Tiger Roll was the pre-race favourite at 4/1 and is the shortest priced winner since Poethlyn in 1919. He ran an almost perfect race – a few jumps were not optimal, but Tiger Roll made up for them with his strong flat ability.
Tiger Roll hung back for most of the race. Pushing towards the front in the final third, the horse upped the pace over the final three fences, before taking the lead on the last, eventually running clear by two-and-three-quarter lengths.
This was the third success at the National for trainer Gordon Elliott, who has also won in 2007 with Silver Birch.
Speaking about the horse, trainer Gordon Elliot said:
The people adore him – he’s not a big, fine, good-looking horse, but at home people walk past his stable and say hello to him as if he’s a human being. It’s just unreal. I know it’s silly, but I believe he knows his name. Going to the start, when we were parading, the commentator said his name and he stood up and put his chest out. Louise who was leading him up noticed it, too. He’s so intelligent – Gordon Elliott, Tiger Roll trainer
It was also a great day for Jessica Harrington. The trainer saw her horse Magic Of Light, ridden by Paddy Kennedy, finish second despite pre-race odds of 66/1. Rathvinden, ridden by Ruby Walsh and owned by Ronnie Bartlett, came in third.
Tragedy struck for the first time in six years in the race. Up For Review, trained by Willie Mullins, fell at the first and suffered a fatal injury, the first since 2012.
