Landmark Festival anniversaries aplenty for masterly Morris

For a trainer who has never had a large string of horses, Mouse Morris’ Cheltenham Festival record stands up to a good degree of scrutiny – and this year marks two significant landmarks.

While it is fair to say he does not have a stereotypical racing background, with his father a president of the International Olympic Committee and his mother a cryptographer at Bletchley Park, he has earned his stripes the hard way.

Firstly that came in his days as a jockey when he rode Edward O’Grady’s first Festival winner, Mr Midland in the 1974 National Hunt Chase. A year later he turned professional and won the first of two successive Queen Mother Champion Chases on Skymas.

But it is as a trainer where he has really excelled. This year sees the 40th anniversary of Buck House winning the Champion Chase. It is also 20 years since War Of Attrition won the greatest prize of them all, the Gold Cup.

Buck House is a legendary name, particularly in Irish racing circles, but possibly more for a race he lost than any he won as he took part in a one-off match race with the mighty Dawn Run in 1986, which the mare won.

That might be doing him a disservice, however, as he does have a race named after him due to his exploits on the track, which also included victory in the 1983 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, and Morris credits him with kick-starting his career.

“Jeez, is it 40 years since he won the Champion Chase. I can’t even remember what happened yesterday, never mind 40 years ago!” quipped the Fethard-based 74-year-old.

“He was ridden by a genius in Tommy Carmody and for some reason he always ran his best races at Cheltenham.

“I can’t remember too much about the race. I remember (three-time winner) Badsworth Boy was in it, but he was an old horse by then. Buck House was a super ‘lepper’ and that was maybe why he did so well at Cheltenham.

“It was the same when he won the Supreme, he would make lengths at hurdles and fences because it’s a place that rewards good jumping.

“I do remember the TV cameras in 1986 showed a different angle to usual of them jumping the second-last and he took it at full pelt, it was fantastic.

“It must have been good ground because he couldn’t raise a leg in the soft, and I know the grass looks yellow when you watch the race now but that’s because it was so long ago – at least it wasn’t black and white!”

Sadly, that proved to be Buck House’s crowning glory. Shortly after he came off second best to Dawn Run he died of colic. Just weeks later Paddy Mullins’ legendary mare died in the French Champion Hurdle, robbing Irish racing of its two champions.

Also in 1986 Morris won the Foxhunters Chase with Attitude Adjuster, with the race remembered as Ted Walsh’s final ride as an amateur jockey before he turned his hand to training and a career in the media.

“I’d only been training a couple of years before getting Buck House and he really put me on the map, I’ve been searching for another one like him – but I also won the Foxhunters that year,” said Morris.

“Attitude Adjuster could be a bit difficult, but Ted gave him a great ride then he jumped off and quit! I also gave Ruby (Walsh) his first ride at the Festival on a horse (Thatswhatithought) in the National Hunt Chase (second to Wandering Light in 1998).”

There were other Festival winners along the road for the affable Morris, Trapper John in the 1990 Stayers’ Hurdle and the Grand Annual in 2005 with Fota Island for JP McManus – but it was 2006 when Morris reached the pinnacle of the sport.

War Of Attrition had been to the Festival twice before. In 2004 he was agonisingly touched off in one of the best ever renewals of the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle by a future champion in Brave Inca, but the following year he disappointed when favourite for the Arkle.

It was well documented he needed good ground to be seen at his best and being trained in Ireland meant that was usually unlikely until the spring so even though he was beaten in the John Durkan and the Lexus, he was still only a 15-2 chance in the Gold Cup.

He went into the race with a bit of a query over his stamina, but he had a Grand National winner behind him in second in Hedgehunter. He would go on to follow up at Punchestown to confirm himself as the best around.

Sadly, as he was being built up for the defence of his crown after three excellent runs in ground which would not have suited, he picked up an injury which would keep him off the track for the best part of two years.

“Winning the Gold Cup, it doesn’t come any better than that does it, it’s why we all do it,” said Morris.

“It was a shame what happened to him, he was only seven when he won the Gold Cup and he’d been running well in the Lexus and the like in heavy ground which he hated.

“I thought he would have been the one to beat again but he had to miss it twice and when he came back he wasn’t quite the same horse, understandably.

“We won some nice races with him when he came back, but he never liked soft ground.

“The year he ran in the Supreme with Brave Inca, that must have been the best Supreme ever, a future Gold Cup winner and a future Champion Hurdle winner in a photo.

“He was one of Michael’s (O’Leary, owner) first really good horses and he got him hooked.

“I’m still going, still training, I wouldn’t like to be starting out now, I know that, but I’ve a nice young horse coming through called Bossofthebrownies and while he’s not a Cheltenham horse this year, he might be one day.”

One thing is for sure, if Morris does ever send him, you can take it as read that he will not be far away.