Tiger Roll – the pint-sized horse blessed with the huge heart

Tiger Roll was the pint-sized scrapper bred to win a Derby but more at home over the Aintree fences, where he established himself as a true national treasure.

As a son of 2007 Epsom hero Authorized and a half-brother to classy Flat types like Ahzeemah and Austrian School, John Ferguson would hardly have had Aintree in his mind when he bid 70,000 guineas for him as a foal in 2010.

Tiger Roll never made it to the track for Godolphin, going through the ring again in August 2013 when trainer Nigel Hawke forked out a mere £10,000 (€11,900) for the gelding, who more than recouped that outlay when changing hands again for £80,000 (€95,300) at the end of the year following a hurdles win at Market Rasen.

Sent to Gordon Elliott, he made his debut for Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown House Stud in Grade One company and just came up short behind Guitar Pete. But he turned that form around when winning the Triumph Hurdle in 2014 – a precursor to what lay ahead.

While he did return to Cheltenham for his first run the following season and left successful, a spell in the doldrums followed and like several Triumph winners before him, he appeared to have completely lost his way.

A well-beaten 50-1 chance in the 2015 Stayers’ Hurdle, connections would have been forgiven for sending him back to the sales.

However, they persevered, sending him over fences and he was soon off the mark, eventually bolting up in the Munster National at 20-1 that October, his eighth run since May but his first over three miles and fences, suggested he could excel in staying chases.

Two outings later he was a Cheltenham Festival winner once more in the National Hunt Chase when it was still over four miles, ridden by Lisa O’Neill, proving once and for all that