Shutthefrontdoor is favourite for the Crabbie’s Grand National

The Jackdaws Castle trainer's biggest challenge is to ensure last season's Irish Grand National winner gets to the Merseyside spectacular in one piece.

O'Neill reports Shutthefrontdoor in good order, having got over the setback that has kept him off the track since winning at Carlisle in November.

"Shutthefrontdoor is in great form and I'm very happy with him," he said.

"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 I 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 has schooled well and is spot-on for the race. He goes there fresh and well.

"He is better on a flat track and he loves good ground as he is a well balanced horse that's a great mover.

"I think AP (Tony McCoy) 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 only pressure I have on me is making sure he (Shutthefrontdoor) gets there safe and sound."

All this is a far cry from when Shutthefrontdoor made his hurdling debut in a four-horse maiden at Folkestone on November 20, 2012.

Sent off at 1-4, his poor jumping meant McCoy could never get him into a threatening position at any stage and he plugged on through the heavy ground to finish third.

“Didn’t jump,” were AP’s only words on dismounting in the unsaddling enclosure.

Less than three years on, Shutthefrontdoor is 7-1 favourite to win the toughest race in the world, worth £1million.

Who would have thought that now-defunct Folkestone’s final claim to fame would be that it was the track where AP’s last ride in the National made his hurdling debut.