Wondermare goes for holy grail
No horse has ever won three Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes
The world’s most famous jockey, the world’s most famous racehorse and the greatest union of man and beast racing has to offer got the pulse of Sandown beating fast and hard as Enable and Frankie Dettori reminded us once more that theirs is a marriage of magnificence.
A racecourse that normally saves rapturous receptions for jumping’s winter heroes came alive on a sunny summer afternoon graced by a wondermare who returned from a 245-day absence to stamp her name on the Coral-Eclipse roll of honour, reports the
In itself it was a marvellous achievement but it promised so much more, for the raison d’etre behind Enable staying in training as a 5-year-old has been the pursuit of a holy grail. No horse has ever won three Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes. That glorious goal now seems ever more attainable.
After a three-quarter-length defeat of old rival Magical that was more authoritative than the margin suggested, Dettori declared Enable the best horse he has ridden. As a 48-year-old colossus of the sport he has ridden quite a few and, 16 days on from his unforgettable Royal Ascot four-timer, he rode three more winners, each one greeted by enormous ovations. The people adore him. When he rides Enable they adore him
even more. In turn, his affection for Khalid Abdullah’s incredible lady is obvious. After passing the winning post he punched the air before stroking Enable’s left ear. Then he soaked up the sounds.
“I can’t even hear myself talk at the moment, it’s amazing,” he said. “She’s special and this touches me. I love her so much.”
John Gosden no doubt feels the same. He loves her and he knows her, which is why he was content to be patient, bypassing first the Coronation Cup and then the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. From one morning to the next he waited to see signs the now eight-time Group 1 winner was ready to dazzle.
“As we turned for home she grabbed the bit and she wanted to go,” said Dettori. “I was saying to her: ‘Let’s just wait a little bit — let’s get to the two-pole first!’ She then quickened and put the race to bed. We were very confident but knew the race would bring her on. What a great filly!
“She has so many gears and an unbelievable will to win. She has everything — the size, the scope and the stride. She can go on any ground and over any distance.”
She is, therefore, the top of his personal all-time list?
“I would say so, yes,” said Dettori. “She has the best CV of any horse I’ve ridden. You could argue Golden Horn was better but Enable’s longevity has been incredible. Let’s enjoy her while we’ve got her.”
Gosden told a good one when detailing what happened in the weeks leading up to Enable — who he assessed here as no more than 90 per cent fit — joining Pebbles and Kooyonga as an Eclipse heroine.
“It’s great to have her back,” he said. “She’s very competitive but that didn’t really begin to show until the last 14 days, at which point suddenly the edge came back. It was very apparent in the way she was carrying herself and her behaviour. If you now go in her box you know it’s her space and if you mess around in there she’ll split you in two.
“Before that she was doing everything perfectly but the hunger wasn’t there. She was just going through the motions. She wasn’t concentrating but then she became fitter, quicker and sharper, just like a boxer. She suddenly went into the zone.
“Any of the professional tennis players will tell you that you have to get back into that zone. She came back into it over the last two weeks. You need to have incredible mental strength, like tennis players when it’s six-all in the fifth set. The great athletes and the great horses have it — and she has it.”
She has it and we will next see her using it at Ascot on July 27 when she seeks to regain the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. After that it will be York — Gosden prefers the Yorkshire Oaks to the Juddmonte International — and then the Arc, in which she will attempt to do what even Treve could not do four years ago.