Hoh Mike will be tough in July

Hoh Mike, the unluckiest of losers at Royal Ascot, will be difficult to beat in Thursday's Group 2, $130,000 July Stakes at Newmarket, where as many as 10 2-year-old colts could line up for the six-furlong dash.

Sent off as the 2-1 favorite in the five-furlong Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at the royal meeting on June 22, Hoh Mike was blocked on the rail inside the quarter pole. Jockey Jamie Spencer belatedly angled him over to the other side of the track, from where he finished fast to be second by 1 3/4 lengths behind Dutch Art. With a clear run Thursday, Hoh Mile, Timeform's fourth-highest rated European juvenile, at 107+, should prevail over listed Rose Bowl Stakes winner Dazed and Amazed.

Newmarket's July Course will also play host on Thursday to the Group 2, $167,000 Princess of Wales's Stakes, in which Mountain High appears perfectly suited to its 1 1/2 miles. A Danehill half brother to Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Islington, Mountain High was just outgamed by Maraahel last time in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot. He has Enforcer, who was third in the Hardwicke, and Linas Selection, who won Royal Ascot's King Geoege V Handicap, to beat.