Tiger Roll is still going to Cheltenham in just over three weeks’ time although one of the festival’s most accomplished ever performers will find himself in the rare position of having something to prove.
For a third race in a row this season Tiger Roll failed to impress at Navan on Sunday when a tailed off last in the Ladbrokes Boyne Hurdle.
His trainer Gordon Elliott blamed the heavy ground conditions and confirmed an attempt on a fourth Cross-Country Chase at Cheltenham is on the cards for the hugely popular little star.
However his distant view of two other Michael O’Leary-owned horses who fought out the finish, Beacon Edge and Fury Road, underlined how Tiger Roll has looked a shadow of his former self since being well beaten by Easyland in last year’s Cross-Country.
Add in O’Leary’s unhappiness over the horse’s handicap rating and whether or not the dual-Grand National hero even makes it to Aintree in April for a historic hat-trick attempt looks up in the air.
Nevertheless, Elliott immediately declared it “all systems go” for Cheltenham and what could yet prove to be Tiger Roll’s final ever start.
“Keith (Donoghue) said he travelled well to the third last but it was horrible ground and he just got tired. Of course I would have liked him to run better but Keith said he hated the ground,” he said.
Tiger Roll did travel with enthusiasm off a slow pace set by Fury Road but when the tempo increased in the straight he faded notably quickly.
If ground is a legitimate excuse then it won’t stop sceptics pondering if at 11-years-old - and 40 career starts under his belt - this was the performance of a veteran going through the motions.
Fences and the reapplication of blinkers at Cheltenham may prompt a transformation but the sight of his National odds lengthening on the back of his latest performance was no surprise.
That Beacon Edge managed to overhaul the pace-controlling Fury Road in the dying strides saw his Stayers’ Hurdle price go in the opposite direction. However. Liverpool could definitely be on his agenda.
“Michael had it in his head that he’d go to Liverpool for the two-and-a-half mile race (Aintree Hurdle) but he is in the Stayers at Cheltenham,” Beacon Edge’s trainer Noel Meade said.
“He’s a fair horse. I wondered about him getting the trip but he stays,” he added.
Sunday’s action at both Navan and Newbury represented a final significant step on the road to Cheltenham and bookmakers were unanimous about Champ being the biggest threat to Al Boum Photo pulling off a Gold Cup hat-trick next month.
Nicky Henderson’s star didn’t win the Game Spirit Chase but his zestful performance behind the specialist two-miler Sceau Royal at Newbury was full of promise.
“He was on the bridle until the second last and now we have two days short of a month until the Gold Cup. We are now very much looking forward to Cheltenham,” Henderson reported.
“The great thing was his jumping - it was deadly - and that will have done him the world of good,” he added.
In contrast, Navan’s three mile handicap chase had no Gold Cup context although it did contain a ride worthy of any race.
Henry De Bromhead’s 5lb claimer Hugh Morgan made his first ride for Denis Hogan a memorable one with a superb effort on the winner Young Dev.
Morgan’s right stirrup leather snapped jumping the first fence leaving the young jockey to ride the rest of the race with no irons.
Rather than pulling up he persevered and somehow negotiated the remaining 16 fences to such effect that the 17-2 shot got up to beat Se Mo Laoch by three quarters of a length.
“I’m grand at the minute but I’d say I’ll be sore in the morning!” Morgan joked after dismounting.
“It took a bit of getting used to going down to the fences without them and I just left him to sort himself out and give him a squeeze.
“I didn’t really think about pulling up because I felt comfortable. He’s a safe old jumper so I was happy enough to keep going.
“Going up the hill I thought they had got away from me a bit and I just gave him a chance. He’s a horse that doesn’t like hitting the front too soon so it worked out ideal,” Morgan added.
Monday’s Fairyhouse action got a green light after an inspection and Willie Mullins - fresh from his success with True Self in a $1 million race at Saturday’s Saudi Cup festival - has two runners.
Hi Ho Phoenix in the bumper may prove the better chance of the pair but Gordon Elliott’s Where It All Began could prove hard to beat in that.
