Enable takes it easy ahead of Sunday’s Arc treble attempt

London - Enable was left off the Gosden worklist on Saturday morning, but her Arc supporters should not be worried as connections felt she was plenty fit enough after her workout on the Rowley Mile three days previously.

Instead, this 10-time Group 1 winner was watched by trainer John Gosden and Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe going through her usual routine of two canters on the Warren Hill Mactrack facility at first lot.

While Gosden and co. stood perched near the top of the 900m canter, his longtime assistant Barry O’Dowd surveyed the action from the 400m pole where the history chasing filly breezed past under her lad Imran Shawani.

O’Dowd, a finalist in the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards last year, has been with the Gosden yard for nearly 20 years and likes what he is seeing. He said: “Enable is in some order just now. So much so that I wish the Arc was this weekend instead of next.”

As the five-year-old swept past, O’Dowd added: “I’m hoping we’ve got her as well as we had her last year. Obviously, this year we’ve had a smoother run with her into the race. She seems in great form and we managed to get her on grass last Wednesday. If she gets there in the same shape, I would be very confident that she will pull off the treble. As confident as you can be in racing that is.”

An Irishman from Thurles in County Tipperary, O’Dowd would be the first to know if there was anything awry with the star mare. He revealed: “Enable’s box is my first port of call when I arrive in the yard every morning at 5.15am. The first thing I do is feel her legs. She loves the attention, but you’re going in there hoping everything feels tight and cold. When I’ve given her the once over I’ll do the others starting with Stradivarius. She’s the top of the pecking order alright and she knows it!”

O’Dowd, who has been Gosden’s understudy since 2005, continued: “Obviously, we’ve been very lucky to have some great horses through our hands in that time such as Raven’s Pass, Kingman, Taghrooda, Nathaniel, Cracksman and Golden Horn, but Enable is probably the best we’ve ever trained. She’s just a complete athlete and it’s no surprise she’s improved as she has. As the boss has said many times, she just wants to go out and train and to race and win.”

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runs on Sunday -