Alex Hammond: Summer lovin'

Sky Sports Racing's Alex Hammond chats all things racing in her latest blog with Mohaather fancied to win the Summer Mile at Ascot on Saturday.

Well well well, what did we learn at the weekend? I think there was plenty to take out of the 48 hours of sport that we enjoyed, but at the risk of raking over old ground, I'll just give you my highlight(s).

It must be LOVE, LOVE, LOVE. That's it! Simple as that. She's now 7/2 favourite with Sky Bet for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, with Enable now 9/2, with her Eclipse conqueror Ghaiyyath at 7/1. It's a well-advertised fact and proven formula that three-year-old fillies get a game changing amount of weight off their rivals in the Arc, so Love will be hard to oppose after her demolition of the opposition in the Oaks at Epsom on Saturday.

Every year we get the same chat from her trainer Aidan O'Brien about his latest superstar and it's easy to become a bit immune to it. However, the clock told us more than even Aidan's superlatives could and she looks outstanding. I'd dearly love to see Enable make history with a third Arc win in October, but she may have her work cut out if Love goes to the race in the same sort of form we saw on Saturday.

Let's move it forward then because there is so much quality racing to enjoy this week. Newmarket's July meeting kicks off on Thursday and this year it coincides with York's Dante fixture. Not only that, but the Summer Mile at Ascot on Saturday could provide some compensation for supporters of an unlucky loser at Royal Ascot.

The Dante is a strange race this year and almost superfluous to need. It's obviously a Derby trial under normal circumstances when run in May, but this year is a week and a half after the Epsom classic.

Having said that, it's a nice Group 2 prize to win and Highest Ground is a short priced favourite to do so (5/6 favourite with Sky Bet). Sir Michael Stoute's colt is unbeaten in two outings to date, one as a juvenile and then significantly beating the highly-regarded Waldkonig in a novice stakes at Haydock last month on his reappearance.

Highest Ground on his way to Haydock victory

It's worth noting that Waldkonig had finished third behind his stablemate Mishriff on his previous run and that horse subsequently won the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby) on Sunday. However, at the skinny price he will go off at, I'm happy to take a chance on something other than Highest Ground.

Richard Hannon thinks a bit of Al Madar and the vibes were good about this once raced colt as he went into winter quarters. He didn't blow his rivals away when winning on his reappearance at Newbury in June, but as that was his first run for 11 months, I'm fully expecting him to improve significantly for the outing. At 8/1 he'll do for me.

On to Newmarket then where the big race at the July Meeting is the July Cup on Saturday. The Group 1 sees the best of the three-year-old sprinters facing the older horses in the first big clash of the generations over this six furlongs and it's a three-year-old that heads the betting.

Clive Cox won the race with Lethal Force (as a four-year-old) and Harry Angel (as a three-year-old) and it's his Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde that is Sky Bet's 5/2 favourite in a bid to give the trainer a hat-trick.

Golden Horde wins from Kimari in the Commonwealth Cup

The race promises a real clash of the sprinting titans with Diamond Jubilee winner Hello Youmzain and runner-up Sceptical also in the line-up. When you add last year's runaway Steward's Cup winner Khaadem (Diamond Jubilee fourth), Richard Hannon's Threat dropping into a sprint and Abernant winner Oxted into the mix, it makes up for a thrilling contest. So who wins then?

As a son of Lethal Force, Golden Horde is aiming to uphold family honour and with the 6lb weight allowance he gets against his older rivals, it could be enough to swing the pendulum in his favour. At 5/2 he doesn't jump out at you as being a stomping great bet, but I think he'll take all the beating here.

Mohaather was seventh in the Queen Anne after a luckless run

I'm looking for some compensation with Mohaather in Ascot's Summer Mile on Saturday. I've already backed him at the 3/1 that is currently available with Sky Bet and suspect he'll be shorter on the day.

Marcus Tregoning trained him to win the Greenham last year and he looked then like a colt with huge potential. He ran well in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot in October after missing the middle part of the season. As a result, I really fancied him to win the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot on his first run of the season, but the race wasn't run to suit.

He sat in rear, but the pace wasn't strong and when his gap finally came it was all too late. This Group 2 is an easier target and it should be a good stepping stone to the Sussex Stakes, which I believe is up next for him.