With no sign of any thaw in the near future, the all-weather will continue to play a prominent role and the following trainers in particular are worth siding with:-

1. Marco Botti
The former assistant to Luca Cumani is quickly making a name for himself in his own right with Gitano Hernando's success in the Grade 1 Goodwood Stakes last October highlighting his talents.  A Group 1 win in Britain in 2010 is next on the agenda and I expect him to feature highly in the all-weather trainer's championship as he has a strong sand team at his disposal. Gitano Hernando is being aimed at the Dubai Carnival and may run in the Lingfield Winter Derby trial beforehand, while improving types such as Falcativ and Splinter Cell should continue to pay their way. Botti has a loyal following at Kempton in particular, and no wonder as he won 28 races there last year, yielding a £1 level stakes profit of £128.88.

2. Kevin Ryan
Ryan is one trainer who likes to kick on once December ends and his horses are always worth following in the early part of the year on sand. Backing all his runners blind in January for the past five seasons would have yielded a £1 level stakes profit of £30.30 and he has already made a good start to 2010 with two winners and two seconds from six runners. His daughter Amy is often employed in the saddle and her 5lb allowance can prove decisive, as it did on Tiddliwinks last weekend.

3. Michael Jarvis
The Newmarket trainer doesn't have many runners on sand but the ones he does have are worthy of close attention. In January alone, he has an almost one-in-three strike rate over the past four seasons for a tidy level-stakes profit. Tripitaka (4/1) went in for the stable last week and he won't be the last.

4.Alan McCabe
After a quiet spell before Christmas, the Nottinghamshire trainer is now riding high in the hot trainers list and his runners at Southwell are worth following in particular. His Follow The Flag is a tricky customer to win with so you know the yard is in form when he goes in, as he did a week last Friday. Of the four horses that have already won for him in 2010, I was particularly impressed with the performance of Reve De Nuit and he should continue to pay his way this winter.

5. Peter Hedger
After only returning to the flat training ranks last November, Hedger has quickly established himself as a trainer to follow on sand. Of the 10 horses he has run this all-weather season, six have won, including the well-backed Lisahane Bog at Wolverhampton last week. He was ridden by Dane O'Neil, who is now 6-16 for Hedger in the past four seasons for a phenomenal profit of over £80 to £1 level stakes.

Other trainers worth following are the in-form Stuart Williams, who has a knack of running up sequences with his horses, a point proved by the recent successes of Earlsmedic and Sircozy; and the current leader in the trainer's table, David Evans. The latter has plenty of runners (12% strike rate) so a selective policy is advised and his formidable partnership with jockey Paul Doe (8 from 38 for a level stakes profit of £26.63) should continue to prove fruitful.