DESPITE being pulled up on his latest outing, Mulligatawny (3.20) still makes plenty of appeal in the Weatherbys Handicap Chase at Plumpton.

Nick Gifford's 11-year-old has been plagued by injury throughout his career, which at least has had the benefit of reducing his overall mileage compared with many horses of similar age.

There are also grounds to forgive his most recent dismal effort at Newbury because he was never travelling with zest or enthusiasm in that contest.

I reckon he simply had an off day and with only three rivals to beat, past form suggests today's two-and-a-half-miler is well within his remit, especially as the testing underfoot conditions and likely slow early pace will be very much to Mulligatawny's advantage.

Tom George is going to be a difficult man to stop at Warwick, where he could easily pocket the first two races on the card.

Having won without breaking sweat at Fontwell on Monday, George quickly whips out the unpenalised Rosetown (1.30) for the opener, the Racecourse Owners Club Classified Hurdle.

Rosetown's fans never really had a worry at the Sussex venue, as the rejuvenated seven-year-old sauntered round the wide outside and then shot clear at the second last.

Toulouse-Lautrec (2.00) has won two of his last three starts and looks good to complete a double for Tom's stable in the Gog Brook Handicap Chase

With only seven rivals to account for, Toulouse-Lautrec should be able to make his class tell, although the top-weight probably wouldn't want the ground to get any softer.

Hughie Morrison handles Flat and jumping horses equally efficiently, so the presence of Bobsleigh (3.30) in the Burton Green Handicap Hurdle warrants the closest inspection.

Bobsleigh made an encouraging return to National Hunt action when runner-up at Plumpton recently.

In addition, the selection has shown winning form over 14 furlongs on the level, therefore by rights he won't have any problems with this afternoon's three-mile-and-one-furlong trip.

If Hidden Dragon attracts significant market support for Southwell's £20,000 Littlewoods Bet Direct Handicap then he's the one to back, but as a safer alternative Magic Glade (3.10) just gets the nod.

Hidden Dragon's been off for 124 days and might just be a little ring-rusty, unlike Magic Glade, who, according to my calculations, has run to within a pound of his average speed figure on his previous three runs.

That's the sort of consistency professional punters love and I believe we can be confident of a barnstorming perormance from Roy Brotherton's sprinter.

* Robert Miles faces a lengthy ban when he appears at a Jockey Club hearing today after testing positive for cocaine at Salisbury in September.

A urine sample taken from the 23-year-old apprentice, who is no longer a licensed jockey, was found to contain benzoylecgonine, which is a diagnostic metabolite of cocaine and a banned substance.

Miles rode 35 winners last year, including the Chester Vase on Red Lancer, but he has been out of racing since his licence was relinquished after he was sacked by Epsom trainer Terry Mills in October.

Jockeys' Association chief executive John Blake, who will accompany Miles to the hearing at the Jockey Club's headquarters, said: ''His lack of public appearances are not due to disrespect to the Jockey Club or to the process, but to his great embarrassment and uncertainty.''

Miles is the fourth rider to have tested positive for the drug since the Jockey Club's testing policy was introduced in October 1994.

Philip Shea was given a six-month ban in October 2000. Dean Gallagher was given an 18-month suspension for a second offence in November 2002, and Francis Norton was handed a four-month ban in December 2003.

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