Toormore among Summer Mile ten

Toormore leads Godolphin's three-pronged attack on the Fred Cowley MBE Memorial Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The Richard Hannon-trained five-year-old heads the charge, with back-up provided by Dutch Connection and Richard Pankhurst.

Toormore is burdened with a 3lb penalty for his neck verdict over Dutch Connection in the Group Two bet365 Mile at Sandown in April, but he is a talented performer as he showed when fourth to Tepin in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

"He is going well at home and I thought his run at Ascot was top class," the Marlborough handler told www.richardhannonracing.co.uk.

"With none of the top three in that race running here, he should be very competitive even with his penalty.

"If Toormore runs the same race as he did in the Queen Anne Stakes, he will go close."

Charlie Hills is looking to Dutch Connection to get his season back on track after a disappointing effort in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May.

"Dutch Connection is going really well at home and we are looking forward to getting him back on the track with conditions that he should like," the Lambourn trainer told www.godolphin.com.

"Hopefully, he can give a good account of himself and then we can look at races like the Group Two Lennox Stakes or Group One Sussex Stakes at Goodwood."

Richard Pankhurst is the most inexperienced horse in the line-up and his trainer John Gosden is delighted to get the four-year-old back on the course after a below-par effort in a Listed race on the Polytrack at Kempton in November.

"It will be good to see Richard Pankhurst back and the ground should suit him," said Gosden.

Kodi Bear was only seventh in the Queen Anne, but trainer Clive Cox reports the four-year-old back in really good form.

"He did a really nice piece of work last week and it was on the back of that we decided to run him," said the Lambourn handler.

"This year both his starts have been at Group One level and he is now just coming to himself. He has now lost the Group Two penalty which will help him.

"Gerald Mosse is riding him, which is great as there is so much racing on it can be hard to find jockeys. I am delighted that they are reunited."

The drop down to a mile proved no inconvenience to Mutakayyef as he made a triumphant return after eight months off the track to land the Listed Ganton Stakes at York.

The five-year-old, trained by William Haggas, has another try at that distance against stronger company.

"His run at York was his first as a gelding. What we didn't know was what his trip was exactly," said Angus Gold, racing manager to owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.

"He still may be more of a mile-and-a-quarter horse, but he won nicely enough first time back so it will be interesting to see him stepped up in grade."

Battle Of Marathon takes on the big boys after running creditably in two races on this track, in the Listed Paradise Stakes and the Royal Hunt Cup.

"He's been running some big races all year and he's shown he acts very well at Ascot," said his trainer John Ryan.

"The owners have shown a desire to have a crack at a big one, but it's turned out a bit bigger than I thought it would. You couldn't get a much tougher Group Two.

"You put yourself in these things - you have to take on the best - but he's fit and well, he goes on the track and I don't think the ground will be an issue to him drying up.

"He goes on anything, so hopefully he'll run a big race."

Andrew Balding is hoping Blond Me can bounce back from a below-par performance in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at the Royal meeting.

"We were disappointed with her at Royal Ascot. We think it was the ground as she never really travelled with her usual fluency," said the Kingsclere handler.

"A sounder surface should see her to much better effect, albeit in a hot race.

"She has proven she can handle it as she was Group Two-placed in America and she is at that level."