Racing is one of the few sports that even at an Olympic level, men and women compete on equal footing. At least on paper anyway. In this notoriously male-dominated industry, women's contribution is often left out of the history books, writes Anna Joyce.
Thankfully, the award-winning team in RTÉ Documentary On One has tried to shake things up in their latest audio series Tiger Roll: The People's Horse.
The series strives to highlight that while Tiger Roll’s story is synonymous with male racing heavyweights like Sheikh Mohammed, the O’Leary brothers, and Gordon Elliott, there is a strong female presence that helped transform this flat racing failure to the People’s Horse.
What sticks out in the first episode of the series is Tiger’s maternal lineage. It is one of the first things Breeder Jerry O’Brien mentions to the creators. He bred Tiger’s mother Swiss Roll and grandmother On Air. He named Swiss Roll, after his own mother. And Tiger would later be christened in Swiss Roll’s honour by Godolphin office manager Jan Gardner.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen to Tiger Roll: The People's Horse, Episode 1: A Star is Born
It’s worth asking where this racing marvel would be if not for the traits he inherited from his family’s matriarchs. The toughness, the personality, and the "will to win" as Mr. O’Brien puts it. It’s that "stamina" that gave him the temperament to move from yard to yard and keep going. To endure a fallow period of nearly 2 years and rebound to score back-to-back grand nationals.
When Tiger left Mr. O’Brien’s yard, it would be the last time he’d see his mother. But she would not be the last woman to alter his course. It is difficult to find someone in the racing industry who doesn't know the name, Mags O’Toole. The renowned bloodstock agent who assisted Eddie O’Leary in the purchase of Tiger Roll for his brother Ryanair CEO Michael.
While her razor-sharp eye for talent is not a surprise the decision to buy Tiger was. "Well to be honest he was the last sort of horse we’d have been looking for at that time at that sale," she said. Tiger isn’t one of the "big scopey chasers" usually found at Michael O’Leary’s Gigginstown Stud. But they needed a suitable horse for the Cheltenham Triumph Hurdle, and Tiger fit the bill.
Tiger was bought for £80,000, a hefty price for a horse with only one win under his belt, that being said it was his only race. But she contends they bought him for what they thought was "the right price" and in hindsight, it was a bargain. It took true skill to see past Tiger Roll’s chequered past and take a chance, but that’s what Ms. O’Toole did, needless to remark her gamble paid off. "He’s broken every rule you know. He has broken every rule in the book".
Tiger Roll entered the world and the ownership of Gigginstown house stud under the guidance of a strong woman. His introduction to Gordon Elliott's yard was no different. His very first rider in the yard was jockey Lisa O’Neill. "Yeah, he was very fresh and Tiger Roll is quite flexible with his hind legs."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen: Tiger Roll: The People's Horse, Episode 2: Good Mover
Ms. O’Neill remarks that the support of racing big wigs like Mr. Elliott and the O’Leary’s transformed her career. "I was very lucky that Gordon trusted me in some big races to give me the ammunition to prove that I was capable". Her experiences give credence to the idea that gender has nothing to do with bringing home results, but opportunity does.
It was during Tiger’s infamous comeback in 2017, that the pair teamed up for the Cheltenham National Hunt Chase. Ms. O’Neill would be the first and only female jockey to race Tiger on the track.
His form at the time was unpredictable, making it hard for Ms. O’Neill to know what would happen once they set off. "But he also has a serious fondness for his Cheltenham", she said. "So he just came alive on that day". The race was remarkable not least for Ms. O’Neill’s ability to stay aboard. In the words of Ms. O’Toole, "he tried to kill himself and her for the whole of the four miles".
In typical Tiger Roll fashion, he was economical with his jumps. "He doesn’t get too high over the normal fences, so yeah he tested my ability again to stay on his back". But the goal was to get from A to B and the duo did that with remarkable success. For Ms. O’Neill the experience changed her life, it was her first ride at Cheltenham and the biggest win of her career.
There is an old saying that goes: house angel, street devil. In essence, if you want to know someone go and live with them. Hence, why few people know Tiger Roll like Karen Morgan, the former traveling head girl for Mr. Elliott, who still works part-time in his yard.
Ms. Morgan has helped build many champions, but what was it about Tiger Roll that separated him from the pack? "I remember him coming off the box, he leapt off it. He's a horse that’s full of beans as everybody knows and he was from the day he stepped into the yard." At this point in time, Tiger Roll was a consolation prize. There was a pricier animal purchased that went to trainer Willie Mullins. And Mr. Elliott was less not happy, to quote a clip from the audio series - "I don’t want the little fucker".
So, what do you need to foster a relationship with one of the most iconic racehorses of the 21st century? "If you’ve got food that helps. Or polos or apples or carrots that also helps" laughed Ms. Morgan.
For her, few things compare with the Grand National experience. "I've never heard anything like it in my life. And it just gives you goosebumps." Ms. Morgan said some supporters even wear full two-piece Tiger print suits to show support.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Listen: Tiger Roll: The People's Horse, Episode 3: Up and Over
Needless to remark, a career in racing is not for the faint of heart. And the statistics would suggest that being a woman in the industry requires even more fortitude. "You have to care or you wouldn't do it. It's a vocation like, because it’s such long hours you know, and mostly weekends" says Ms. Morgan. It’s horses like Tiger, she explained, that keep people male or female in the game.
There was once a school of thought in racing that 'Men fall like boiled eggs. Women fall like raw eggs’. In essence, women are feeble, injury-prone, and less capable. But like our protagonist, women rise to the challenge, wins by female jockeys in British racing rose by 76% between 2015 and 2019.
But progress is slow. To summarise it bluntly, the Grand National is the Pulitzer of racing. It was first run in 1839 and is held annually at Aintree Racecourse, it is the race that helped make Tiger Roll a legend. How many women have won this iconic event? One. Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore, in 2021. Let that sink in.
It's worth asking where this racing marvel would be if not for the traits he inherited from his family’s matriarchs.
As a veteran of the bloodstock industry, few are as well placed as Ms. O’Toole to weigh in on this subject matter. "No matter how many people tell you, you’re good at your job, there’s a lot of men go out there you know, and you can nearly see them thinking you know God here she comes again".
However, she sounds hopeful for the future: "It’s a lot better now, and everyone’s much more accepted than they were".
While discussing the topic of women in racing Ms. Blackmore’s name continues to come up. Ms. O’Toole described a recent visit to Leopardstown, where she overheard children speaking to their parents. "All you heard them all saying is 'Mom what does Rachael ride in this one. ‘Dad which is Rachael's one, which one is Rachael Dad’."
Ms. Blackmore’s achievements should not only be discussed in terms of her sex, but because of what she has achieved, more and more women will likely enter the sport. "She broke ceilings," remarked Ms. O’Neill. "Obviously there’s going to be, I think an awful lot more girls involved in sport within the future because of Rachael’s achievements and other girls too".
Tiger Roll is a stocky, small horse who shouldn’t be able to tackle fences fit for the Grand National, let alone win. Twice. Yet, time and time again he continues to surprise those who doubt his ability. His experience almost mirrors that of women in the industry; women who continue to transform not only his career but the business of racing as a whole.
Listen to all the episodes of Tiger Roll: The People's Horse here.
