Fast guy Frankie
DETTORI LOSES 7lb TO BE ASCOT KING
FRANKIE DETTORI shed half a stone in six days to ride wonder filly Enable.
And his huge effort was worthwhile as the dual Oaks heroine hammered a high-class field in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
The pair claimed the £650,000 Group One pot and the Italian rider hailed her as the best he has ridden.
The success was worth every minute Dettori, 46, went without food or each sweat-driven second he spent in the sauna.
Enable ploughed through the mud to hammer a high-class field of older horses – and rekindle the jockey’s love affair with Ascot.
He said: “She’s as good as I’ve ridden. To win the King George by four lengths, she is the real deal and I love her so much.
“Now she’s proved she can match up with older horses and she goes on any ground. I haven’t had a feel like that since Golden Horn. She’s very good.
“I’ll have a big dinner tonight, that’s for sure!”
Trainer John Gosden was winning his third King George and hailed both horse and rider.
He said: “Frankie was bold. She breaks well and is very business like. All in all she’s as good a filly as I’ve ever trained. Taghrooda was brilliant to win this and she’s following Dahlia and Pawneese.”
He added: “We always loved her and felt that would be her best trip, which it has been. The other filly (Shutter Speed) is a mile, mile and a quarter filly.
“In fairness Shutter Speed had the run of the race that day and Enable did get slightly caught in a pocket but she finished very strongly and was just learning. It was her first run on turf.
“I envisaged her being a nice horse – but did I think she would win two Oaks and a King George? Probably not, because no trainer believes that, otherwise we’d make a fool of ourselves.
“I think the Arc is a natural progression. If she’s in good order we’ll go for the Yorkshire Oaks, then we’ll take a nice pause.
“No preps or things, maybe a racecourse gallop and then the Arc.”