McCOY’S BIG CAUSE FOR CONCERN

ALL eyes will be on AP McCoy this afternoon as he bids for a dream end to his career but I have a strong feeling that a horse he could have ridden is going to come back to haunt him.

The 19-time champion jockey could have ridden Causes for Causes who, like his mount Shutthefrontdoor, is owned by his boss JP McManus. He has ridden him three times before.

While it was ultimately no surprise he chose Shutthefrontdoor, a runner with strong credentials, Cause of Causes also has very good reasons why he should be backed. He was second at the 2014 Cheltenham Festival and then landed the four-mile National Hunt Chase at last month’s meeting. That marks him down as a quality performer, and he is ridden by

a Grand National winninng jockey in Paul Carberry (Bobbyjo, 1999) and trained by a race-winning trainer in Gordon Elliott (Silver Birch, 2007). His four mile Cheltenham win indicates reserves of stamina for the four-and-a-half-mile, 30-fence test which I like to see in my Grand National

hopes. Shutthefrontdoor, the 2014 Irish National winner, is also strong on that score. I like last year’s runner-up Balthazar King and 2014 Scottish National winner Al Co, as well as Godsmejudge, second in that race having won it in 2013.

For those looking for an each-way punt at more speculative odds, Royale Knight is a horse which has caught my eye.

I will be cheering on my two sons. Tom rides Soll, another runner with a serious chance of a light weight, while Michael trains Monbeg Dude, last year’s seventh owned by a trio of rugby players including former England captain Mike Tindall. He could easily nick a place.