Just as well for Tiger Roll that the finish line came when it did. The 8-year old Irish gelding ridden by Davy Russell won the 2018 Aintree Grand National in a photo finish, holding off a late run by Pleasant Colony. A few more strides and the outcome might have been different!
One of the smallest horses in the race at just 15.2″, some thought the diminutive gelding was too small for the Aintree fences. Although he didn’t give the big fences much air, he didn’t put a foot wrong and although he tired up the last hill, he held on long enough to win by a head.
For jockey Davy Russell, the win was a sweet one, coming on his 14th attempt just weeks after the death of his mother and birth of his fourth child. At 38, he was the oldest jockey in the race.
As with most Grand Nationals, the attrition rate of runners was high — only 12 out of 38 runners completed the race. No horses were seriously injured. There was concern over Saint Are, who had a bad fall over the Chair and was treated on course, but his trainer reports that he had a comfortable night and that by Sunday morning the horse looked bright.
This was nervewracking and I’m a bit shocked, how HARD the jockeys hit the horses to urge them on. My Mom and me were gasping and I for one will never watch a race again. That’s just too mean and brutal. You don’t need to hit them like you want to bruise them. 🙁
I agree with you. I’ve noticed an increase in the amount of whipping in several top races. I believe that at the most recent Breeder’s Cup, the jockey on the winning horse was reprimanded for excessive use of whip. I have a love/hate relationship with Aintree. It is an amazing accomplishment, but also too dangerous to watch live. Recently I posted a jockey cam video of AP McCoy riding over the course. It’s a nice way to watch it because it’s a hand ride and he and his horse do a lovely job.
I watched this video too. I like it much more than the overhead view. But still, I’m a bit torn with all kinds of races and high stakes sports events.
I love horses way too much to ask such strenuous tasks of them. Also it has become such an industry, with high performance pressure and sometimes horrible methods (think Rollkur, or the torture poor Walker horses have to go through).
What you do with your horses seems ideal to me: they have a job which they enjoy, you don’t overtax either the horse or yourself, all three of you have fun doing what you ask. I wish this could be the way horse ownership was going, instead of the money making industry the sport has become.
Sorry for the rant here, I’m a bit overwhelmed by the brutality of the racing video. Also whenever one of the horses fell, my heart skipped a few beats. This is SO dangerous to all participants.
I will admit that I only watch Aintree once I’ve been able to confirm that all the horses came back safely.