Champion’s tale – a timeline of Enable’s route to racing history
Third King George adds to brilliant mare’s stellar career successes.
Enable is unquestionably one of the greatest racehorses of modern times, with few horses able to lay a glove on John Gosden’s star mare.
Her rise was meteoric, but once she hit the top, she has never looked like coming back down. Here, we look at her outstanding career – from the very start. Low-key debut success John Gosden gave Enable a low-key debut on the all-weather at Newcastle in November 2016, when she led entering the final furlong and strode away to take a one-mile maiden by three and three-quarter lengths. Stablemate Shutter scores A quiet introduction to 2017 saw Enable make late progress to finish third behind stablemate Shutter Speed in a 10-furlong conditions race at Newbury in April. Cheshire please… Ridden by Frankie Dettori for the first time, Enable showed her Classic potential with an impressive victory in the Cheshire Oaks as she swept Aidan O’Brien’s Alluringly aside with the minimum of fuss. Oaks romp Leading two furlongs out, Enable put her rivals to the sword to run out a facile five-length winner from Rhododendron in the fillies’ Classic at Epsom, which was run in a thunderstorm. Classic double After tracking Bengala, Enable went about her business halfway up the straight and passed the post five and a half lengths clear of Rain Goddess in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh. King queen Enable was crowned queen in the King George as she beat the colts and older horses in some style with another breathtaking display at Ascot, dispatching the top-class Ulysses by four and a half lengths. Tour de Yorkshire The Yorkshire Oaks proved another cakewalk as Enable made all the running at York, and won unchallenged by five lengths. Arc angel On French turf for the first time, the filly travelled at the head of the field throughout at Chantilly before surging clear two furlongs from the post and finding nothing to stand in the way of her first Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe victory. All-weather warm-up Enable made a late and low-key 2018 debut by effortlessly winning the Group Three September Stakes on Kempton’s all-weather track, leaving all but the high-quality Crystal Ocean out of view. Triomphant again A return to defend her Arc title, this time held at its rightful home ParisLongchamp, saw Enable claim her hardest-fought win yet as she just edged out the late Sea of Class. Enable takes America A trip to the States provided Enable with another overseas win as she surged to a narrow but convincing success in the Breeders’ Cup at Churchill Downs, making her the first ever horse to complete the Arc and Breeders’ Cup double in the same season. Sandown showpiece Stepping back to a mile and a quarter for the first time since her turf debut defeat, Enable proved a lesser trip was no barrier to her success as she claimed the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown. The queen still reigns Enable retained her King George title at Ascot after an epic shoulder-to-shoulder battle with Crystal Ocean, over whom she eventually prevailed by just a neck. The perfect (British) farewell? Enable penned what was thought to be her own British valedictory with an all-the-way victory as she took the Darley Yorkshire Oaks for the second time, and extended her winning run to 12 and overall tally to 13 out of 14. Old rival Magical was again her victim, beaten two and three-quarter lengths this time. Waldgeist prevents Arc history It was not to be as Enable gave best by a length and three-quarters to old rival Waldgeist. She got the better of young pretenders Sottsass and Japan but then had nothing left to repel Andre Fabre’s French challenger – as the prize this time stayed at home in the Parisian mud. Eclipsed Enable went off even-money favourite to start the 2020 campaign with victory by defending her Coral-Eclipse crown at Sandown. But on her first start for almost nine months, she failed to reel in the classy and race-fit Ghaiyyath, having to settle for a two-and-quarter-length second over 10 furlongs. Back to her bestOnly three went to post for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes – but Enable’s opponents were last year’s Irish Derby winner Sovereign and a Juddmonte International hero in Japan, both trained by Aidan O’Brien. The result was never in any doubt, however, as Enable powered to a five-and-a-half-length success to create history by winning the race for a third time. Follow us on Twitter racing365dotcom and like our Facebook page.
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