Mouse Morris: Celebrating a Legacy in Irish Racing Mouse Morris is one of Irish racing's great characters, a staple in the sport for more than four decades and a proven winner of major races at home and abroad. About Michael Francis Leo Morris, affectionately known to all as 'Mouse', is a proud native of Spiddal in Co Galway on Ireland's western seaboard. His father served as president of the International Olympic Committee from 1972 to 1980 and Chairman of Galway Racecourse from 1970 to 1985. His mother, Sheila, was a cryptographer at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Morris' twin brother Johnny became a photographer and married Irish television personality Thelma Mansfield, while older brother George Redmond "Red" became a film producer. Mouse Morris married Susanna Felicity Clark and had two sons, Jamie and Christopher. 'Tiffer' died tragically in the summer of 2015, aged 30, of carbon monoxide poisoning while travelling in Argentina. Morris is amongst the most recognisable figures in Irish racing, with his flowing grey hair and baseball cap and, more often than not, a cigarette in his hand. Career as a jockey Having been diagnosed as dyslexic, Morris left school and turned his attention to horses in his teens. His career blossomed as an amateur rider and in 1974 he rode Mr Midland to victory at Cheltenham in the National Hunt Chase, giving trainer Edward O'Grady his first Festival winner. Morris rode two more winners at the Cotswolds showpiece as a professional jockey, twice partnering Skymas to glory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 1976 and 1977 for trainer Brian Lusk. He would also steer Billycan to victory in the 1977 Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse but his career in the saddle was cut short after a fall in the Colonial Cup in South Carolina later that same year. Career as a trainer The likes of dual Cheltenham Festival hero Buck House and Stayers' Hurdle scorer Trapper John helped Mouse Morris establish himself as a force to be reckoned with from his Tipperary base at Fethard, once he took out his training license. The likes of Cahervillahow and Foxchapel King would go on to provide Grade 1 wins on home soil before Morris' star performer turned up in 2003 — War of Attrition. Owned by Gigginstown House Stud, the Michael O'Leary-led enterprise that would be strong supporters of Mouse's yard - War of Attrition was a Grade 1-winning novice chaser at Punchestown in April 2005. He traded blows with Beef Or Salmon the following season, second at Leopardstown over Christmas but winning at Punchestown come the spring. In between, War of Attrition won the big one, the Cheltenham Gold Cup under Conor O'Dwyer on St Patrick's Day in 2006. He followed up at Punchestown and would win five more races, including a couple of graded events over hurdles in 2010 after losing his way over fences. First Lieutenant was another Grade 1 scorer for Gigginstown, landing the Aintree Bowl in 2013 and his association with maroon and white colours was truly cemented in 2016 with a Grand National double at Aintree and Fairyhouse. Rogue Angel got up by a short head to deny Bless The Wings for Gordon Elliott at Fairyhouse and Rule The World scored a 33/1 success on Merseyside under David Mullins. Did you know? Morris' Aintree Grand National win with Rule The World came less than 10 months after he lost his son, Tiffer, in tragic circumstances. He credited racing with giving purpose to his life and told the Irish Independent his desperate loss had at least helped to raise awareness. "It's something you never get over but the training at least gives you something else to think about. Without training the horses, I don't know what I would have done," he said. "If something good could come out of all of this then it would be to raise awareness about the danger of carbon monoxide. "Everyone should have an alarm, and a lot of people have had near-misses with carbon monoxide and never realised there was a problem.”
