Findon handler Josh Gifford is one of the few trainers not complaining about the excessively wet weather of recent weeks.

His strike rate this season of 17 per cent, nine winners from 54 runners, is satisfactory and Gifford knows he has plenty of ammunition for the time when the going eases.

He said: "To be honest, the weather has given me a genuine excuse to back off my younger horses.

"A month ago we had a few coughing in the yard, but with conditions as they are I have no alternative but to soft pedal with all but the old stagers. That has to be in their favour, long term."

The younger horses find it disheartening ploughing through the mud and the experience which could sour them. Older horses have seen it all before and learned to cope with anything the weather can throw at them.

Among the more experienced horses at The Downs Stables is Brave Highlander, whose sole objective is the Martell Grand National on April 7. But this time, Gifford will be two-handed at Aintree if all goes well.

He said: "Sarah Pilkington has, at last, given me permission to enter Glitter Isle for the National. She has always been against running horses over the National fences, but Glitter Isle is the ideal type, so now she has agreed to take the first step of at least entering the horse."

Task Mrs Pilkington is the daughter of the late Derek Wigan, a long-standing patron of Gifford and his erstwhile boss Captain Ryan Price before him.

Gifford trained Approaching, ridden by Bob Champion, to win the 1978 Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup in the pale-blue, black crossbelts of Major Wigan.

He reminded me that Approaching got the presently successful West Country trainer Paul Nicholls on the map as a jockey.

Gifford said: "Paul won the Conditional Jockeys race that immediately follows the Grand National on Approaching 20 years ago, but he has done better as a trainer than he ever did as a jockey."

With two Grand National entries from which to choose, Findon jockey Philip Hide may have a difficult task in making a choice. He has had some wonderful Aintree experiences on Brave Highlander but Glitter Isle is the younger horse and probably the better bet.

Brave Highlander himself is in great form, which makes his poor run at Ascot three weeks ago a mystery.

Gifford said: "He ran a desperate race. He was never jumping, which is his strong point, and didn't really get into the race at all.

"The irony is that this is the first time for years that Brave Highlander has had no set-backs in his preparation.

"He is so well that I'm tempted to run him at Cheltenham or Doncaster tomorrow and give the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow a miss altogether.

"Brave Highlander needs to go out and enjoy himself and boost his confidence."

Under the same roof for eating and sleeping, but running an entirely separate operation is Gifford's son Nick. With just a month to go before the first point-to-point of the 2001 season, Nick's team of five is gearing up for action.

He is fully stretched doing the labouring jobs like mucking out and grooming, but he does have some help with the exercising.

Nick said: "I have a young girl from the village who rides out and the equine video producer Jamie Hawksfield rides his own horse Wibbly-Wobbly. Jamie's secretary comes two or three times a week and I just manage to get by.

"There are four more horses to come into the yard before Christmas and then I will certainly need a full-time lad or girl on the staff."

Nick's cousin David Dunsdon, one of the most promising young amateurs of last season, will be the principal rider and the stable reckons to have runners at Tweseldown, near Camberley, on January 7.