Aintree: Tiger Roll to run in Betway Bowl Chase rather than Grand National

The world famous English Grand National will be run for the first time in two years on Saturday at Aintree Racecourse, albeit without spectators cramming the track located near Liverpool.

A field of 40 is expected for the grueling 4 1/4-mile test, but there will be a notable absence in Tiger Roll, the popular winner in 2018 and 2019. Tiger Roll, an 11-year-old gelding, has been held out of the race after owner Michael O’Leary said he was unhappy with the weight assignment. Instead, Tiger Roll starts in an equally testing race in Thursday’s Grade 1 Betway Bowl Chase at 3 1/4 miles on the first of three days of racing at Aintree.

The $1.03 million Grand National is a handicap run over testing fences in the longest race of the year. The $207,405 Bowl Chase is a weight-for-age race that has drawn a higher quality of runners than what will appear in the Grand National.

The field is led by Clan Des Obeaux, who won the Grade 1 King George Chase at Kempton Park in December 2019 and was third in the race last year. The King George is the second most prestigious jump race in England behind the Grade 1 Cheltenham Gold Cup, a weight-for-age race in March.

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Clan Des Obeaux, co-owned by former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and trained by Paul Nicholls, was eighth in the 2020 Cheltenham Gold Cup, but did not start in the race this year. The Bowl Chase is his first start since a second in the Denman Chase at about three miles at Newbury on Feb. 21.

Native River was fourth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup on March 19, beaten 30 lengths by winner Minella Indo. In the Gold Cup, Native River was ridden by Richard Johnson, the former champion jockey who announced his retirement last Saturday. Jonjo O’Neill Jr. takes the mount.

Tiger Roll, trained by Denise Foster, was added to the Bowl Chase field after a remarkable win by 18 lengths in the Cross-Country Chase at 3 7/8 miles at Cheltenham on March 17, which ended a five-race losing streak since the 2019 Grand National. This is Tiger Roll’s first start in a Grade 1 Chase. The Grand National is a Grade 3 because of its status as a handicap.

This week’s Aintree races will be held behind closed doors. The three-day meeting was canceled in 2020 in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Thursday’s six-race program begins at 8:45 a.m. Eastern, or 5:45 a.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

There are three other Grade 1 races on the program, notably the $258,600 Aintree Hurdle at 2 1/2 miles led by the Nicholls-trained McFabulous, who was second in the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle at Fontwell Park in February, and the Grade 1 winner Abacadabras, who fell early in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham on March 16.