Enable Electric In King George

It is rare that the mud flies in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S., a “Win And You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar in November, but Khalid Abdullah's Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) made light of dour conditions under a fasting Frankie Dettori to dominate the older colts in Saturday's renewal at Ascot. So impressive on fast ground in the G1 English and Irish Oaks, the 5-4 favourite cantered through the first 10 furlongs racing behind the stable's pacemaker Maverick Wave (Elusive Quality) and when set alight at the top of the straight opened up to join a special band which includes the great dual winner Dahlia. At the line, the homebred had 4 1/2 lengths to spare over the Eclipse hero Ulysses (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), with 3/4 of a length back to Idaho (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) as the field finished understandably strung out. “Frankie was bold, but she breaks well and is very business-like,” trainer John Gosden said in the immediate aftermath of witnessing the performance which outdid that of the stable's Taghrooda (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in 2014. “He thought she was the best and wanted to make use of it. It wasn't the plan to be that close, but she was getting weight from the older horses. The fact that she can do it on any ground means she is as good a filly as I've ever trained.”

Saturday, Ascot, Britain
KING GEORGE VI & QUEEN ELIZABETH S. (SPONSORED BY QIPCO)-G1, £1,150,000, ASC, 7-29, 3yo/up, 11f 211yT, 2:36.22, g/s.
1–ENABLE (GB), 119, f, 3, by Nathaniel (Ire)
1st Dam: Concentric (GB) (SW & GSP-Fr, $117,776), by Sadler's Wells
2nd Dam: Apogee (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB)
3rd Dam: Bourbon Girl, by Ile de Bourbon
O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £652,165. Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire, 6-5-0-1, $1,532,996. *1/2 to Contribution (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}), MGSP-Fr. Werk Nick Rating: D. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ulysses (Ire), 133, c, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Light Shift, by Kingmambo. O/B-Flaxman Stables Ireland Ltd (IRE); T-Sir Michael Stoute. £247,250.
3–Idaho (Ire), 133, c, 4, Galileo (Ire)–Hveger (Aus), by Danehill. (750,000gns Ylg '14 TATOCT). O-Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Susan Magnier; B-Hveger Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. £123,740.
Margins: 4HF, 3/4, 4. Odds: 1.25, 9.00, 8.00.
Also Ran: Highland Reel (Ire), Benbatl (GB), Desert Encounter (Ire), My Dream Boat (Ire), Maverick Wave, Jack Hobbs (GB), Sixties Song (Arg). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

By Nathaniel, who relished similar conditions when winning a drama-filled edition in 2011 and who was beaten in a bobber by Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}) a year later also on good-to-soft, Enable had ideal credentials for this test which took on an entirely different shape as the heavy rain fell on already-deadened ground. Despite the Epsom Oaks being staged in a thunderstorm, the latest Juddmonte sensation had it slick there as she readily turned back Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) June 2 and it was even quicker as she completed the double in the Irish equivalent two weeks prior to this. Tactics were certain to play a significant part here, with her potentially tricky draw in seven leaving her vulnerable to early scrimmaging but Frankie was happy to let her bounce out and put her head in front until Maverick Wave crossed over to provide the lead.

With Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for company as they ignored the pacemaker, Enable settled perfectly and had stablemate Jack Hobbs (GB) (Halling) behind along with Idaho as Ulysses travelled with his customary ease and Jim Crowley tracked their every move. Before the turn for home Highland Reel was the first to struggle and as he laboured and Ulysses nipped up his inner Idaho lost vital momentum, but Enable moved forward with Jack Hobbs and for a brief period a Gosden one-two was likely. Whereas the pink-and-green surged on, the royal blue began to drop away and it was Ulysses who was left to chase the runaway filly. Filling the final furlong with her deadly metronomic action, Enable never gave the Niarchos homebred a moment's optimism as Idaho stayed on admirably to bridge the yawning gap from the remainder. In any other year, Ulysses would have made his own splash with a notable Eclipse-King George double which is rarely achieved but it was a case of hands up as the winner continued her rise through the historic ranks.

“She is top-drawer, a superstar,” was Dettori's summation after the latest red-letter day in the twilight of his career. “I haven't had a feel like that since Golden Horn and she made ten days of fish and water worth it. I've lost seven pounds in six days, but she's as good as I've ridden and has proven to all the doubters that she's the real deal.” Gosden paid tribute to his jockey and said, “To come back from a fractured shoulder Frankie had to fight a lonely battle and he's not a spring chicken anymore, so I think that was impressive. It shows that he still has the hunger.” Enable will now be asked to complete the King George-Arc double which will also place her in elite company. “We always loved her and felt her best trip would be a mile and a half and I envisaged her being a nice horse, but I didn't imagine she'd end up winning an English and Irish Oaks and a King George,” her trainer said. “If she is in good order, the [Aug. 24 G1] Yorkshire Oaks is next and then the one in Paris. She will have a nice pause and maybe a racecourse gallop before the [Oct. 1] Arc. Both her and Taghrooda are exceptional fillies, but walking in the footsteps of Dahlia and Pawneese you've got to be.”

Ulysses was proving his versatility and consistency as well as his class here and trainer Sir Michael Stoute was full of praise afterwards. “I am delighted with him. We like him on better ground, but we were beaten by a very good filly,” he said. “He is very versatile, really. He gets a mile and a half no problem and we have to be very pleased. We will have to do a bit of thinking now. We can do 10, we can do 12 and we don't have to worry about soft ground, although he will be better on a faster surface. We have choices. I will look at him and see how he takes it.”

Enable's dam is the Listed Prix Charles Laffitte winner and G3 Prix de Flore runner-up Concentric, whose prior best was the G2 Prix de Pomone and G3 Prix Allez France third Contribution but who has really clicked here with Nathaniel. This family has long promised to turn up a good one, with the dam's four black-type half-siblings featuring the G3 Prix Thomas Bryon and G3 Prix du Chemin de Fer du Nord-winning sire Apsis (GB) and the G2 Prix de Royallieu scorer and G1 Prix de Diane runner-up Dance Routine (GB) (Sadler's Wells). The latter went on to produce the champion Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}), whose two runner-up finishes in the Arc may well be avenged in October, and also the G2 Prix Kergolay third Dance Moves (GB) (Dansili {GB}). The second dam, the G3 Prix de Royaumont winner Apogee, is also responsible for the Listed Prix Joubert winner Space Quest (GB) (Rainbow Quest) who produced the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris runner-up Kocab (GB) (Unfuwain). The third dam Bourbon Girl was runner-up in both the G1 English and Irish Oaks and became the dam of the G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly winner and G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud runner-up Daring Miss (GB) (Sadler's Wells). She is also the second dam of the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud-winning sire Spanish Moon and Spanish Sun (El Prado {Ire}) who captured the G2 Ribblesdale S. before throwing the Listed Pretty Polly S. winner Swiss Range (GB) (Zamindar). Concentric also has a 2-year-old colt by Dansili (GB) named Centroid (GB), a yearling filly also by that sire and a filly foal by Frankel (GB).