WHAT’S in a name? Well, stick Tiger Roll into Google and you discover it‘s a piece of sushi that contains avocado, shrimp tempura, pickled ginger and wasabi paste.

You also learn that Tiger Roll is a thoroughbred racehorse that has won back-to-back Grand Nationals at Aintree and also won four times at the Cheltenham Festival. The one and only thing that these Tiger Rolls have in common is that they are both very much the sum of their respective parts.

There’s a large team of talented people behind the unlikely story of one of a small number of racehorses in history that have transcended the sport and made it on to the front pages of the newspapers.

Tiger Roll, the racehorse, is something really special and has turned out to be something very different to what he was bred to be. A genuine freak of nature.

The fact that he ended up achieving one of the greatest feats in racing history is down, in the main, to the man responsible for his training, Gordon Elliott. He had the vision to determine that a small horse bred for speed could tackle the largest of obstacles and stay forever.

Tiger Roll was bred by Jerry O’Brien in Portroe, Co Tipperary, out of Swiss Roll, a daughter of the Sadler’s Wells stallion Entrepreneur and a winner over one mile, four furlongs and one mile, six furlongs for trainer Tommy Stack. She has also produced three other winners including Ahzeemah, a son of Dubawi, who was second in the Irish St Leger.

His sire was 2007 Derby winner, Authorized, a son of Montjeu, so interestingly from a breeding perspective, Tiger Roll is in-bred 3x3 to the great Sadler’s Wells.

This inbreeding is not uncommon in racehorses with the remarkable filly Enable (3x2) and the highly talented 2018 Arkle Chase winner, Footpad (3x2), both also closely in-bred to the stallion.

Tiger Roll was bought by John Ferguson as a foal for 70,000gns on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed but never raced in his silks. He was eventually bought by Devon trainer and 1991 Grand National- winning jockey with Seagram, Nigel Hawke, for £10,000 at Goffs UK.

BRILLIANT Jumper

Hawke felt that Tiger Roll was slow enough but was a brilliant jumper, so he entered him in the weakest juvenile hurdle he could find, at Market Rasen, and he duly dotted up.

He then sold him in December 2013 at the Cheltenham sales and was knocked down to the only bidder, Gigginstown’s buyer Mags O’Toole, for £80,000, and was sent straight to Gordon Elliott’s Cullentra House Stables near Summerhill, Co Meath.

Jockey Lisa O’Neill, who works daily at Cullentra House, remembers when Tiger Roll first arrived at the yard. “I was the first one to throw the leg over him and I remember him launching me out of the saddle and up into the air a few times. He liked to throw a few playful bucks but it’s nice to see a horse have that bit of character about him. There’s a bit of devilment in him and you have to be well aware of that.”

It didn’t take long for Gordon Elliott and his team to recognise that Tiger Roll had plenty of ability and he was immediately plunged in at the deep end.

experienced

Simon McGonagle, Elliott’s highly experienced head lad, said: “His first run for us was in the Grade 1 Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown in February 2014 and he finished second, a couple of lengths behind Guitar Pete. We thought he had an each-way chance, without kicking the door down, and we were delighted with his run.

“His class definitely shone through in winning the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham the following month, but he then lost his way for a season or two. He pulled a couple of muscles in his back and it took him a while to get over that and get going again.”

JUMPED A Fence

It was the summer of 2016 before Tiger Roll jumped a fence and his first outing over the larger obstacles was a win in a beginners’ chase at Ballinrobe followed up by victory in a novice chase at Kilbeggan.

Then 16 years old, Jack Kennedy rode him to victory on both of those occasions.

Simon McGonagle continues the story: “Tiger Roll ended up with a nice mark over fences and then comfortably won the Munster National at Limerick under 5lb claimer Donagh Meyler, but at that point, you certainly wouldn’t have thought he would go on to win four times at Cheltenham and two Grand Nationals. When jumping fences he would take an odd chance and you wouldn’t have said he’d be ideal around Aintree, but he’s very clever and knows how to get the job done.”

Tiger Roll is 15.2hh, small for a chaser, but McGonagle says the now 10-year-old bay gelding is very well put together: “He’s definitely not a big horse but he has a good back end on him and a good shoulder too. He also has a good front and neck – so he’s very well built.”

Enthusiasm

Tiger Roll’s second win at Cheltenham was in the 2017 four-mile National Hunt Chase and provided Lisa O’Neill with the best day of her career: “Tiger Roll has been a massive part of my life. To provide me with a Cheltenham Festival winner was simply incredible. He might be pocket sized but it’s all about what’s on the inside, not what’s on the outside. He has massive heart and enthusiasm and just loves Cheltenham and Aintree.

“He tends to turn a corner in the spring and just loves the atmosphere at the big festivals. He’s the type of horse who nearly tells you himself when he’s in good form and it’s great to see him come alive beneath you.”

Clever TECHNIQUE

Lisa O’Neill agrees with Simon that Tiger Roll is very clever over his obstacles: “He’s very economical with his jumping technique over hurdles and fences but that’s all part of the Tiger Roll package, he just does what he has to do to get from A to B and he is saving energy for the part of the race that matters most.”

Tiger Roll has given so many people the days of their lives. Included among them is jockey Keith Donoghue, who has won twice on the legend over the banks course at Cheltenham. “He means everything to me,” he said. “In fact, everyone only really knows me because of him. I have a real soft spot for him and I think we have a great bond. I owe a lot to Gordon for my association with the horse. Gordon wanted me to ride Tiger Roll in the banks race at the Cheltenham December meeting in 2017 but I wanted to ride Bless The Wings because my sponsor owns him.

“I did as I was told and rode Tiger Roll but Bless The Wings beat him that day by 42 lengths! Gordon told me to be patient as Tiger Roll would be the horse to be on come March. How right he was.”

Tiger Roll’s two successes at those Cheltenham Festival’s cross-country races under Donoghue and his two Grand National wins under Davy Russell have cemented his legend status.

STAR Attraction

Lisa O’Neill says that despite there being so many good horses in Gordon’s yard it’s no surprise that he’s the star attraction. “He’s definitely the most popular and favourite horse in the yard. He has become very aware of the camera at this stage and strikes a pose when he sees a lens. He gets fan mail from every walk of life and he even gets carrots and polo mints sent to him in the post. It’s brilliant to see so many children take an interest in him. That’s great for racing. He really is the people’s horse – he’s not just our Tiger Roll, he is everyone’s Tiger Roll.”

Worldwide FAME

Keith Donoghue continued: “Tiger Roll is known worldwide. I was in the USA on holidays last year and I couldn’t believe how well known he is over there. They are in awe that such a small horse has won twice over those huge Aintree fences. I’m not surprised. I’m even in awe of him myself. I was washing him down recently and thinking how small he actually is but he’s just a big ball of muscle.

“When you ride him, he feels an awful lot bigger. He goes over to Cheltenham or Aintree and you can see him getting switched on – his muscles bulge out. He feels more like 16.2hh rather than 15.2hh. It’s great to be around him as there may never be another Tiger Roll.”

PERFECT Motivation

Keith Donoghue is six foot tall and his difficulties in staying light have been well documented, but he says Tiger Roll provides the perfect motivation to keep going. “I’m lucky that the minimum weight in the banks race at Cheltenham is 11st 4lb and that’s always the target.

“I missed out on the ride on Labaik when he won the 2017 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle as I couldn’t make the weight and I was absolutely gutted, so it was incredible to come back the following year after a lot of hard work and win on Tiger Roll. And to do it again the following year was another incredible day. Let’s hope he can complete the hat-trick.

“He’s a bit like the Dublin football team – he peaks at the right time and as a Meathman, it pains me to say that! When the sun comes out, his skin get better and he starts bucking. That’s when Tiger Roll turns inside out.”

Chipped bone

Simon McGonagle confirmed it’s all systems go for the massive season ahead. “Tiger Roll’s chipped bone issue before Christmas has sorted itself out – he’s back cantering and jumping away.

“I suppose his second Grand National was my favourite. When he went over the first time we thought he had a chance but there was no real expectation; however, the second time there was a fair bit of pressure attached to it.

“To keep going back you need a fair bit of luck and you need everything to fall right for you – literally. You need nothing to fall in front of you or get you into trouble. It also takes a fair bit of planning to get him back there spot on every time. Overall, he’s just a great character who puts a smile on your face when you are riding him in the mornings.”

His owner Michael O’Leary has very little left to achieve in National Hunt racing. If, and when, he decides to walk away from the sport, as he has indicated, he can look back with great fondness on some of the best and most memorable days of his life.

He has led in the winner of two Cheltenham Gold Cups with War Of Attrition in 2006 and a decade later with Don Cossack in 2016.

A whole host of top-class horses have carried his maroon and white silks into the winner’s enclosure, such as Apple’s Jade, Road To Respect, Sir Des Champs, Samcro and his first Grand National winner at Aintree, Rule The World.

‘Little rat’

But it is the horse he famously called “a little rat of a thing” who will be the horse that will define his sojourn as one of the most successful owners in the history of National Hunt racing.

Should Tiger Roll win again next month in the Cotswolds and then go on to trump the legendary Red Rum, by winning an unprecedented third consecutive Grand National, he will become not just a racing immortal but an iconic figure worldwide.

Long after his aviation career has reached its arrivals hall, O’Leary can visit Aintree Racecourse and reminisce on a remarkable period in his life. He can also pay his respects to his gutsy little horse, whose eventual resting place will probably be just to the right of Aintree’s winning post.