COTSWOLD trainer Jonjo O’Neill feels favourite Shutthefrontdoor has the right credentials to give Tony McCoy a memorable final ride in the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree.

The 19-time champion is likely to retire on the spot on Saturday if he can clinch his second success in the famous steeplechase after winning with Don’t Push It, also trained by O’Neill and owned by JP McManus, in 2010.

Despite being off the track since a November win at Carlisle, eight-year-old Shutthefrontdoor, the 2014 Irish Grand National winner, is fancied at around 7-1.

The Temple Guiting handler said: “You need a good, classy horse with ability these days, whereas before you had a good jumper and needed a lot of luck. It is a proper race now, a real good handicap chase.

“He likes to be up there in the first half of the field and that would be my plan. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest that he is favourite. I am just training the horse as if he was going for a little race at Stratford. He is spot-on and in good form.

“There are plenty of stand-outs but, to me, he is as good as any of them. I am not frightened of anything in particular.

“It’s a good, open race. I would like to have got a run into him but he had an abscess around in his sinuses back in January and February, which took a while to clear up.

“I would have liked to run him at Cheltenham but decided not to as he was not as well as he is now and I didn’t want him having a hard race, which it is easy to do at Cheltenham.

“He is better on a flat track and loves good ground as he is a well balanced horse that’s a great mover. I think AP will probably ride him and the public will all be backing him looking for that fairytale story. We would all love it to happen but it is a tall order.”

The O’Neill-trained Holywell will run in today’s Betfred Bowl Chase after finishing fourth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup but Merry King has been ruled out of the Grand National with a breathing problem.

Hollow Blue Sky (11-1), trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies at Naunton, won under Jamie Bargary at Haydock.

Chipping Norton handler Charlie Longsdon felt the lack of an extra gear restricted Kilcooley to seventh in the Grade Three Prix Hypothese at Auteuil after he had led in France.

Meanwhile, the Cotswold point-to-point is on Sunday at Andoversford from 2pm.