Lieutenant has National target First Lieutenant is in line for the Crabbie's Grand National after trailing home last in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown. The Mouse Morris-trained 10-year-old has been ever-present in some of the National Hunt calendar's top staying prizes for the last few seasons, but recent efforts suggest his talents may be on the wane. He was well beaten at Down Royal on his seasonal reappearance and in the Lexus Chase over Christmas prior to his recent no-show and Morris is keen to freshen him up for a trip to Aintree in the spring. He said: "I think we'll probably go straight to the National with him now. I think he's probably more of a handicapper these days than that (Grade One) sort of level. "He's had a lot of hard races over the years and he's a horse who gives himself a hard race every time. "He won't go to Cheltenham this year. We'll cheer him up and look to Aintree with him. It will be interesting to see what mark he gets."
