leary, speaking to the Racing Post. “He wasn’t standing still with his back to the ditch when he was let out into the field on Saturday morning.
“He was bucking and kicking and full of himself. He’s still loving life. Once he starts telling us he’s sick of it, that will be it. The horse deserves a chance to show us the spark is still there. I think we owe him that.
“If he shows us the spark is still there in those two races (Boyne Hurdle/Cross Country Chase), then I’d imagine he will run in the Grand National. If he doesn’t, he won’t.”
