AP McCoy: Shutthefrontdoor has a very good chance

Tony McCoy pointed to Jonjo O'Neill's record with staying chasers as he outlined a "very good chance" for Shutthefrontdoor in the Crabbie's Grand National at Aintree on April 11.

McCoy will be having a record 20th and final ride in the world's most famous steeplechase and appears most likely to partner the ante-post favourite Shutthefrontdoor, although he could opt for Cheltenham Festival winner Cause Of Causes, who is trained by Gordon Elliott.

Last year's Irish National hero Shutthefrontdoor took part in a leisurely stroll around Southwell on Tuesday, jumping a few fences in the process under McCoy, and connections expressed their satisfaction with the exercise afterwards.

McCoy, who won the National on the O'Neill-trained Don't Push It in 2010, said: "The Grand National is the most famous horse race in the world and to be able to take part each year is very exciting.

"It was one of the greatest moments of my racing career to win the Grand National on Don't Push It. I had 14 attempts before Don't Push It came along. Jonjo had him in unbelievable form and to win the Grand National for Noreen and JP McManus was amazing. It is a day I will never forget - I felt a lot of fulfilment.

"We have Shutthefrontdoor and the Cheltenham winner Cause Of Causes - they are two I am most likely to have to choose from.

"Shutthefrontdoor won the Irish National and has not run since winning at Carlisle in November. If you look through the form book, the Carlisle race and the Irish National were not particularly strong, but he is trained by Jonjo O'Neill who has an unbelievably good record in training horses for staying chases. If I am on Shutthefrontdoor, he has a very good chance.

"I am sorry for all the failures I have had in the Grand National over the years and this will be the last time I let anybody down but hopefully I will go out on a high and shut the front door behind me!"

Joint top-weight Carlingford Lough was among a handful of horses withdrawn.

Connections of the John Kiely-trained Irish Hennessy winner were quick to rule out a trip to Liverpool following his unplaced run in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, but fellow top-weight Lord Windermere stands his ground at the head of the field.

Jim Culloty's charge was pulled up in his defence of the Gold Cup but could still join stablemate Spring Heeled in the April 11 contest. Should Lord Windermere win, he would be only the third horse to land both races following Golden Miller and L'Escargot.

Many Clouds, another Gold Cup also-ran, remains in the reckoning for Oliver Sherwood, but Prince De Beauchene and Living Next Door were notable absentees.

The presence of Many Clouds could lead to a jockey poser for the team behind last year's winner Pineau De Re, as Leighton Aspell is associated with both horses.

His trainer Dr Richard Newland said: "I have a phone call to make later on after Many Clouds, who Leighton rides, was left in the National.

"We have said to Leighton it is his ride if he is available. So many things can go wrong and it is pointless getting too bothered about the situation. Our horse is not a hard ride and we will find a jockey.

“It’s extremely difficult to win it twice, it’s not been done for 40 years, but it would be rude not to try.

“It’s fantastic to have a horse good enough to win this race and come back and hopefully run creditably again.

“What’s encouraging is that we now know he stays four and a half miles.

“It’s not been spectacular this season, but it has been good steady progress and I’m happy enough.

“Realisitically,  with his horse, when you have a horse that you know stays this trip and jumps these 30 fences, there’s only one race for him and it’s here.

“The big concern is that he can just step on a stone or something now and that would be game over. It’s just fingers crossed that we get here okay and line up again. Can we win it again? Yes.”

Another personality to have won the race before is owner John Hales, who landed the 2012 renewal with Neptune Collonges.

He has another grey representing him in the race this season in the form of Unioniste, and he's looking forward to attempting to win the race for a second time.

Hales said: “We started off the season saying ‘Look, I think we’ve got a Grand National horse here’ and everything he’s done since has tended to prove that. If he has the luck on the day, if he avoids the problems on the first circuit, I think he’s got a good chance.

“I’ve no doubts in my mind that he’ll take to the fences. Neptune had never seen them before. They’re both by the same sire, they’re quite similar horses really.

“Noel [Fehily] definitely rides. I said to Paul at the beginning of the season that I wanted an experienced jockey on him and that what I wanted the same jockey on him to get the experience on him going into the National.”

Aintree's Clerk of the Course, Andrew Tulloch, hasn't ruled out the possibility of watering ahead of the big race.

“The grass is coming, we could just do with a bit of warmth," he said.

“We’ve got a couple of fences to build and then it’s just the final touches.

“Hopefully we’ll get a bit of rain at the end of this week. Again, as we’ve always said here, we look to race on the easier side of good and if we need to water, we will do.”