Enable wins historic third King George VI and QE Stakes
The John Gosden-trained super mare Enable won a record-breaking third King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
With only two Aidan O'Brien-trained runners standing between her and racing history, the odds-on favourite won in a canter with star jockey Frankie Dettori aboard.
"She's unbelievable," Dettori, his voice cracking with emotion, told ITV, after Enable had swept past front-runner Sovereign to claim English flat racing's all-aged showcase.
"She's a six-year-old, and John's done a great job to keep her going. I love her so much, she's my favourite girl."
The winner's enclosure had only a handful of people with a coronavirus-enforced crowd ban still in place.
Any fears the Enable camp may have had of this turning into a tactical race with the O'Brien duo - it was supposed to be a trio but the Irish trainer pulled out Anthony Van Dyck - trying to tactically outmanoeuvre her proved groundless.
With just three horses in the race, Sovereign established a quick lead, with Japan at the rear. But, once Dettori chose his moment, Enable put the 2020 edition to bed to add to her wins in 2017 and 2019.
"She really trained beautifully for this race, her last race put her right. I told Frankie to ride her with confidence," said Gosden. "She's quite some racemare."
While he had been expecting her to win, Gosden added the caveat that "life can be full of disappointments".
For the record, the 4-9 favourite beat 12-1 shot Sovereign by 51/2 lengths, with a further 11 back to Japan (5-2).
Enable will now try to make more history with a third win in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October.
"Three King Georges has never been done before, now we try the impossible and go for three Arcs," said Dettori, smiling. - AFP
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