WELCOME back, Graham Lee! What a way to return to winning, with a double at Warwick last Saturday, both for Howard Johnson. The northern rider who has spent weeks on the sidelines with a broken arm, since plated and screwed, came back in his usual top form.

Island Faith landed the Edward Courage Cup easily, going to the front two out and pulling away from the rest. This was formerly with Ferdy Murphy, but changed yards, and returned from a ten-month break to win.

No Refuge won the novices' hurdle later, the same race which trainer, owners Andrea and Graham Wylie and jockey landed last year with Inglis Drever. This year's victor looks another smart prospect and perhaps the SunAlliance at the Cheltenham Festival is the target.

Lee and Johnson were second in the valuable Listed National Hunt flat race later with Lennon, another useful-looking recruit to the Wylie string.

Johnson's Grattan Lodge, owned by Mr W M G Black, was pulled up in the distance chase, formerly the Warwick National, which Lee won last year on Henrietta Knight's Southern Star.

The big meeting at Kempton, meanwhile, saw some valuable seconds from our area. Kew Jumper was sent down by Andy Turnell to be second in the novice handicap chase. Ferdy Murphy's Hot Weld was second in the novice hurdle and his Supreme Developer filled the same spot in the novice chase afterwards.

Brian Ellison's Torrid Kentavr was runner-up in the big Lanzarote Hurdle later.

Johnson's Inglis Drever is about 20-1 ante post for the Champion Hurdle at the Festival and is entered in tomorrow's Haydock Champion Hurdle Trial. We will not get a chance to see his hot Irish rival Harchibald, though, until the day as he has been pulled out of Sunday's Irish equivalent, the AIG (Europe) Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Other entries for Lee and Johnson include Astronomic, a faller last time out, but who should return to winning ways, and Lord Transcend, who has Truckers Tavern (Ferdy Murphy/Keith Mercer) as a rival again. Sue Smith's Patriarch Express should win the 1.40, biggest danger, Escompteur.

Catterick also has a good day ahead and, if running, we expect good things from Dix Bay (Mick Easterby, Mr Tom Greenall, 1.20). Malcolm Jefferson with Kids Inheritance, a winner there last Thursday (due in the 2.20 under winning jockey Jim Crowley), should repeat his course success. The 1.50, a novice hurdle, should be between Hot Weld (Murphy) and Narciso (Mick Easterby), with the two amateurs , Tom Dreaper and Tom Greenall, booked.

Lee made a safe return to the saddle on Thursday last at Catterick. In his only ride of the day, he partnered Johnson's Lord Capitaine into third behind Time To Reflect (Richard Guest) in the Vote To Keep Big Mac In handicap chase. Norman Waggott with Ipledgeallegiance and Keith Reveley with bumper winner Bayside were the other locals on the scoresheet.

Richard Guest's young rider Henry Oliver was in the saddle at Catterick and, next day, the Brancepeth trainer won with Jericho III at Kelso, where claimer Liam McGrath was the rider. Owner Maj Ivan Straker, of Paris Pike fame, had a winner when Harrovian won for the second week in a row, this one trained in Northumberland by Pauline Robson.

Wetherby's Saturday meeting, when the racecourse gave away soup to the first 250 racegoers and the races were, in the main, named after different soups, found John Wade with his fifth win of the new year, King Of The Arctic going in again for the second week.

Peter Beaumont introduced a good novice chaser, Flight Command, who looks set to go places.

Seconditis seemed to have set in for Monday's Doncaster card, as far as we were concerned, with novice chaser York Rite (Guest) and handicap chaser The Manse Brae (Jefferson) both finishing as runners-up.

Most eye-catching was a rare NH runner for David "Dandy" Nicholls, Full As A Rocket coming second in the bumper under the new conditional/Flat apprentice Paul Benson.

Pay Attention, bred by Peter Easterby and trained for one of the Ryedale Partnerships by Tim Easterby, won her third race in a row when she landed the mares' handicap hurdle at Towcester on Tuesday. This adds to novice hurdles in December at Market Rasen and just into 2005 at Wetherby.

Stillington trainer David Chapman would admit to not being in the first flush of youth and some of his stable stars fall into the same category. Redoubtable, now 14 years old, landed the five-furlong sprint at Southwell on Tuesday and is the oldest Flat winner for some 30 years, according to Racing Post guru John Randall.

The last 14-year-old to win on the level was Le Garon D'Orm in 1974, the last of his 34 races, Randall said.

Redoubtable has won 21 times from 169 starts and his trainer, the doyen of sprints, had backed him at 50-1. SP was 28-1. Chapman said: "He's been a great horse for us over the years and I've had to resist a fair few offers from America, where he would have been in demand as a stallion."

Jockey Tony Culhane was relieved as this was his first winner since returning from injury. He missed most of last month with a broken ankle and has had problems since. "It's great that the old boy has got me off the mark," he said.

Chapman's other stalwart, Quito, was due in action at the same course yesterday as we went to press and, at a mere eight, was expected to go close - despite having to hump 12lb more than his nearest rival.

Dandy's new lad, Paul Benson, was formerly with Jessica Harrington in Ireland and had his first win over here at Southwell, partnering County Durham trainer Ian Emmerson's own Air Of Esteem in the apprentices' race.

Although Surrey is a long drive from Yorkshire, several trainers from hereabouts enjoy good success at Lingfield. This week at the southern course, we have had wins from Karl Burke's Desparation, David Nicholls with Straffan, Kevin Ryan with Quiet Times and Richard Fahey with Sir Sandrovitch.

None perhaps go there more often nor win more frequently than Legal Set, trained and, as often, ridden by Ann Stokell. This was the nine-year-old's sixth course win and the trip down the A1 from Brompton on Swale must be very familiar to the trainer's team.

* Attraction, the Duke of Roxburgh's homebred Classic-winning filly, has just arrived back with Mark Johnston at Kingsley House, Middleham.

The Duke was surprised to find her handicap rating, after landing four Group 1 races in a season, had dropped a pound to 118 from her 2003 rating when, although she was unbeaten, she had not landed a Group 1. "It still makes her the champion three-year-old filly at a mile in Europe," said the Duke. She has been entered in the Dubai Duty Free on March 26, but the Duke added that the Lockinge Stakes might be the first race for her.

THE WEEK'S WINNERS

Thursday last week. - Catterick: Kids Inheritance (trained by M Jefferson, at Norton; owned by Mr & Mrs J M Davenport), ridden by J Crowley; Time To Reflect (R Guest, Brancepeth; Concertina Racing Three), H Oliver; Ipledgeallegiance (N Waggott, Spennymoor; Mrs J Waggott), D O'Meara; Bayside (K Reveley, Lingdale; Mrs P D Savill), J Davies (claiming 3lb allowance).

Lingfield AW: Desperation (K Burke, Wensley; JCS Wilson), N Callan; Straffan (D Nicholls, Sessay; GGN Bloodstock Ltd), F Norton.

Fri. - Kelso: Jericho III (R Guest; P Beck), L McGrath (3).

Sat. - Warwick: Island Faith (H Johnson, Crook; K Lee), G Lee; No Refuge (JH Johnson; A & G Wylie), G Lee.

Wetherby: Flight Command (P Beaumont, Brandsby; N W A Bannister), R Garritty; King Of The Arctic (J Wade, Mordon; permit holder), T Dobbin.

Lingfield AW: Quiet Times (K Ryan, Hambleton; Yorkshire Racing Club & F Moll), N Callan; Sir Sandrovitch (R Fahey, Musley Bank; WG Moore & G Winton), Mr D Cottle (5).

Mon. - No DST area winners.

Tue. - Towcester: Pay Attention (T Easterby, Great Habton; Ryedale Partnership No 6), R Garritty.

Southwell AW: Air Of Esteem (I Emmerson, Holmside; trainer), P Benson (5); Redoubtable (D Chapman, Stillington; trainer), T Culhane.

Wed. - Fakenham: Benefit (L Siddall, Colton; Homebred, Mrs D Ibbotson), T Siddall.

Lingfield AW: Legal Set (A Stokell, Brompton on Swale; P Byrne), A Stokell.