The 2018 Grand National will be remembered for one specific news story, and that is the first time that Tiger Roll shot to fame by winning the race.
A long-time hero of the Cheltenham Festival, Tiger Roll took his fame to the next level by winning the big one at Aintree under jockey Davy Russell.
After the full distance of four miles and two furlongs, we still needed a photo to separate the front two. Tiger Roll was six lengths clear at one point but grimly held on from the fast finishing Pleasant Company with a win by a head.
Results
Result | Horse | Starting Price | Age | Handicap | Prize Money | Jockey | Trainer |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tiger Roll | 10/1 | 8 | 10-13 | £500,000 | Davy Russell | Gordon Elliott |
2 | Pleasant Company | 21/1 | 10 | 10-11 | £200,000 | David Mullins | Willie Mullins |
3 | Bless The Wings | 40/1 | 13 | 10-6 | £100,000 | Jack Kennedy | Gordon Elliott |
4 | Anibale Fly | 10/1 | 8 | 11-8 | £65,000 | Barry Geraghty | A J Martin |
5 | Milansbar | 25/1 | 11 | 10-6 | £40,000 | Bryony Frost | Neil King |
6 | Road to Riches | 33/1 | 11 | 10-5 | £30,000 | Sean Flanagan | Noel Meade |
7 | Gas Line Boy | 25/1 | 12 | 10-11 | £20,000 | Robert Dunne | Ian Williams |
8 | Valseur Lido | 66/1 | 9 | 11-7 | £15,000 | Keith Donoghue | Henry De Bromhead |
9 | Vieux Lion Rouge | 25/1 | 9 | 10-13 | £10,000 | Tom Scudamore | David Pipe |
10 | Raz De Maree | 20/1 | 13 | 10-9 | £5,000 | Robbie Power | Gavin Cromwell |
11 | Seeyouatmidnight | 11/1 | 10 | 10-12 | - | Brian Hughes | Sandy Thomson |
12 | Baie Des Iles | 16/1 | 7 | 10-8 | - | Ms Katie Walsh | Ross O’Sullivan |
Non Finishers
What Happened In The 2018 Grand National?
The 171st running of the Aintree Grand National went to Tiger Roll, trained by Gordon Elliott, ridden by Davy Russell and owned by the Gigginstown Stud.
The race was certainly a test of stamina, with the ground being described as heavy on the day, which certainly led to a few more horses being pulled up in the contest. Just 12 finished the race, 26 didn’t make it round and we had two horses, Regal Encore and Walk In The Mill, withdrawn on the day of the race, leaving 38 to run.
One fence was omitted during the race, which was Becher’s Brook on the second circuit, bypassed due to an injury on the track to Charlie Deutsch, rider of Houblon Des Obeaux. All 38 runners returned safely to the stables at the end of the race.
Heavy Ground Makes Grand National A Real Test
The Grand National is run over four miles and two furlongs, a tough enough test for any horse. This year was made even worse by rain, forcing the ground to turn heavy and increase the test further. Stamina really played a part in the contest, any horse that had doubts overstaying the trip did not carry through, while the guaranteed stayers came to the fore.
This also impacted on the number of finishers too, just 12 from 38 made it around the track, with 13 horses being pulled up by jockeys during the race.
Ireland Train The First Four Home
The race was dominated by Ireland, despite favourite Total Recall being a disappointment. The first four home were all trained in Ireland, with winning trainer Gordon Elliott also training Bless The Wings, who finished third.
Pleasant Company, second in the race, was trained by Willie Mullins, the only one of his three runners to finish the race while Tony Martin trained the fourth home, Anibale Fly.
Tiger Roll Adds To Cheltenham Festival Success
The 2018 Grand National was the first time that Tiger Roll shot to fame away from the Cheltenham Festival. He had already cemented himself as a Cheltenham legend, and by winning this Grand National, he turned into an Aintree legend too.
As a four-year-old he began his love affair with the Cheltenham Festival by landing the Triumph Hurdle over two miles in 2014. In 2017, he won a race almost the opposite of that, the four mile National Hunt Chase, showing that he was made for staying chase races.
Then in 2018, a month before this Grand National win, he won his third Cheltenham Festival race, all different races, by winning the Cross Country Chase.
Favourite Total Recall Disappoints
Favourite for the 2018 Grand National was Total Recall, a horse who won the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury at the end of 2017 and was running a very strong race in the 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup before falling.
It was the promise of that run, up against some of the best horses in training, that moved him into Grand National favouritism. However, he never looked comfortable jumping the bigger fences, making mistakes and eventually being pulled up with two fences to go.
Moments Of Note
- The going at Aintree for this race was heavy, making the test even tougher for horses involved, resulting in 13 horses being pulled up by their jockey
- Due to non runners on the day, only 38 ran in the race this year and this was the smallest field for the race since 1999
- Ireland trained the first four home in the race, with winning trainer Gordon Elliott training the first and third horses