Tiger set to go cross-country route again Tiger Roll is set to take a familiar path back to Aintree in the spring, where he will seek to defend his Randox Health Grand National title for Gordon Elliott. The remarkable eight-year-old won the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in 2014, before adding the National Hunt Challenge Cup run in honour of the late JT McNamara in 2017. Tiger Roll was back at Prestbury Park to lift the cross-country crown in March this year on his way to glory at Aintree. And that race will again be on the agenda, according to Elliott. Speaking at The McCoys on Friday night, where Tiger Roll’s exploits earned the Gigginstown House Stud-owned gelding the Judges’ Choice Award, the Cullentra handler said: “He’s a horse that everyone at home loves, and whenever we have visitors to the yard they all want to know, ‘Where’s Tiger Roll?’. “This time last year I was wondering where we would run him, but he’s flying at home again, and we will be going down the cross-country route with him once more.” Sir Anthony McCoy, who presented the award, added: “He’s everything that is great about jump racing.” Founded in 2017, The McCoys are jump racing awards for owners, trainers, jockeys, stable staff and horses running at all Jockey Club-owned racecourses in the UK. The qualifying period for the second edition of the awards — named after the record-breaking McCoy, who retired from the saddle in April, 2015 — was between May 1, 2017 and April 28, 2018 inclusive. The panel of judges included Henrietta Knight, trainer of the three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Best Mate, and were presented before an audience of almost 500 in the Centaur at Cheltenham racecourse.
