diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-manual.yml b/.github/workflows/release-manual.yml
index fbde0fc4..1f74a311 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-manual.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-manual.yml
@@ -363,85 +363,91 @@ jobs:
       env:
         GITHUB_TOKEN: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
 
-  publish-chocolatey:
-    name: Publish to Chocolatey
-    needs: [prepare-release, release]
-    runs-on: windows-latest
-    if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.release.result == 'success' }}
-
-    steps:
-    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
-      with:
-        ref: v${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.new_version }}
-
-    - name: Download Windows binary from GitHub release
-      id: download
-      shell: pwsh
-      run: |
-        $version = '${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.new_version }}'
-        $url = "https://github.com/TimelordUK/sql-cli/releases/download/v$version/sql-cli-windows-x64.exe"
-        $target = Join-Path $env:RUNNER_TEMP 'sql-cli-windows-x64.exe'
-        Write-Host "Fetching $url"
-        # Retry a few times — the asset may take a few seconds to appear after release create.
-        $ok = $false
-        for ($i = 0; $i -lt 10; $i++) {
-          try {
-            Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $target -UseBasicParsing
-            $ok = $true
-            break
-          } catch {
-            Write-Host "Attempt $($i+1) failed: $($_.Exception.Message). Retrying in 6s..."
-            Start-Sleep -Seconds 6
-          }
-        }
-        if (-not $ok) { throw "Could not download $url after retries" }
-        $hash = (Get-FileHash $target -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
-        Write-Host "SHA256: $hash"
-        "checksum=$hash" | Out-File -FilePath $env:GITHUB_OUTPUT -Append
-
-    - name: Substitute version and checksum into templates
-      shell: pwsh
-      run: |
-        $version  = '${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.new_version }}'
-        $checksum = '${{ steps.download.outputs.checksum }}'
-
-        (Get-Content chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec.template -Raw) `
-          -replace '__VERSION__', $version `
-          | Set-Content chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec -NoNewline
-
-        (Get-Content chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1.template -Raw) `
-          -replace '__VERSION__', $version `
-          -replace '__CHECKSUM__', $checksum `
-          | Set-Content chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1 -NoNewline
-
-        Remove-Item chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec.template
-        Remove-Item chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1.template
-
-        Write-Host '--- nuspec ---'
-        Get-Content chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec
-        Write-Host '--- chocolateyInstall.ps1 ---'
-        Get-Content chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1
-
-    - name: choco pack
-      shell: pwsh
-      working-directory: chocolatey
-      run: choco pack sql-cli.nuspec
-
-    - name: choco push
-      shell: pwsh
-      working-directory: chocolatey
-      env:
-        CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY }}
-      run: |
-        $nupkg = Get-ChildItem -Filter "sql-cli.*.nupkg" | Select-Object -First 1
-        if (-not $nupkg) { throw "No .nupkg produced by choco pack" }
-        Write-Host "Pushing $($nupkg.Name)"
-        choco push $nupkg.FullName --source https://push.chocolatey.org/ --api-key "$env:CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY"
-
-    - name: Upload .nupkg artifact
-      if: always()
-      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
-      with:
-        name: sql-cli-chocolatey-nupkg
-        path: chocolatey/*.nupkg
-        if-no-files-found: warn
\ No newline at end of file
+# TEMPORARILY DISABLED (2026-06-07): Chocolatey publish is on hold.
+# The initial package submission has been pending moderation on chocolatey.org
+# for weeks with no response; the version appears locked while in review, so new
+# build pushes are rejected. Re-enable this job (uncomment) once the package is
+# approved/signed off by Chocolatey moderation.
+#
+#  publish-chocolatey:
+#    name: Publish to Chocolatey
+#    needs: [prepare-release, release]
+#    runs-on: windows-latest
+#    if: ${{ !cancelled() && needs.release.result == 'success' }}
+#
+#    steps:
+#    - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+#      with:
+#        ref: v${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.new_version }}
+#
+#    - name: Download Windows binary from GitHub release
+#      id: download
+#      shell: pwsh
+#      run: |
+#        $version = '${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.new_version }}'
+#        $url = "https://github.com/TimelordUK/sql-cli/releases/download/v$version/sql-cli-windows-x64.exe"
+#        $target = Join-Path $env:RUNNER_TEMP 'sql-cli-windows-x64.exe'
+#        Write-Host "Fetching $url"
+#        # Retry a few times — the asset may take a few seconds to appear after release create.
+#        $ok = $false
+#        for ($i = 0; $i -lt 10; $i++) {
+#          try {
+#            Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $url -OutFile $target -UseBasicParsing
+#            $ok = $true
+#            break
+#          } catch {
+#            Write-Host "Attempt $($i+1) failed: $($_.Exception.Message). Retrying in 6s..."
+#            Start-Sleep -Seconds 6
+#          }
+#        }
+#        if (-not $ok) { throw "Could not download $url after retries" }
+#        $hash = (Get-FileHash $target -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
+#        Write-Host "SHA256: $hash"
+#        "checksum=$hash" | Out-File -FilePath $env:GITHUB_OUTPUT -Append
+#
+#    - name: Substitute version and checksum into templates
+#      shell: pwsh
+#      run: |
+#        $version  = '${{ needs.prepare-release.outputs.new_version }}'
+#        $checksum = '${{ steps.download.outputs.checksum }}'
+#
+#        (Get-Content chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec.template -Raw) `
+#          -replace '__VERSION__', $version `
+#          | Set-Content chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec -NoNewline
+#
+#        (Get-Content chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1.template -Raw) `
+#          -replace '__VERSION__', $version `
+#          -replace '__CHECKSUM__', $checksum `
+#          | Set-Content chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1 -NoNewline
+#
+#        Remove-Item chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec.template
+#        Remove-Item chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1.template
+#
+#        Write-Host '--- nuspec ---'
+#        Get-Content chocolatey/sql-cli.nuspec
+#        Write-Host '--- chocolateyInstall.ps1 ---'
+#        Get-Content chocolatey/tools/chocolateyInstall.ps1
+#
+#    - name: choco pack
+#      shell: pwsh
+#      working-directory: chocolatey
+#      run: choco pack sql-cli.nuspec
+#
+#    - name: choco push
+#      shell: pwsh
+#      working-directory: chocolatey
+#      env:
+#        CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY }}
+#      run: |
+#        $nupkg = Get-ChildItem -Filter "sql-cli.*.nupkg" | Select-Object -First 1
+#        if (-not $nupkg) { throw "No .nupkg produced by choco pack" }
+#        Write-Host "Pushing $($nupkg.Name)"
+#        choco push $nupkg.FullName --source https://push.chocolatey.org/ --api-key "$env:CHOCOLATEY_API_KEY"
+#
+#    - name: Upload .nupkg artifact
+#      if: always()
+#      uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
+#      with:
+#        name: sql-cli-chocolatey-nupkg
+#        path: chocolatey/*.nupkg
+#        if-no-files-found: warn
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/src/data/datatable.rs b/src/data/datatable.rs
index 4d6c1cd4..0bcc921b 100644
--- a/src/data/datatable.rs
+++ b/src/data/datatable.rs
@@ -310,9 +310,18 @@ impl DataValue {
 
         match data_type {
             DataType::String => DataValue::String(s.to_string()),
-            DataType::Integer => s
-                .parse::<i64>()
-                .map_or_else(|_| DataValue::String(s.to_string()), DataValue::Integer),
+            DataType::Integer => s.parse::<i64>().map_or_else(
+                // The column was inferred as Integer (type inference only samples
+                // the first N rows, so a fractional value further down can be
+                // missed). Promote to Float rather than demoting to String, which
+                // would corrupt numeric sorting (String sorts after all numbers).
+                // The final infer_column_types() pass re-merges the column to Float.
+                |_| {
+                    s.parse::<f64>()
+                        .map_or_else(|_| DataValue::String(s.to_string()), DataValue::Float)
+                },
+                DataValue::Integer,
+            ),
             DataType::Float => s
                 .parse::<f64>()
                 .map_or_else(|_| DataValue::String(s.to_string()), DataValue::Float),
diff --git a/src/data/datatable_loaders.rs b/src/data/datatable_loaders.rs
index 1645a8b5..27425e1e 100644
--- a/src/data/datatable_loaders.rs
+++ b/src/data/datatable_loaders.rs
@@ -420,6 +420,36 @@ mod tests {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_fractional_value_beyond_sample_window_promotes_to_float() -> Result<()> {
+        // Regression: type inference only samples the first 100 rows. A column
+        // that is all integers in the sample but has a fractional value further
+        // down used to demote that value to a String, which then sorted after
+        // every numeric value (String > Integer). It must be a Float instead.
+        let mut temp_file = NamedTempFile::new()?;
+        writeln!(temp_file, "id,area")?;
+        for i in 0..120 {
+            writeln!(temp_file, "{i},{}", i * 10)?; // all integers in the sample
+        }
+        writeln!(temp_file, "999,34.2")?; // fractional value past row 100
+        temp_file.flush()?;
+
+        let table = load_csv_to_datatable(temp_file.path(), "areas")?;
+
+        // The column re-merges to Float once the fractional value is seen.
+        let area_idx = table.get_column_index("area").unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(table.columns[area_idx].data_type, DataType::Float);
+
+        // The fractional value is stored as a number, not a String.
+        let last = table.get_value(120, area_idx).unwrap();
+        assert!(
+            matches!(last, DataValue::Float(f) if (*f - 34.2).abs() < 1e-9),
+            "expected Float(34.2), got {last:?}"
+        );
+
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_load_json() -> Result<()> {
         // Create a temporary JSON file
diff --git a/src/query_plan/where_alias_expander.rs b/src/query_plan/where_alias_expander.rs
index c06e1b37..09b92880 100644
--- a/src/query_plan/where_alias_expander.rs
+++ b/src/query_plan/where_alias_expander.rs
@@ -288,6 +288,70 @@ impl WhereAliasExpander {
                 )
             }
 
+            // Expand in method calls, e.g. `alias.Contains('x')`.
+            // The receiver is a bare column-name string, so an alias can only be
+            // substituted if it resolves to a simple (un-prefixed) column.
+            SqlExpression::MethodCall {
+                object,
+                method,
+                args,
+            } => {
+                let mut expanded = false;
+                let new_args: Vec<SqlExpression> = args
+                    .iter()
+                    .map(|arg| {
+                        let (new_arg, arg_expanded) = Self::expand_expression(arg, aliases);
+                        expanded = expanded || arg_expanded;
+                        new_arg
+                    })
+                    .collect();
+
+                let mut new_object = object.clone();
+                if let Some(SqlExpression::Column(col_ref)) = aliases.get(object) {
+                    if col_ref.table_prefix.is_none() {
+                        debug!(
+                            "Expanding alias '{}' in WHERE method call to column '{}'",
+                            object, col_ref.name
+                        );
+                        new_object = col_ref.name.clone();
+                        expanded = true;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                (
+                    SqlExpression::MethodCall {
+                        object: new_object,
+                        method: method.clone(),
+                        args: new_args,
+                    },
+                    expanded,
+                )
+            }
+
+            // Expand in chained method calls, e.g. `(alias).Trim().Contains('x')`.
+            // The base is itself an expression, so recurse into it normally.
+            SqlExpression::ChainedMethodCall { base, method, args } => {
+                let (new_base, base_expanded) = Self::expand_expression(base, aliases);
+                let mut expanded = base_expanded;
+                let new_args: Vec<SqlExpression> = args
+                    .iter()
+                    .map(|arg| {
+                        let (new_arg, arg_expanded) = Self::expand_expression(arg, aliases);
+                        expanded = expanded || arg_expanded;
+                        new_arg
+                    })
+                    .collect();
+
+                (
+                    SqlExpression::ChainedMethodCall {
+                        base: Box::new(new_base),
+                        method: method.clone(),
+                        args: new_args,
+                    },
+                    expanded,
+                )
+            }
+
             // For all other expressions, return as-is
             _ => (expr.clone(), false),
         }
@@ -506,6 +570,61 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(transformer.expansions, 1);
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_expand_alias_in_method_call_receiver() {
+        // `SELECT "name.common" as name ... WHERE name.Contains('x')`
+        // The alias `name` resolves to the column `name.common`, so the method
+        // call's receiver should be rewritten to that column name.
+        let aliases = HashMap::from([(
+            "name".to_string(),
+            SqlExpression::Column(ColumnRef {
+                name: "name.common".to_string(),
+                quote_style: QuoteStyle::DoubleQuotes,
+                table_prefix: None,
+            }),
+        )]);
+
+        let expr = SqlExpression::MethodCall {
+            object: "name".to_string(),
+            method: "Contains".to_string(),
+            args: vec![SqlExpression::StringLiteral("united".to_string())],
+        };
+
+        let (expanded, changed) = WhereAliasExpander::expand_expression(&expr, &aliases);
+
+        assert!(changed);
+        match expanded {
+            SqlExpression::MethodCall { object, method, .. } => {
+                assert_eq!(object, "name.common");
+                assert_eq!(method, "Contains");
+            }
+            other => panic!("Expected MethodCall, got {other:?}"),
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_does_not_expand_method_call_for_nonalias() {
+        // A method call whose receiver is a real column (not an alias) is untouched.
+        let aliases = HashMap::from([(
+            "name".to_string(),
+            SqlExpression::Column(ColumnRef::unquoted("name.common".to_string())),
+        )]);
+
+        let expr = SqlExpression::MethodCall {
+            object: "capital".to_string(),
+            method: "Contains".to_string(),
+            args: vec![SqlExpression::StringLiteral("x".to_string())],
+        };
+
+        let (expanded, changed) = WhereAliasExpander::expand_expression(&expr, &aliases);
+
+        assert!(!changed);
+        assert!(matches!(
+            expanded,
+            SqlExpression::MethodCall { object, .. } if object == "capital"
+        ));
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_does_not_expand_table_prefixed_columns() {
         let aliases = HashMap::from([(