Birthday bonus for Morris as Lieutenant first at last

Mouse Morris was elated after First Lieutenant provided him with a birthday winner in the Betfred Bowl on the first day of the Grand National meeting at Aintree.

It was a deserved success for both trainer and horse, as Morris had a series of near-misses at Cheltenham and First Lieutenant had been banging his head against the best around all season.

Man-of-the-moment Bryan Cooper was standing in for Davy Russell, deemed not fit enough to ride in England by the British Horseracing Authority despite being in action in Ireland since puncturing a lung at Cheltenham.