Tiger Roll the Standout Bet on Day Two

Tiger Roll is aiming to land what would be a historic double double, with back to back wins in both the Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the Grand National at Aintree. He won both races last year, and heads to the festival first in the Cross Country on Wednesday. This is the easier leg for him to complete this year, and he looks well ahead of his rivals, and I make him the bet of the day on day two.

He comes into the race on the back of a Grade Two hurdle win, which is the best we have seen him run as a prep. After that race, trainer Gordon Elliott said he was very surprised to see the horse win, as he was only 70 or 80% fit, and that he would come on for the run. If he runs like he did that day, nothing in this field can get near him, so to possibly have more in the tank to give is a scary prospect.

This horse is by no means a quirky horse, but the quirks of a race like this or the Grand National appear to bring out the best in him. They did last year and I am hoping they do again this year, because we really could be seeing one of the greats if he manages to do the double again.

The only horse rated in the same league as Tiger Roll on Wednesday is Auvergnat, but strictly based on this race last season, he has over 17 lengths to find with Tiger Roll. He has done better since, and his win in a big handicap at Leopardstown was a nice prep. However, that came off a handicap mark of 131, so to get anywhere near Tiger Roll, he did have to win that in the manner he did.

I’m sticking with the Gordon Elliott trained Tiger Roll though, I like him a lot and you certainly wouldn’t bet against him winning the two big races again this season. As far as the Cross Country goes though, he looks a great bet and is the banker of the day.