SNOW and frost may have prevented much racing this week, but it did not stop Howard Johnson in his quest for new big-time owners Graham and Andrea Wylie on Saturday.

The Crook trainer, many of whose staff could not get to work, had to drive the horsebox himself when taking Royal Rosa to Haydock. The trip proved worthwhile when Graham Lee partnered the gelding to land the Grade 2 Red Square Vodka Prestige Novices' Hurdle in fine style.

Johnson ruled out a tilt at the Cheltenham Festival for this 340,000gns purchase, however. He said: "We want to go there with him next year for the Royal & SunAlliance Chase and I don't want to sicken him.

"Inglis Drever is my main Cheltenham horse. We were hoping to gallop him at Newcastle on Monday, but that won't be on." The trainer proved right, as the Gosforth Park, Catterick and Wetherby meetings were among those lost this week.

Wylie, the retired founder of the Sage computer software business, is joining Newcastle and Sedgefield racecourses as a non-executive director.

On Saturday, Wylie, who has spent some £5m on horses, confirmed that he has no insurance on the expensive string, as the premiums are too high. "With Royal Rosa, the cheapest quote I got was £45,000 a year," he said, "So I would rather just go and buy a few extra ones and have them as insurance - self-insurance, really."

In the Racing Post Chase the same afternoon, Peter Beaumont's Hunters Tweed was going well for the first circuit under Russ Garritty, but weakened and was pulled up. The trainer-jockey duo fared better later in the week, winning with the wily Sharpastrizam at Leicester.

Musselburgh was breezy but sunny on Sunday when young Henry Oliver showed again what a fine rider he is, winning the John Smith's Handicap Hurdle, a £15,000 race, from the front on Wet Lips, trained by his boss Richard Guest and denying one of our 15 to Follow, Altay, by a couple of lengths.

The Johnson-Lee team were not in the best of form and Factor Fifteen was beaten half a length by another young rider, David O'Meara, on the Tim Easterby-trained Silver Coin.

Sons and fathers were another part of the story as 20-year-old Mark Walford, a point to point winner, landed his first under Rules on Guilsborough Gorse, trained by father Tim at Sheriff Hutton.

Ben Orde-Powlett, in his father Lord Bolton's colours, partnered Enzo De Baune to another win. This is trained by Geoff Harker on his lordship's Wensley estate and beat another Johnson hot-pot, Boy's Hurrah, partnered by Lee, who had some compensation when winning later for Wilf Storey on Suggest.

From Spigot Lodge, Karl Burke could look across the Ure to the Bolton estate and the air round Wensley must be good for horses, as Burke had success with Playtime Blue at Wolverhampton last Friday and with Radiant Bride at Lingfield on Tuesday.

That win by Darren Williams was cheeky in the extreme as the young jockey had travelled south with Dale Gibson, whom he passed near the line, cracking a joke as he went by.

Earlier, Burke had some misfortune as apprentice Ambrose Reilly on Achilles Rainbow cut across other horses, clipped the heels of one, which brought his mount down to break a leg and have to be destroyed.

Reilly was injured in the fall and missed the ride next day on Grub Street at Southwell, but Colin Haddon won for John Parkes to earn the trainer's praise. Other young riders doing well that day were Andrew Mullen on John Quinn's Thunderclap and Rory Moore for Patrick Haslam on Yankeedoodledandy.

Sunday at the same course, Daniel Tudhope, 18, pleased Declan Carroll by winning on Rust En Vrede. Tony Hamilton won well there Thursday last for Richard Fahey. Young amateur Simon Walker also won for Quinn at Wolverhampton, where Gavin Faulkner added another Haslam success.

David Chapman's 13-year-old Redoubtable looked as good as ever when landing Tuesday's Lingfield opener.

THE WEEK'S WINNERS

Thursday of last week. - Southwell AW: Up Tempo (trained by K Ryan, at Hambleton; owned by Yorkshire Racing Club & F Moll), ridden by R Quinn; Uhoomagoo (K Ryan; J Duddy), N Callan; Bramantino (R Fahey, Musley Bank; Mrs Kenyon, A Rhodes Haulage, P Timmins), T Hamilton (claiming 5lbs allowance).

Fri. - Wolverhampton AW: Playtime Blue (K Burke, Wensley; P Sweeting), G Baker; Book Matched (B Smart, Hambleton; Homebred (Hb), P Darling), R Ffrench.

Sat. - Haydock: Royal Rosa (H Johnson, Crook; A & G Wylie), G Lee.

Sun. - Musselburgh: Silver Coin (T Easterby, Great Habton; C H Stevens), D O'Meara (3); Enzo De Baune (G Harker, Wensley; Lord Bolton), B Orde-Powlett (7); Wet Lips (R Guest, Brancepeth; Concertina Racing Three), H Oliver; Guilsborough Gorse (T Walford, Sheriff Hutton; P Crafts), Mr M Walford (7); Suggest (W Storey, Muggleswick; Mrs M Tindle), G Lee.

Lingfield AW: Double Ransom (L Stubbs, Malton; Tyme Partnership), K Fallon.

Southwell AW: Rust En Vrede (D Carroll, Warthill; A Mann), D Tudhope (7).

Mon. - Wolverhampton AW: Jake Black (J Quinn, Settrington; G A Lucas), Mr S Walker; Two Of Clubs (P Haslam, Middleham; Blue Lion Racing), G Faulkner.

Tue. - Leicester: Sharpastrizam (P Beaumont, Brandsby; T Hemmings), R Garritty.

Lingfield AW: Redoubtable (D Chapman, Stillington; trainer), T Culhane; Radiant Bride (K Burke; Mrs Y Goodwin), D Williams.

Wed. - Southwell AW: Thunderclap (J Quinn; The Wednesday Club), A Mullen (4); Grub Street (J Parkes, Malton; Mrs B Sands), C Haddon (4); Mission Affirmed (T Tate, Tadcaster; trainer), D Mernagh; Yankeedoodledandy (P Haslam; K Tyre), R Moore (7).