Enable in a class of her own as she gallops clear in race to be Horse of Year
There is very little point in trying to keep the suspense going until the Cartier Awards are presented in London on Nov 14 – Enable did more than just turn the Qatar Prix de l’arc de Triomphe into a procession on Sunday, she ensured she will be the 2017 Horse Of The Year.
John Gosden’s remarkable filly won Europe’s most valuable race with such panache and class that, combined with her four other Group Ones this summer, it is safe to say she now has an unassailable lead.
Even if Winter wins the Champion Stakes at Ascot later this month, her defeats in the Matron Stakes and in the Arc, when she was well behind Enable, will count against her. Ever since Enable gave Gosden and Frankie Dettori the first indication of her true ability by winning the Cheshire Oaks in May, she has won five Group Ones in a row by a staggering aggregate of 22½ lengths.
No filly, or indeed colt, has been able to push her and she has never given any hint that Dettori has had to pull out all the stops. She has proved herself a class apart this season and in all sorts of conditions.
Happily’s second Group One win, this time in the Qatar Prix Jean-luc Lagardere against the colts has put her in a strong position at the head of the Two-year-old Filly category but, the fillies apart, the Cartier Awards are all to play for this year.
Battaash’s scintillating victory in the Prix de l’abbaye looked a little too late as far as points are concerned for the Sprinter title. Harry Angel, winner of the July Cup and Haydock Sprint still holds a commanding lead and a good showing in the Champions Sprint could also put him in serious contention for top Three-year-old colt, too.
Finishing third in the Arc earned Ulysses valuable points in the Older Horse category to add to wins in the Eclipse and International. But the outcome will depend on how Ribchester, his nearest rival, gets on in the QEII on Champions Day and how Ulysses, should Sir Michael Stoute’s four-year-old go to Del Mar, as expected, fares in the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Big Orange’s lead in the Stayers’ category has been whittled down to almost nothing by Saturday’s Prix du Cadran winner Vazirabad and the outcome of the Long Distance Cup at Ascot will be crucial in deciding this title.