ANATOMY OF A WONDERHORSE

Enable in ‘perfect’ shape for Arc history bid

TRAINER John Gosden reckons his wonder horse Enable is ‘in the zone’ after near-perfect preparation for a bid for a third Arc de Triomphe today.

But he is expecting ruthless efficiency, not fireworks.

That has become the Enable way as she has accumulated 13 wins from 14 races and now tries to make history under jockey Frankie Dettori by becoming the first three-time winner of the £4.5million most important Flat race run on continental Europe.

Five-year-old Enable, a battlescarred 10-time Group One race winner, has developed into a wily, old prizefighter, according to her trainer, knowing just how much she has to do to be an efficient winning machine.

In an ominous warning to those trying to block Enable’s path to racing immortality, Gosden feels she is now at her physical peak and heads to the start line on the back of a smooth preparation with wins in the Eclipse, King George and Yorkshire Oaks.

Gosden said: ‘It’s been her style this year. She did what she had to do under hands and heels in the Eclipse Stakes. Then in the King George it was hands and heels with one flick of the stick and holding on by a neck all the way up the straight.

‘ It was the same hands and heels in the Yorkshire Oaks against brilliant filly Magical. It’s like winning on points without going for the knockout. As they get older they get a little wiser.

‘Enable has learned to reserve her energy a little more. The great old trainers will always tell you the thoroughbred racehorse is at its peak at five. They are finally getting all their teeth at four! They still have to continue loving their trade and she does — she really enjoys it.’

Dettori made it 17 Group One wins for season — beating his previous best tally of 16 in 2001 — on Gosden’s Anapurna in the Prix Royallieu yesterday. It was heavy ground, but the Arc will be run on virgin turf and Dettori brushed away concerns.

He said: ‘It is very soft but it is a different course tomorrow and she coped with soft to win the King George in July and at the Breeders’ Cup last year.’

Gosden has tried hard to keep a lid on expectation but admits a win will fully justify Enable’s name being mentioned alongside the great fillies like Allez France, Petit Etoile and Zenyatta.

In truth, she has probably done enough already. It seems a long way from winning on her debut at Newcastle on a murky November day in 2016 and even the Epsom afternoon when she announced her potential to the world with a win in the Oaks run during a thunderstorm.

Gosden added: ‘When she first arrived the one thing I noticed was the great depth of her girth. She had an amazing body and it was there, this great rib cage — space for the cardiovascular system plus the lung capacity.

‘She has a great stride and a lovely attitude. She moves gracefully. You can combine that with her mental attitude with her physiology you have a great athlete.’ Eight horses have won the Arc twice but none has made it three in a row dating back to 1920. When Treve tried in 2015 she was fourth to the Gosdentrained, Dettori-ridden Golden Horn.

Expectations were equally high. Treve started evens favourite, Enable is odds on.

It shows nothing can be taken for granted but Enable’ s preparation is in stark contrast to the interrupted build-up to last year’s narrow defeat of sadly deceased Sea Of Class.

Gosden said: ‘She gave everything that day. Frankie picked her up and carried her over the line in the last 50 yards.

‘I think the quality (opposition) is there again. Ghaiyyath is a relentless galloper. I see him as a real danger and think Waldgeist is underestimated. She will have to be right at the top of her game.’