Enable’s Moment Arrives

[Wandering Eyes]

ParisLongchamp’s G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is akin to a deep well of remembrance to celebrate some of the great names of the sport. You can plumb down and retrieve the likes of Sea-Bird (Fr), Vaguely Noble (Ire), Mill Reef, Dancing Brave, Peintre Celebre, Montjeu (Ire), Sakhee, Zarkava (Ire) and Sea the Stars (Ire), who were here only once but whose legacy stretches on far beyond their years. Then there are those who managed to come back to this theatre of dreams and prevail twice in the post-war period, the precious Tantieme (Fr), Ribot (GB), Alleged, Treve (Fr) (Motivator {GB}) and now Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). All the possible racing scenarios are there within its chronicles, all the triumphs and near-misses, but for a three-times winner there is no reference point until now. Treve tried to embellish the Arc’s mythical tale five years ago, but ultimately it was in vain. When Enable first came to the race two years ago, it was at Chantilly and she conjured memories of the Head family’s 1979 heroine Three Troikas (Fr) in the manner of her performance. Last year’s thrilling victory against the strong-finishing Sea of Class (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) evoked memories of Allez France holding on from Comtesse de Loir (Fr) in 1974 or Akiyda (GB) clinging to the victory despite the inroads of Ardross (Ire) in 1982.

On Sunday afternoon, there will be a new experience for the crowds to cherish if the beautifully-bred, beautifully-trained and always beautifully-ridden mare can draw into those profound reserves and pull it off. Nothing in her immaculate preparation suggests it is unlikely that she will create her own niche in Arc history and the magnitude of the situation is not lost on Frankie Dettori, who has already won this race a record six times. “There has been a media frenzy all over the world, because it is the biggest race. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous–of course I’m nervous,” he commented. “If I can’t handle the pressure at my age then something is wrong. You would have to ask Enable whether she feels the pressure. After all, it’s the mare who puts in the effort and she has given all the right signs.”

“I thought what she achieved the first year was remarkable–winning three Oaks, a King George and an Arc,” Dettori continued. Then she came back and won another Arc and a Breeders’ Cup, then this year an Eclipse and another King George and Yorkshire Oaks, which is just unheard of. The Arc is really all about her. Everybody is going to turn up and it will be hard fought, so it’s really fingers crossed. I’ve got the expectation of the world on my shoulders, which is great–I’d rather be in that position than not, so I will try to enjoy it. It would put the icing on the cake of her career and make her an immortal horse of our generation if it happens.”

One of the great Arc stories was the unprecedented 2016 one-two-three for Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable and it is unlikely that will ever be repeated. In any other year, the presence of two class acts in Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Japan (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) would be the main focus but the former has yet to eclipse Enable in four encounters and only seems to truly shine in her absence. Japan is a smart 3-year-old who is on the kind of upward trajectory that most of this race’s past winners of that age group have enjoyed. Showing he handles dead ground with a smooth 4 1/2-length success in the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot June 21, he would not have convinced many that he is a match for the Juddmonte mare when following up in workmanlike fashion in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris over this course and distance July 14, but connections were notably upbeat on that occasion. It was only next time, when he mastered Enable’s arch-foe Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Juddmonte International at York Aug. 21, that he began to carry the air of a potential Arc winner.

“Everything has gone well with him since York and he seems to be in good form,” O’Brien said. “He’s had six weeks since York and it was nice for him. I’d imagine he’d prefer nice ground, but he has form on easy ground. Hopefully it won’t be too soft.” Magical, who emerged from three mid-summer gladiatorial encounters undimmed to stamp her class on the G1 Irish Champion S. at Leopardstown Sept. 14, is the prime example of a Ballydoyle campaigner who thrives for racing at an exalted level that tends to wear at others. “Obviously she only ran three weeks ago in Leopardstown, but everything has gone well with her since,” O’Brien said of her. “She has form with ease in the ground and when she won in Ascot last year it was on the soft side. We’ve been delighted with her runs and last autumn she really improved. We couldn’t have been happier with her last run.”

Had the ground not deteriorated to the extent that it has, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Waldgeist (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) could have been considered a live threat to the favourite but as it has all year the weather has turned against Gestut Ammerland and Newsells Park Stud’s admirable 5-year-old. A better horse than when fourth 12 months ago, he showed what he is capable of on a reasonably sound surface with a 4 1/2-length success in the 10 1/2-furlong G1 Prix Ganay here Apr. 28 and enjoyed a perfect prep in the Sept. 15 G2 Prix Foy. Fabre, who boasts a record seven Arc winners, is under no illusions as to his task and said, “There’s no master plan to beat Enable, only to run as fast as he can! He was catching her in the King George during the summer, that was a good effort, but I don’t think that was Enable’s best race as she had a wide draw. There’s no disputing she’s the best in Europe. I’m happy with stall three for him and he’ll run well–he always does.”

In the past four years, horses have placed at 28-1 and three times at 20-1, while the 2012 heroine Solemia (Ire) (Poliglote {GB}) was a virtually unconsidered 33-1 shot when downing Orfevre (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}). There are some smart outsiders in this line-up, with Sunday Racing’s G1 Kikuka Sho and G1 Tenno Sho Spring hero Fierement (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and the Aug. 11 G1 Grosser Preis Von Berlin winner French King (GB) (French Fifteen {Fr}) two who could feature prominently. The latter showed the kind of acceleration that makes a difference here when recording his career-high at Hoppegarten and has the assistance of four-times Arc winner Olivier Peslier.

The day’s action kicks off with the G1 Qatar Prix Marcel Boussac, with Andre Fabre saddling the unbeaten Savarin (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) before unleashing another of that ilk in the colt Victor Ludorum (GB) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Savarin, who carries the silks of Masaaki Matsushima, is a daughter of His Highness The Aga Khan’s G1 Prix de Diane heroine Sarafina (Fr) (Refuse To Bend {Ire}) and is two-for-two after a 7 1/2-furlong debutantes event at Deauville Aug. 6 and this venue’s G3 Prix d’Aumale Sept. 8. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Victor Ludorum bids to become the third son of Shamardal to provide Godolphin with Group 1 success after bloodless wins here Sept. 1 and at Chantilly 13 days later.

“They are both nice horses in the making, but they both lack for a bit of experience,” their trainer said. “Also, I’m not sure if soft ground will suit either of them, that could be a problem as they are unproven on it. Savarin is by Deep Impact, so you wouldn’t expect her to appreciate it very soft. Victor Ludorum did not make his debut until September, he’s still quite green so that fact and the ground could cause him problems.” Interestingly, he added, “I would say Victor Ludorum would have more or less the same ability as Earthlight, but obviously he just has less experience before running in a group one.” Fabre also has Godolphin’s Sept. 13 Saint-Cloud conditions winner Bionic Woman (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and the operation’s Lisa-Jane Graffard said of her, “Bionic Woman won her maiden very nicely and comes into this race in good form. She appears very fresh and well and we are looking forward to seeing how she gets on. This is a massive step up for her, but it looks quite an open race.”

Jessie Harrington’s fillies are rampant this term and the charge of carrying the stable’s hopes in the Marcel Boussac falls to the Niarchos Family’s Albigna (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who swooped late to land the G2 Airlie Stud S. at The Curragh June 28 before disappointing when sixth in the G1 Moyglare Stud S. back there Sept. 15. “It was a big relief we found a reason why she was beaten in the Moyglare,” the owner-breeders’ racing manager Alan Cooper said. “It was too bad to be true and Shane [Foley] reported she was agitated before going into the stalls. She’s in fine form now and we’re looking forward to the challenge on Sunday. I don’t think a mile will be a worry and I can’t see soft ground as a big problem–her dam is by Selkirk. She worked very nicely on Tuesday when I saw her and there had been a lot of rain overnight.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Arc day begins with the challenge of the G2 Futurity S. and G3 Tyros S. winner and G1 Vincent O’Brien National S. runner-up Armory (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Jean-Luc Lagardere. “He’s in good form. He had a good run in the National S. and we always thought that he would be very happy stepping up to a mile,” his trainer said. “He’s a very straightforward horse and everything has gone well since his last run.” Also engaged in a strong-looking renewal of the Lagardere are the Wertheimers’ unbeaten Sept. 8 G3 Prix des Chenes winner Ecrivain (Fr) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), whose form looks solid, and Haras de la Gousserie’s Sept. 1 G3 Prix la Rochette scorer Kenway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}) who will be looking to pick off rivals late.

In the G1 Prix de l’Opera Longines, Emirates Park’s Mehdaayih (GB) (Frankel {GB}) could benefit from Frankie’s feel-good factor if he manages to win the Arc beforehand and she is a worthy favourite in her own right after a win in the June 30 G2 Prix de Malleret at Saint-Cloud and second to Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) in the G1 Nassau S. at Goodwood Aug. 1. Trainer John Gosden also saddles Princess Haya of Jordan’s Terebellum (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) who beat the smart Mutamakina (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) with a degree of ease in the G2 Prix de la Nonette over this trip at Deauville Aug. 17.

After all that, there is the not-insignificant matter of the appearance of Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) in the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp Longines. Successful by four lengths when it was staged at Chantilly two years ago, Shadwell’s sprinter supreme was beaten less than a length when fourth behind Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) 12 months ago but has found a rich vein of form this term and another Dayjur-like display is not so much hoped for but more expected these days. Trainer Charlie Hills said, “I’m very happy with him. His preparation has been very similar to what it was going into York and his weight is the same. I think the draw [in stall 11] is pretty much perfect, to be honest. Hopefully we’ll be able to ride our own race from there. We won’t know what the ground is like until we get out there, but he has won on soft ground before.”

Aidan O’Brien pitches the G1 Flying Five one-two Fairyland (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and So Perfect (Scat Daddy) into action in a renewal that boasts an impressive collection of fillies and mares.

The final top-level action of the afternoon comes in the G1 Qatar Prix de la Foret, where the draw is so often a significant factor. It has been especially kind to the favourite City Light (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}), who has reinvented himself as a seven-furlong horse in 2018 having been denied by the narrowest of margins in last year’s G1 Diamond Jubilee S. The way Jean-Louis Bouchard’s talent went through his prep in the course-and-distance G3 Prix du Pin Sept. 15 suggests his rivals are up against it, but as usual the Brits will attempt to have a say with a heavy representation.

Last year’s winner One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) has done little wrong this season and is much more favourably drawn in six than she was when overcoming stall 15 and scoring at 33-1 in 2018. Going close over a mile when third in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot June 18 and runner-up in the G1 Falmouth S. at Newmarket Aug. 4, Lael Stable’s prized homebred was staying on at the death when fifth in the 6 1/2-furlong G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville last time Aug. 4 and has enjoyed a subsequent freshener. Charlie Appleby has a live contender in Sheikha Al Jalila Racing’s Glorious Journey (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who is still relatively unexposed over this trip on this ground and who looked to relish both when registering a career-best success in the G2 Hungerford S. when last seen at Newbury Aug. 17. “He won the Hungerford and will definitely appreciate the softer ground,” his trainer said. “It’s a very competitive race, but I don’t think there’s a standout horse in the field.”

One of the outsiders is Phoenix Ladies Syndicate’s Forever In Dreams (Ire) by the 2011 Foret hero Dream Ahead, who had an excuse for her latest eighth in the Sept. 7 G1 Haydock Sprint Cup and who had previously run second to Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot June 21. “She scoped dirty after Haydock, which was a shame as we’d targeted the race, but at least we had a reason for it,” trainer Aidan Fogarty explained. “We’d beaten the winner [Hello Youmzain] at Ascot, so it was a bitter pill. You never know if they’ll stay until you try, but we are hopeful.”

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