COMEBACK king Carl Llewellyn is enjoying a welcome revival this season, having looked as if he was on the verge of retirement during the early part of 2003.

Twice successful in the Aintree Grand National, 38-year-old Carl, now one of the senior members of the weighing room, could easily be forgiven side-stepping minor meetings such as the one at Ludlow today.

But having recently won the Welsh Grand National aboard Bindaree, he is up for most things at present and his mount, Forrest Tribe (3.00), is just the type to snatch the feature event on the card, the £10,000 Annual Members Handicap Chase.

Minor breathing problems have always been the gelding's Achilles heel, which is probably the reason for his 615-day absence from action. Some punters worry about this sort of detail, but he has a history of running well over course and distance.

And the fact that trainer Willie Jenks has booked Carl's services leads me to believe Forrest Tribe will be fit, despite his long holiday.

There's a pretty motley crew going to post for the Moore Scott Novices Handicap, in which the irreverently named Passing Wind will doubtless bring a few guffaws from spectators and betting shop customers alike.

Passing Wind (2.00) can claim no credit for his latest success at Fakenham, where his opponents handed the race to him on a plate.

Better to refer to some of his previous efforts, which bizarrely include a six-furlong triumph in his native country of New Zealand, together with a more conventional hurdles win at Bangor.

On the strength of admittedly fairly threadbare evidence, it wouldn't be a good idea to have the week's housekeeping on Henry Oliver's mount, but in an alarmingly poor heat he might reward his backers at reasonable odds.

Following yesterday's shed-load of rain Towcester must survive an early morning inspection before racing gets the green light.

Should conditions improve Shaydelaydeh (1.20) will likely take all the beating in the Amateur Riders Handicap Hurdle.

Having previously shown virtually nothing over timber, Julia Fielden's filly actually did rather well in defeat at Huntingdon recently, finishing a perfectly respectable third to Governor General and Fairtoto.

In this type of lowly grade that level of form cannot be knocked and if Shaydelaydeh can simply maintain her improvement an inaugural victory beckons.

Arguably the best sprint so far run on the all-weather this winter takes place at Wolverhampton and it is Quito (2.40) who is fancied to come away with the money.

David Chapman's speedster progressed into a really useful individual last term, landing the Ayr Gold Cup with a dramatic last-gasp lunge under a power-packed drive from his regular rider Tony Culhane.

Culhane is once again on duty and with conditions absolutely ideal for Quito the time has arrived to lace up the old betting boots and get stuck into the game seven-year-old.

* GLADTOKNOWYOU provided followers of Janus (Colin Woods) with a cracking 6-1 winning nap at Wincanton yesterday.