TESTING ground at Hexham this afternoon should be right up Historg's street in the Mill Garages Novices' Chase.

With all sorts of heady plans pencilled in for Historg, trainer Ferdy Murphy must have been fairly downcast after the six-year-olds' ignominious reappearance at Wetherby 19 days ago where he pulled up and was subsequently reported to have finished "distressed".

Perhaps it's best to totally ignore the dismal effort because back on the soft surface he absolutely adores hopefully we'll see a reproduction of the level of form Historg showed when landing a big gamble at Newcastle in January.

Murphy might also be on the mark with Mijico (3.05) in the John Toner Bumper race.

Mijico did little wrong on his debut at Carlisle last week chasing home Bacardi Boy in a race where the heavily-backed favourite, The Laird's Entry, could only manage third spot.

Sue Smith's stable is gradually beginning to fire with the likes of Mapleton (3.35) threatening to get his head in front.

Although no match for Strong Magic at Huntingdon recently, Mapleton had the rest of the field well beaten off in what on paper at least looked a pretty competitive heat.

Nicky Henderson's Iris Collonges (1.35) hasn't got an obvious chance in the Pierre Charles Memorial Novices' Chase at Kempton, but I still believe he'll be the one to prevail when they shovel on the coal in the home straight.

Iris Collonges goes particularly well on sharp right-handed tracks and there was probably a valid excuse for his defeat at Towcester where lack of peak fitness proved his undoing.

The closing Conditional Jockeys' Novices' Handicap Hurdle is not much better than a selling race and it therefore might be worth rowing in with the relatively unexposed Sure Future (3.45).

He's got bits and pieces of form that suggest he shouldn't be far away even taking into account an absence of 423 days from action.

No problem identifying the day's best bet at Wolverhampton, however patience will be required since Girl's Best Friend (4.25) lines up in the finale, division 2 of the Ringside Restaurant Claiming Stakes.

The selection lost vital lengths with a sleepy start at Lingfield prior to producing a turbo-charged finish that left her snapping at the heels of the leaders inside the final furlong.

Provided Girl's Best Friend is more alert when leaving the gate, she should be on the premises in the capable hands of Simon Whitworth