Grand National hero Tiger Roll will not run in this year’s showpiece event after owner Michael O’Leary withdrew the horse over a spat about weight.
The Ryanair owner called handicappers’ decision to rate the horse at 161 as ‘idiotic’ and has decided that the horse will be retired after racing in the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
If the horse is successful at Cheltenham, it would be a sixth Cheltenham Festival win for the horse after the Triumph Hurdle in 2014, the National Hunt Chase Challenge Cup in 2017 and the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Michael O’Leary has long been unhappy with the handicappers for races in Britain. He made his anger known after the unveiling of the National weights on February 15, calling Tiger Roll’s rating of 161 “absurd”.
Speaking on Sky Sport’s Racing Debate on Sunday, O’Leary placed the blame on Tiger Roll’s Grand National omission directly on the British handicapper, stating they had ruined the opportunity of an Aintree spectacle.
The Ryanair CEO said: “I believe that’s an idiotic and absurd handicap rating,”
“This handicapper has now prevented the most popular horse in training running in the Grand National two years in a row. He has ruined a huge promotional opportunity that’s available to Aintree and the Grand National by having Tiger Roll trying to emulate Red Rum.
“You cannot defy age. He will not be in the Grand National by the time he runs in the cross country – he’s coming out at the next forfeit stage.”
When asked what handicap he believed would have been fair for Tiger Roll, O’Leary said: “If he (British Horseracing Authority handicapper Martin Greenwood) rated him at around 150 and gave him a 5lb premium for his past Aintree performance, he’d be 155, which is what the Irish handicapper rated him this time last year.
“If he (British Horseracing Authority handicapper Martin Greenwood) rated him at around 150 and gave him a 5lb premium for his past Aintree performance, he’d be 155, which is what the Irish handicapper rated him this time last year.
O’Leary revealed to Racing Debate that he was in favour of the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival for the highly-rated Conflated instead of running the eight-year-old in the Cheltenham Gold Cup (Boodles Gold Cup).
The Gordon Elliott-trained horse won the Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup on the 5th of this month at Leopardstown.
O’Leary reasoned that Gordon Elliot running Gold Cup contender Galvin, who won the Savills Chase, would prefer Conflated to run in a race he sponsors with his links to Ryanair. O’Leary’s horses have enjoyed success at the Ryanair Chase, first winning with Balko Des Flos in 2018.
“I don’t think Conflated will win the Gold Cup, because if Galvin runs in the Gold Cup for Gordon, I think we’ll switch Conflated to the Ryanair,” O’Leary said.
“I don’t think Conflated would beat Galvin, and I think it would make sense from Gordon’s point of view to divide the two horses.
“We’ll go and take on Willie (Mullins) in the Ryanair.”
