Cheltenham Festival previews: Tiger Roll bids for glorious swansong

Gordon Elliott expects Tiger Roll to take all the beating in the Glenfarclas Chase as his “horse of a lifetime” prepares to bow out after a bid for a fourth success in the race he has made his own.

Tiger Roll is a Cheltenham Festival regular having run at the meeting on seven occasions, winning five times including three victories around the cross-country track.

Now a 12-year-old and set for retirement after the race, the dual Grand National winner will bid for one last hurrah in front of a full Cheltenham grandstand that would love nothing more than to see him triumph.

Tiger Roll was last victorious in the same contest 12 months ago and has run three times since, coming home fourth in the Betway Bowl, pulling up in the Many Clouds Chase and finishing 14th in the Navan Handicap Hurdle in January.

Though age may mean the horse is not the force of old, Elliott is still expecting Tiger Roll to set the standard on the final outing of an exalted career.

“He hasn’t missed too many Cheltenham Festivals, has he?” he said.

“I think he’s only missed one. He’s a great horse, he’s part of the team here and he’s been the horse of a lifetime.

“We probably don’t realise how lucky we are to have a horse like him.

“He’s getting older and if he is what he was in his pomp is probably hard to say, but if he can turn up in 80 per cent of the form he has for the last couple of years, then he’ll take all the beating. There’s only one place I care about with him and that’s Cheltenham.

“To bring a horse like him back year after year, especially him – he’s a character, he’s a favourite and it was unbelievable (to see him win last year). If he can go back and win this year, it will be brilliant.”

Elliott feels soft ground would certainly hinder Tiger Roll’s bid for another victory in the race, but he does not consider his winless run a drawback and points to his last-placed performance in the Boyne Hurdle prior to last year’s Cheltenham triumph.

“The better the ground, the better the chance he has – he’s not the same horse on soft ground,” he said.

“I think his run the last day in the handicap hurdle was equally as good or bad, whichever way you want to look at it, as in the Boyne Hurdle last year when everyone said he had no chance (at Cheltenham).

“If the ground is good, he’s just different at that place.”

The trainer has another pair of chances in the race in the shape of Alpha Des Obeaux and Delta Work, the latter of whom who will make his debut around the cross country course on his way to the Grand National at Aintree in April.

“He schooled very well (over the cross-country course), I was delighted with him,” Elliott said of Delta Work.

“Saying that, it’s very hard to win over that course first time, but we thought it would be a nice place to go with him before the English National and it might just sweeten him up a bit.

“He got jarred up in Leopardstown last year and he just hasn’t been the same over park fences since.

“We said we’d school him and see how he went, we’ve had him schooling and he was awesome at Cheltenham.

“The plan is to run there and then on to the English National. He’s only nine and if he took to it, he would be a nice replacement for Tiger Roll.”

Elsewhere in the race are a quartet of JP McManus-owned runners, including prior winner Easysland, who is now with Jonjo O’Neill.

Previously trained in France by David Cottin, Easysland beat Tiger Roll by 17 lengths to take the race in 2020 before finishing 18 lengths behind the same horse last season.

Enda Bolger is responsible for the other three McManus entries, with Prengarde, Shady Operator and Midnight Maestro set to represent the race’s most successful trainer.

Richard Bandey runs Diesel D’Allier, another specialist around the track having previously won twice in the handicap version of the contest.

The grey was triumphant by just a nose in the December cross-country event at Prestbury Park, defeating Christian Williams’ Potters Corner on the line in a photo finish.

The latter horse is headed to the Festival also, with Martin Keighley’s Back On The Lash and Mark Bradstock’s Step Back the other British contenders.

The Irish contingent is completed by Willie Mullins’ Brahma Bull, Noel Meade’s Tout Est Permis, Jim Dreaper’s Mitchouka and Henry de Bromhead’s duo of Plan Of Attack and Poker Party.

Sir Gerhard bids to get the Cheveley Park Stud challenge off to a flying start at this year’s Cheltenham Festival in the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle.

More renowned for their tremendous success on the Flat over many years, the breeding and ownership operation have made a big splash in the jumping game in recent years – enjoying seven winners at the last three Festivals.

The Willie Mullins-trained favourite landed the Champion Bumper at last year's meeting and heads a seven-strong line-up as a warm order for the day two opener following back-to-back hurdles win at Leopardstown, most recently in Grade One company at the Dublin Racing Festival.

“All is good with Sir Gerhard. Willie (Mullins) was mulling over whether to run in the Supreme or the Ballymore, he has a very good team behind him and we’re backing the team,” said Cheveley director Richard Thompson.

“The Ballymore looks the slightly weaker race and Willie thinks this a horse that can do anything.

“I think we’ve got to be confident – we hope he’ll win.

“The only thing is we’ve had seven winners from 15 runners at the Festival in the last three years and surely we can’t carry on with that sort of strike-rate!

“Sir Gerhard is certainly one of our big shots this year, so fingers crossed.”

Mullins also saddles Whatdeawant and Haxo, while a formidable Irish contingent includes Gordon Elliott’s Three Stripe Life – runner-up to Sir Gerhard last month – and the unbeaten Journey With Me from Henry de Bromhead’s yard.

The latter, ridden by Rachael Blackmore, carries the colours of last year’s winner Bob Olinger.

The home team is headed by the Paul Nicholls-trained Stage Star, who is three from three since going hurdling and has been kept fresh since winning the Challow at Newbury in December.

“He’s a lovely young horse who is unbeaten (over hurdles) and I’m looking forward to running him,” said Nicholls.

“He couldn’t have done any more or been more impressive. I could have run him once more (at Exeter), but I didn’t want to give him that hard a race and wanted to keep him fresh so we can perhaps go to Cheltenham and Aintree.

“He’s certainly got plenty of ability. He’s followed the same sort of route as Bravemansgame and if he’s as good as him, we’ll be well happy.”

Nicky Henderson, who last won the Ballymore with Simonsig a decade ago, runs I Am Maximus.

Scarface (Colin Tizzard) and Hemlock (Tom Gibney) complete the line-up.

Paul Nicholls hopes Bravemansgame can come out on top in a cracking renewal of the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.

The extended three-mile event has attracted a field of 11 and is one of the few Cheltenham Festival contests this year in which horses from Britain dominate the market.

Bravemansgame, who was a Grade One-winning hurdler, heads the home team after making a seamless switch to fences this term, winning at Newton Abbot and Haydock in the autumn.

He then took the notable scalp of Ahoy Senor in the Grade One Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park on Boxing Day before warming up for Cheltenham with a comfortable victory in a novices’ handicap chase, off a mark of 159, at Newbury.

Nicholls, who has previously won the Grade One with Star de Mohaison (2006), Denman (2007) and Topofthegame (2010), said: “He won really nicely at Newbury, but he wasn’t fully wound up by any stretch of the imagination.

“Running off that mark was setting him quite a stiff task, but good horses can do it.

“He looks great and I haven’t had to do a lot with him.

“He was quite weak and shelly last year, but he improved enormously for a summer at grass and I think he’s going to be even better next year when he’s got even stronger.

“I’d like to think next year this horse will be a serious contender for the King George and the Gold Cup – that’s what we’d be thinking.”

Ahoy Senor, who is trained by Lucinda Russell, beat Bravemansgame in the Grade One Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree last April, but had to give best at Kempton before returning to winning form at Wetherby last time.

Russell had toyed with the idea of waiting for Aintree rather than take on Bravemansgame again, but feels he has shown enough improvement to pose a serious threat at Cheltenham.

“He’s in fantastic heart and he’s just a super horse,” said Russell. “I think we overcooked him before Kempton, but we haven’t done that this time.

“He had a nice workout at Kelso last week and he had his last piece of work last Tuesday. Derek (Fox, jockey) had a nice smile on his face after that and I think everyone is very pleased with him ahead of next week.

“We’ve never been scared of taking the best horses on, as he’s a very good horse and his jumping is very mature.

“I think Bravemansgame was more of the finished article at Kempton than us but hopefully we’ve improved a bit since then.

“I think the course will be OK for him. It’s going to be up and down and a test, and that’s what it’s meant to be – the finest test of a novice.”

The Venetia Williams-trained L’Homme Presse produced an eyecatching performance in the Dipper Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, before following up with a wide-margin success the Grade One Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase over a similar two-and-a-half-mile trip at Sandown.

That was his fourth successive win over fences and connections feel he will handle the step up to three miles without too much trouble, having opted not to take on Bob Olinger and Galopin Des Champs in Thursday’s shorter Turners Novices’ Chase.

Andy Edwards, who co-owns the gelding with his wife, Pam, and Peter and Patricia Pink under the DFA Racing banner, said: “We have said all along that the ground would dictate which race he would go for and it has nothing whatsoever to do with avoiding Irish-trained horses.

“Anyone who thinks that is talking rubbish. Racing is all about competition and we are not afraid to take on the Irish. It was simply that the ground will not be as soft as he would need for the shorter Turners, so we decided to run in the Brown Advisory.

“He won a Grade One by 21 lengths last time and has done nothing wrong. Venetia has him in great form and we are looking forward to it.”

Nicholls also saddles Threeunderthrufive who has won all four of his novice chase starts, including a pair of Grade Twos, since a runner-up effort on his debut over fences in October.

“You want a horse like him – it would be no surprise if he runs a really big race as he stays and jumps and that’s what you need,” said Nicholls.

“He’s a super horse. Next season he will be a horse to run in all the good staying races, in the Welsh National or something like that.

“On all known form, you couldn’t see him beating Bravemansgame. He just keeps on winning his races and if it turned out to be a bit of a slog and the ground was very testing, it would bring out the best in him.”

Gordon Elliott’s pair of Grade One winner Fury Road and Farouk D’alene feature in the Irish challenge along with Noel Meade’s Beacon Edge.

Willie Mullins, the most successful trainer in the race with five previous successes including last year’s renewal with Monkfish, relies on Gaillard Du Mesnil and Capodanno, while John McConnell saddles Streets of Doyen.

Dusart completes the line-up for Nicky Henderson. The seven-year-old will be having just his fifth career outing, having won one of two starts over hurdles and both his runs over fences.

The Seven Barrows trainer said: “There is no doubt it will help him going the other way round. I think a lot of people were surprised I went right-handed again (at Exeter) after his first effort.

“His first effort was rather bad luck as it was one of those days at Leicester where there were not really any fences down the back straight. So they galloped down the back straight and came up over the little hill around the bend, down the hill and then suddenly there was a fence. It was the last thing the poor horse was expecting. It was a good lesson.

“Nico (de Boinville, jockey) was very pleased with him at Exeter. It wasn’t that he needed a horse on the outside, he just needed company. He has been schooling a lot.”

Willie Mullins is confident Facile Vega possesses all the required attributes to provide him with a record 12th victory in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper.

It is 26 years since the Closutton maestro trained and rode Wither Or Which to victory in a Grade One contest he has since made his own.

He went on to saddle the next two winners in Florida Pearl and Alexander Banquet, while Cousin Vinny (2008), Champagne Fever (2012) and last year’s hero Sir Gerhard are among those to have struck gold since the turn of the century.

Facile Vega, a son of the six-times Festival heroine Quevega, is a red-hot favourite for this year’s renewal, having looked well above average in winning twice at Leopardstown – most recently powering clear of what appeared a strong field at last month’s Dublin Racing Festival.

Mullins earmarked the five-year-old as a potential star from an early stage, saying: “I got him ready last year to run and he did a bit of work one day that said to me ‘wow, this fellow could be special’.

“He got jarred and I left him alone after that. I thought if I could get him back this year to what he was last year I’d be happy, but we trained him with kid gloves as I didn’t want to overstretch him.

“I just hoped he had in the tank what was there last year and we took him to the racetrack and he won nicely, then what he did the last day from the furlong marker was exceptional.”

The horse rated the biggest threat to Facile Vega by bookmakers is American Mike, who has been similarly impressive in his two bumper starts for Gordon Elliott.

Mullins, however, would not swap his charge, adding: “He’s done everything right. I don’t know how his form matches up to American Mike, but from what I’ve seen at home he’s the one I’d want to be riding, anyhow.”

Houlanbatordechais, James’s Gate, Madmansgame, Redemption Day, Seabank Bistro and Viva Devito complete the formidable Mullins squad.

Elliott has never made any secret of the regard in which he holds American Mike and is anticipating a bold showing in the day two finale.

“We’ve gone the same route that we’ve gone with Envoi Allen, Sir Gerhard and a few of those horses, so we said we’d go that way with him,” said the Cullentra handler.

“He’s in very good form, he looks very strong and we’re happy with him. He’s shown us good signs at home. From Christmas to now, the race has got a lot hotter, the better horses have come out.

“He’s a nice horse and has done nothing wrong.”