UK RACING: Tiger Roll tops 106 entries for 2021 Randox Health Grand National at Aintree

Tiger Roll sits reassuringly atop of 106 entries for the 2021 Randox Health Grand National on Saturday April 10, the race in which he will hopefully bid to make racing history by emulating Red Rum and winning the world's most famous jumps race for a third time.

The 11-year-old heads the betting with the race's official betting partners, Betway.

Connections of the horse, however, continue to make negative noises about the prospect of him being asked to carry top-weight in the Aintree feature and have repeated the notion that he could be retired after the Cheltenham Festival.

Eddie O’Leary, racing manager for his owners, Gigginstown House Stud, said: “Touch wood, he’ll go for the Boyne Hurdle at Navan (February 21) next and then it will be the Cross-country chase at Cheltenham.

“I think the November run was just one of those days. We didn’t expect him to win or anything, but we didn’t think he’d run that bad. There was no reason for it. Maybe he had a headache, I couldn’t tell you.

“With regards to the National, he’s still got a crazy weight. For some unknown reason he has this crazy rating. He didn’t even appear in the end-of-season classifications last year, yet he’s got this rating of 168.

“When I queried it, I was told that was because it was a cross-country rating. Tiger Roll was beaten 17 lengths by Easysland off level weights (in March).

“I’ve always said 168 is crazy and there’s no point in running in the National unless he’s given a chance. We’d be absolutely thrilled if he could run to a mark of 168, but it makes no sense.

“Unless he’s given a chance he’ll probably be retired at Cheltenham if he runs badly, and maybe Cheltenham is the right place to retire him given his record there.”

Tiger Roll’s trainer Gordon Elliott has 16 entries in total. His contingent also includes proven Grade One performers Delta Work, Battleoverdoyen and Presenting Percy.

Trevor Hemmings also has three Grand National victories to his name courtesy of Hedgehunter (2005), Ballabriggs (2011) and Many Clouds (2015). His three entries in 2021 include impressive G3 Ladbrokes Trophy hero Cloth Cap (Jonjo O’Neill) as well as Lake View Lad (Nick Alexander), who took the Many Clouds Chase over the Mildmay Course in December.

Of the 106 entries, 43 are trained in Ireland and two in France. Other eye catching entries for Ireland include Magic Of Light (Jessica Harrington), runner-up in 2019, Anibale Fly (Tony Martin), fourth in 2018 and fifth in 2019, 2019 G2 National Hunt Chase winner Any Second Now (Ted Walsh), Munster and Kerry National heroine Cabaret Queen (Willie Mullins) and 2019 Irish Grand National victor Burrows Saint(Willie Mullins).

Both French-trained entries hail from the yard of David Cottin and are headed by Easysland, who defeated Tiger Roll in the 2020 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase at Cheltenham.