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Sky Sports News HQ's Alex Hammond's racing blog

Cracksman ridden by Frankie Dettori wins the Betway Great Voltigeur Stakes
Image: Cracksman ridden by Frankie Dettori wins the Betway Great Voltigeur Stakes

Sky Sports presenter Alex Hammond reflects on a thrilling Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival in her latest blog.

What were your personal punting highlights following last week's stunning Ebor Festival at York?

York's Ebor festival lived up to the hype and we saw some magnificent performances on the track. My punting, on the other hand, was a bit more hit and miss!

Wednesday's downpour came in time for More Mischief who ran a cracker to finish second in the Galtres Stakes on Thursday and I backed Jedd O'Keeffe's soft ground loving mare each-way.

She's a smashing horse and given her favoured ground is well up to Listed class and on the right day I wouldn't put it past her to hold her own in Group Three company.

Of course the most controversial defeat was that of Lady Aurelia in the Nunthorpe and the flared nostril that she was beaten by denied me a decent double to go with Mojito, who won the closing race on Friday's card.

Mojito is one to put in your notebooks as I don't think we have seen the best of this three-year-old yet.

Last week's York win was his third on the spin and he looks like a Group horse to me over either seven furlongs or a mile.

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Mustashry got my punting mojo back in Saturday's opener, only for Lord Yeats to let me down in the Ebor.

The former is another improving sort for Sir Michael Stoute and his win in the Strensall Stakes should be a stepping stone to better things.

If you could award a prize for 'performance of the week' (to man or beast), who would you be handing it to?

That's easy! It has to be Enable and her scintillating win in the Yorkshire Oaks, although Ulysses' win in the Juddmonte International wasn't too shabby either.

Enable's performance on Thursday firmly cemented her position at the top of the rankings to be crowned Cartier Horse of the Year, an award won by the likes of Minding, Golden Horn, Treve and twice by Frankel, to name a few recent winners.

What a season John Gosden is having with this filly: five wins, two Classics, the King George and now the Yorkshire Oaks.

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe could be hers for the taking, although Cracksman could spice that race up if her stablemate is allowed to run again this season after his performance in the Great Voltigeur on Wednesday.

He is maturing all the time and will be a superb horse for connections next season. The two dominate the betting for the Arc with Enable Sky Bet's even money favourite and Cracksman next best at 10/1.

Is there a standout ante-post bet to be had in light of what happened on the Knavesmire?

Probably Cracksman each-way in the Arc!

I can see John Gosden persuading owner Anthony Oppenheimer to let the horse take his chance, as it's a long time in the racing world to wrap him up until next spring.

It's difficult to see him beating a peak-form Enable at Chantilly, but could easily see him finishing second to the great filly at the very least.

Does anything catch your eye in the potential line-up for Saturday's Beverley Bullet?

Paul Midgley has his team in great form at the moment and has Desert Law, Line Of Reason and Final Venture entered for the five-furlong Listed race.

The latter is the shortest priced of the trio and has faced some tough tasks of late including in last week's Nunthorpe, where he was seventh behind Marsha, so if he turns out again could go well.

He was also fourth to Alpha Delphini in this race last year, despite a wide berth being against this front-runner, and given a better draw this time round he should be very competitive.

As with a lot of sprint races the same faces take each other on frequently and it's incredibly open, but I'd be happy to back Final Venture if he's drawn well - he's 7/1 with Sky Bet.

At a bigger price I like Rae Guest's 10 year-old Mirza.

He may be getting on in years, but retains plenty of ability and enthusiasm as his second-place finish to Battaash at Sandown on his penultimate start showed.

With only three starts this season, Mirza is fresher than most and at 14s I think he's an attractive each-way price.

Is there anything lurking in the Sandown handicaps this weekend that you're hoping to get on side?

Thundering Blue and Silver Ghost are two horses I'm looking forward to seeing of either line up in the Kalaglow Handicap on Saturday.

Thundering Blue doesn't look the most straightforward of horses, but David Menuisier's gelding has plenty of ability. He has won his last two and while he did run around a bit under pressure when winning at Newmarket earlier this month, clear remains on the up.

On ratings he shouldn't be far away from Silver Ghost, who beat him at Epsom back in July.

Silver Ghost has done really well since joining Eve Johnson Houghton prior to the start of this season and has now won three on the bounce for his in-form handler. Both hold an entry in the Cambridgeshire and this is a race to watch closely with the first leg of the autumn double in mind.

Thundering Blue is 7/1 to win Saturday's race and 33/1 for the Cambridgeshire, while Silver Ghost is 8/1 for this weekend's assignment and 25/1 for the Newmarket contest on September 30.

It may not be one of the handicaps, but I'm looking forward to seeing Nathra in action if John Gosden's filly lines up in the Atalanta Stakes.

She was second to Minding in the Fillies' Mile as a juvenile two years ago and was runner-up in the French Guineas to La Cressonniere last season.

Nathra made her belated reappearance at Ascot's King George meeting where she was sent off favourite to win the Listed Valiant Stakes but met trouble and was eased.

She then put up a solid performance to finish third in the Hungerford Stakes behind Massaat and Librisa Breeze and looks to be crying out for a return to a mile, which makes her a fascinating runner here at a current 4/1.

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