‘He went out on his shield’: brave Tiger Roll bids farewell without his fairytale

Watching Michael O’Leary watch Tiger Roll come up just short in his 45th and final race was a singularly fascinating experience. As the tapes went up in the Cross Country Chase, a contest National Hunt’s now retired national treasure had won twice previously, his owner separated himself from his small entourage, leaned against the back of the presentation podium in the winner’s enclosure and gazed impassively at the nearest big screen.

There he remained throughout the duration of the 3m 6f race, protected from the day’s relentless downpour by a blue bobble hat and beige overcoat. He neither moved a muscle nor registered a flicker of emotion until his ludicrously brave superstar was pipped on the run-in. The Ryanair boss had said in the build-up to the Festival that “Cheltenham doesn’t do fairytales” and while that’s not strictly true, on this occasion he was absolutely right.

The victim of a late smash-and-grab on his swansong, Tiger Roll was ultimately denied his happy-ever-after ending by Delta Work; the same Delta Work who was ridden by Jack Kennedy, trained by Gordon Elliott and owned by … Michael O’Leary. “Wrong fucking horse!” he exclaimed, shaking his head as he rejoined his wife in the parade ring. “Wrong fucking horse! I was actually kind of hoping Jack would take a pull on Delta.”

Less than an hour before the off, O’Leary had advised punters that “anyone who is still thinking of backing Tiger needs their heads examined”. His warning came after a day of almost apocalyptic rainfall that began at 9.30am, continued all day and rendered the conditions underfoot highly unsuitable for a horse known for his preference for good ground. Unbeknownst to his owner, Tiger Roll had other ideas and on a filthy, dirty Festival