JUST five weeks to go for the start of the 2000 flat season to start on Thursday, March 23 at Doncaster and training is really hotting up on the gallops at Hambleton.

Last Wednesday Kevin Darley, Fergal Lynch, Iona Wands and Mark Birch were putting the two year olds through serious work and on a cold sunny morning it gave me such a thrill to see my own two year old ridden by Kevin Darley as the star of the gallop.

Kevin, who has ridden some outstanding two-year-olds in his time, reckons Hambleton Highlite is so sharp at this stage and so strong for a young horse that he could be something special.

I'm busy racing this week with Ribble Assembly at Sedgefield today. He has been harshly treated by the handicapper and carries top weight of 12 stone. Ribs, as he is known in the yard, is not a very big horse and will find it very hard to give at least 11lb away.

Ribble Princess who ran her best race to date this year at Wolverhampton last time out, seems to have come on for that run and Steve Browne the jockey who rode her at Wolverhampton, is confident she will finish in the first three.

Thursday at Wolverhampton Dandy Nicholls saddles Nifty Norman in the Selling stakes and is to be ridden by Ollie Pears who only arrived back from Dubai on Monday, where he has ben riding on the sand for the past three months.

Nifty Norman would be giving the rest of the field a lot more weight if it was a handicap, so he's my banker of the day. David Chapman has had a lean time the last couple of weeks and he should return to the winners enclosure on Wednesday, Tony Culhane's agent told me to have a few bob on this one, Redoubtable, who looks weighted to win.

I will be having a little nibble at Gralmano on Saturday if he runs at Wolverhampton and Lingfield but I think Kevin Ryan will run him at Wolverhampton on Saturday night along with Al Mabrook, both these horses are going exceedingly well on the gallops as are all Kevin's horses. They are looking better now than I have seen them for a while and cannot wait for the start of the flat season.

Have a good week.

WEDNESDAY (Lingfield) Redoubtable (Nap)

WEDNESDAY (Lingfield) Pips Star

THURSDAY (Wolverhampton) Nifty Norman (Nap)

THURSDAY (Wolverhampton) Ribble Princess (EW)

FRIDAY (Southwell) Diamon Promise (Nap)

FRIDAY (Southwell) Jawhari (EW)

SATURDAY (Wolverhampton) Swagger (Nap)

SATURDAY (Wolverhampton) Gralmano (EW)

SATURDAY (Wolverhampton) Al Mabrook (EW)

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.