TRAINER Tony Carroll was in hot water with the Stewards at Leicester on Tuesday when the curiously named NDR'S Cash For Fun managed to win despite never being placed on any of his previous starts.

Carroll must now pay a visit to the Jockey Club in London to explain how the nine-year-old found such sudden improvement, not to mention the fact he was backed from 25s to 16-1.

Maybe he'll incur some sort of fine, in which case Carroll's percentage from the envisaged success of Our Slimbridge (2.40) at Plumpton might help soften the blow.

At 14-years-old it's a minor miracle that Our Slimbridge is still in full flow.

But contrary to the public perception of aged racehorses, they are often happier in an environment they've known all of their lives, rather than being turned out to grass and having to cope with our often miserable climate.

To his credit Our Slimbridge continues to pay his way in lowly events like the Annual Membership Selling Hurdle, a race he won 12 months ago, and which, not really surprisingly for less than three grand on a wet winter's afternoon, has a attracted a particularly weak field.

It could well turn out to be a day to follow the old codgers because in the following Weatherbys Insurances Services Handicap Chase 13-year-old chaser, Superior Risk (3.10), cannot be discounted.

Tom George's stable has been in blinding form of late and Superior Risk chipped in by scoring in a warm-looking claimer at Haydock on December 1.

I'm unsure whether Moody Blues (4.10) has anything to do with the legendary rock band of the same name.

The band made a fortune with a string of hits, kicking off with "Go Now" in the sixties, and Moody Blues looks like he could start raking in the loot by taking the Tyser Insurance Ltd Novices' Chase.

Moody Blues, a former Irish point-to-point winner, made a more than satisfactory British debut when third to Suntas and Rith Dubh at Huntingdon this month.

Pick of a busy card at Warwick is Corniche (3.50) in the NetbetSports Handicap Hurdle.

Having been trained with great panache during the early part of his career by Nigel Twiston-Davies, for some reason the useful gelding then failed to respond to his master's urgings. That soon changed once Welsh wizard Bernard Llewellyn got hold of Corniche, producing the seven-year-old to collect at the stunningly generous odds of 16-1 at Southwell.

Considering Corniche was once rated 139 over fences, his current hurdling mark of 115 is simply too good to miss in the attempt to complete a well-deserved double by his canny connections.

* Memories of Foinavon's Grand National in 1967 came flooding back as champion jockey Tony McCoy gained one of the most dramatic successes of his career when Family Business finished alone having been remounted in the Feast Of St Raymond Novices' Chase at Southwell yesterday. Foinavon went on to win the Aintree marathon, and after Family Business made a mistake at the 10th and unseated McCoy, the rest of the seven runners gradually departed the race. McCoy heard what happened remounted and guided his horse home.