Gordon Elliott's superstar horse unfavoured in a big betting city.
The Grand National has its strongest favourite in the 21st century, but Tiger Roll is unfavoured in one of the UK’s ten biggest betting cities.
Despite being 7/2 best price for back-to-back triumphs, the people of Belfast are shunning Gordon Elliott’s triple Cheltenham-winner for Vintage Clouds, a 14/1 shot owned by Trevor Hemmings, who is bidding to win the famous race for a record fourth time.
Vintage Clouds is the current third favourite and is trained by Sue Smith, who has already tasted glory in this premier race when Auroras Encore shocked Aintree in 2013 at 66/1.
Elsewhere in the UK, it’s a clean sweep for the ten-year-old who has a chance to become the first horse since Red Rum to win successive Nationals.
Leeds appears to be the home of the Tiger Roll fan club, with a bigger percentage of bets placed on him in that city than any other.
If Tiger Roll does go off at his current odds, he could become the shortest-priced winning favourite for exactly 100 years.
Meanwhile in Newcastle, it looks like there could be something in the name as Pairofbrowneyes gets a lot of love – perhaps due to the city’s famous love for brown ale.
Oddschecker spokesperson George Elek: “Whether it was one of his four Cheltenham Festival wins or last year's dramatic triumph at Aintree, Tiger Roll owes punters absolutely nothing, but has earnt his spot as one of the most popular horses in training. Punters in Belfast have seen something else though, and have Vintage Clouds as the one that could spoil the party.”
Three best backed Grand National horses in UK cities
London
1) Tiger Roll
2) Rathvinden
3) Anibale Fly
Manchester
1) Tiger Roll
2) Anibale Fly
3) Lake View Lad
Glasgow
1) Tiger Roll
2) Lake View Lad
3) Vintage Clouds
Belfast
1) Vintage Clouds
2) Noble Endeavour
3) Tiger Roll
Leeds
1) Tiger Roll
2) Anibale Fly
3) Jury Duty
Birmingham
1) Tiger Roll
2) Lake View Lad
3) Anibale Fly
Bristol
1) Tiger Roll
2) Vintage Clouds
3) Lake View Lad
Newcastle
1) Tiger Roll
2) Pairofbrowneyes
3) Pleasant Company
