Gosden appears to have best two three-year-olds in Europe
AFTER EBOR FESTIVAL VICTORIES ENABLE IS NO 1 AND CRACKSMAN NO 2
Current plan is to leave Cracksman’s Arc de Triomphe challenge until next year.
John Gosden trains the best three-year-old in Europe in Enable – “is there a better one in the world,” asked Frankie Dettori – but he arguably also has the second-best in Cracksman, so why not have a face-off in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly on 1 October?
Enable, the dual Oaks heroine who beat the boys in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July, made it four straight Group 1 victories when again sailing home in splendid isolation in last week’s Yorkshire Oaks.
And 24 hours earlier stablemate Cracksman, placed in both the English and Irish Derby and, like Enable, able to cope with all sorts of going, made light of the 15mm of rain which had fallen on the Knavesmire during the morning when finally cracking the big time, annihilating the opposition in the Group 2 Voltigeur Stakes.
Initial reaction from Gosden was that “Enable would go straight to France but Cracksman will make an even better fouryear-old, so 2018 will be his year, with the King George and the Arc his major targets”.
Anthony Oppenheimer, who won the Arc two years ago with Golden Horn, agreed with his trainer that they would be wise to allow Cracksman to fill his huge frame through the winter.
However, three-year-olds have won 10 of the last 14 runnings of the Arc and if Cracksman, promoted to second-favourite behind Enable, delivers a similar demolition job to the French in the Prix Niel, the traditional Arc trial, at Chantilly on 10 September, then the temptation to strike while the iron is hot might be too hard to resist.
After all, take the Gosden pair out of the Arc equation and what do we have? Third-favourite is Ulysses, the other York hero from last week’s prestigious Ebor meeting who won the £1-million Juddmonte International in brilliant fashion.
However, Ulysses had been well and truly put in his place by Enable at Ascot, and, in any event, the Niarchos family have one aim this year, to win the Breeders Cup Turf at Del Mar, so it’s anybody’s guess whether he would turn up in France.
Next up come Satono Diamond, and the Japanese have tried and failed with better horses than him, and the globetrotting Highland Reel, who was runner-up last year and is very much ground dependent so more likely to have the defence of his Breeders Cup crown as the main priority.
Gosden said on Sunday: “We let the dust settle after York, but Cracksman has had a relatively light summer, so it makes sense to consider one more roll of the dice this season, and the Niel is a possibility, though Mr Oppenheimer will have the final say and, as always, we take things one race at a time.”
Leaving York last week, I could not help but reflect on the phenomenal skills of Newmarketbased Gosden. He never rushes his horses – Cracksman did not make his debut until appearing on his home course on 19 October last year, while Enable was kept in hiding until he made a winning first appearance on the Tapeta surface at Newcastle on 28 November.
It was the same with Golden Horn. One run at two – at Nottingham on 29 October – was sufficient racecourse education in his first season, and all through that winter Gosden was planning the route to the Epsom Derby.
How glad Dettori must be that on hearing that William Buick was leaving to join Godolphin in 2014 he picked up the phone and asked Gosden for his old job back. It’s remarkable to think that it was less than five years ago that Dettori’s career hit rock-bottom when he left Godolphin in a black cloud of controversy after 18 years with Sheikh Mohammed’s global operation.
The Italian, arguably the most recognised jockey in the world, promptly “shot himself in the foot” when being found guilty of taking cocaine, which led to a six-month ban, but since rejoining the trainer who he refers to as “my second father” Dettori has been flying high without any help from drugs.
Dettori said: “Working with John is such a pleasure, and to come up with Enable so soon after Golden Horn is amazing.
“Ouija Board took me around the globe a few years ago and was very special, but now I’ve found a super woman in Enable,” added the jockey, who, knowing how fragile racehorses are, crossed fingers and toes that all will go smoothly in the next 32 days.
He added: “I missed the winning ride in the Arc on Treve when I broke my ankle four days before the race in 2013, so I take nothing for granted in this life.
“It’s crazy that bookies have Enable at odds-on, but she deserves to be favourite. She is so straight-forward – she has speed and stamina and goes on any ground. Is she better than Golden Horn and Dubai Millennium – ask me on 1 October.
“Cracksman has really improved through the summer. He was unlucky in the Irish Derby, but has definitely matured a lot since then, though I have my doubts whether we ought to go to Chantilly for the Arc.
“It’s a sharper track than Longchamp, where hopefully the Arc will be staged again next year. The Niel is one thing – we’ll probably be okay there – but the Arc is a whole different ball game.”
There were no end of shocks at Saratoga on Saturday night, with Coolmore’s Idaho unplaced in the Sword Dancer, the respective winners of the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Preakness all rolled over in the Travers and the brilliant racemare Songbird suffering only the second defeat of her 15race career when beaten a neck in the Personal Ensign Stakes.
However, hopefully the formbook may be a more reliable guide to next Saturday’s Sandown feature, the Group 3 Solario Stakes, a race that often throws up a potential star, with champion miler Kingman and Breeders Cup Classic winner Raven’s Pass both successful on the Esher slopes en route to the top.
The one to be on is Godolphin’s MASAR, whose trainer Charlie Appleby has the best strike-rate (36%) of any British trainer this season with his two-year-olds. This fellow produced an explosive late burst to win on his Goodwood debut and lost nothing in defeat when subsequently finishing third behind the classy September and Nyaleti in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.
On Friday at Sandown I’d be interested if John Gosden decides to give Sheikh Hamdan’s EMARAATY his first run in the 1400m maiden. He cost £2.6 million as a yearling, not surprising as he is by Dubawi out of the smart Zee Zee Top, who has already produced a dual Group 1 winner in Izzy Top.
Gosden knows this family well and tells me that Emaraaty is an athletic sort who is light on his feet, and is hoping the rain stays away from Sandown so they can this colt rolling.