Enable retains Arc crown in epic contest
Brilliant filly becomes only eighth dual winner Dettori holds off valiant Sea Of Class challenge
If the French racing authorities wanted to kick-start the new era for their revamped Longchamp with a Qatar Prix de l’arc de Triomphe par excellence then they got it when the two British fillies, Enable and Sea Of Class, fought out an epic finish to the great race on its homecoming.
In the end, it was Frankie Dettori, winning his sixth Arc, who prevailed by a short-neck on the even-money favourite Enable, who became only the eighth horse to win the race twice and the first to win on the back of just one run that season.
Enable’s owner-breeder Khalid Abdullah was there to see his sixth Arc winner, a record he now shares with Marcel Boussac, who dominated the race as an owner in the inter-war years.
But John Gosden’s filly was on the ropes in the last 50 yards and saved by the bell as William Haggas’s Sea Of Class and James Doyle, who had been last turning for home with 2½ furlongs to run, wove their way through the field and thundered down the outside in the final furlong. They had twice had to switch right for a clear run, having started from their impossible draw in stall 15. Two more strides and they would have passed Enable.
“I can’t believe I’ve won a sixth [two more than any other jockey],” said Dettori. “It was my 30th Arc and I was probably my most nervous. Everything went to plan – I expected O’brien’s [horses] to make it an end-to-end gallop for their stayers and I found myself in a fantastic spot.
“She was not carting me as she can early on, but she came alive in the false straight and I thought there’s life in the old girl. I waited as long as I could and at the 300-metre pole I said, ‘Come on girl, let’s win the Arc.’ I had a little glance, saw she was three lengths clear and thought, ‘I’ve won this.’ But the petrol ran out and I could feel James coming.
“She’s only had a canter round Kempton [this season] – she was not the Enable of last year, but she got the job done because of her class. John’s a genius to win an Arc with a horse that did not run for 11 months. It’s two wins on the same horse at different tracks [Chantilly last year].”
Gosden, winning his third Arc in four years, revealed that Enable, off for four months with a knee problem in May, also had a temperature issue after her comeback at Kempton. “It’s been a nightmare year and I make no bones about that,” he said. “You might recall I had hair at the start of the season. After floating around Kempton and missing a gallop, it just told fitness-wise in the last 100 metres.”
Deflecting any praise, he added: “It’s not down to me or the jockey, it’s all down to Prince Khalid, the man who bred such a filly.”
From his wide draw, Doyle took Sea Of Class straight to the rail to save ground and then sat last until they turned into the home straight. Had his challenge come off, it would have been the ride of the century, let alone the year. Doyle, riding 2lb lighter than he has in 18 months, said: “We had to take our medicine from where we were drawn. Two more strides and she’d have won. She deserved to win. Next year.”
“We’d have got her in another stride,” reflected Haggas. “It was a great effort and a close one to lose. She’s run a great race from the draw. It was a very brave decision of James’s to do what he did and it was a whisker away from coming off. I’m thrilled with him and I’m thrilled with the filly.
“I don’t want to be ungrateful or unsporting – John’s filly is brilliant – but let’s hope he retires her now and that we can come back next year!”
Haggas, unfortunately, will be in a minority there – everyone would love to see the rematch and Enable attempt an unprecedented third Arc.
“As for the future, the one thing I’ve learnt working for Prince Khalid is that he makes those decisions,” said Gosden, offering little in the way of clues.