By Tom Frary
If the betting is to be believed, Saturday's G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown is there for the taking for Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) and if she wins at odds-on she will be joining an elite club which contains recent heroes Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}), So You Think (NZ), Sea the Stars (Ire), Hawk Wing, Nashwan and Dancing Brave who justified that kind of supreme confidence. With the tally that she boasts, there seems nothing for her followers to fear but this is just a starting point for Khalid Abdullah's unrelenting 5-year-old and this race does not generally play to the strengths of returning winners of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. In recent times, there has been only one Arc hero who has tried to follow up here and that was the same operation's Workforce (GB) (King's Best), who came off second best to the aforementioned So You Think in 2011. “It's like everything, she's got a campaign in front of her and it's a question of balance,” commented the owner-breeder's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe. “All being well, I'm sure John [Gosden] and Prince Khalid will be looking at the King George next.”
So You Think's connections have their best opportunity yet to upstage Enable in Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who has a race-fitness and sharpness advantage over her great rival having won three starts in Ireland culminating in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at The Curragh on May 26. Like So You Think, she was runner-up in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. on June 19 and her subsequent well-being has forced Aidan O'Brien into running her. Her defeat at the hands of the division leader Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) there stands up to close inspection and she makes up a strong challenge from the fillies and mares in a contest that surely will begin to evolve in their favour.
“We were going to give her a break after Ascot, but she came out of the race very well,” her trainer said. “With the autumn in mind, she's going to have to have a break sometime and it's very possible it could be after this.”
One reason not to back Enable at cramped odds is the fact that Sir Michael Stoute, who holds the joint-record of six winners, has two engaged. Cheveley Park Stud's impressive G3 Brigadier Gerard S. winner Regal Reality (GB) (Intello {Ger}) is joined by Shadwell's May 18 G1 Lockinge S. scorer Mustashry (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}) and both have valid claims over a course-and-distance at which they have both been successful. In the latter's case, it was in last year's Listed Gala S., while Regal Reality overcame concerning antics in the preliminaries to overwhelm his rivals including the subsequent G3 La Coupe scorer Danceteria (Fr) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) in the May 23 Brigadier Gerard.
Regal Reality is a tricky customer according to the stud's managing director Chris Richardson. “He had a 'moment' that evening, but things slightly went against him as far as he was concerned,” he explained. “He's a horse who likes routine and on that occasion he was being asked to come into the paddock at a moment there was a horse coming out and it just upset his rhythm. If you change his routine at home, including on the gallops, it can be the same but he's hugely talented and it did not affect him once the race got under way.” Stoute added, “Physically he is going the right way. He's got a bit to find off his rating, but I like the way he is progressing. He just can be a little erratic en route to the gate, but I think we have got on top of him. He is just being a bit cheeky.”
Mustashry has to put a rare unplaced effort behind him, having been seventh in the June 18 G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot, but Stoute is expecting him to bounce back. “He disappointed me slightly,” he said. “He wasn't at his very best, didn't seem to really fire but his weight loss was minimal. He's a competitor and loves doing what he does.” Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's racing manager Angus Gold hinted that the ground may have been to blame for his off-day. “Michael has been happy with the horse since Ascot, where he felt the ground was just a bit easy for him,” he said. “He has always wanted a little bit further than a mile, he got away with it in the Lockinge as he'd had a run and the others hadn't.”
Also on the Sandown card, the G3 Coral Charge over five furlongs sees a heavy 3-year-old presence with Susan Roy's Garrus (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) taken on by 'TDN Rising Star' Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy). The former makes his debut for Charlie Hills following the retirement of Jeremy Noseda and he looked a sprinter on the up when winning the Listed Westow S. over this trip at York last time on May 16. “He got a nice form boost since he last ran and he seems a very straightforward horse,” Hills said, referring to the subsequent efforts of the Westow second and third Shades of Blue (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Soldier's Call (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), with the former winning the Listed Prix Hampton and the latter–who was penalised at York–third in the G1 King's Stand S. “He's been good since he's been with us. He's got a lovely temperament.”
Haydock's feature is the G2 bet365 Lancashire Oaks, where William Haggas and John Gosden account for two runners apiece and two-thirds of the field. The former trainer has Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum's May 25 G3 Bronte Cup winner Dramatic Queen (Kitten's Joy) and Yvonne Jacques's June 8 G3 Pinnacle S. scorer Klassique (GB) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}). “I can't really split them,” Haggas admitted. “I gave Danny [Tudhope] the choice and it took him a long time to choose Klassique. She would probably prefer slower ground and the other probably wants further, so we shall see. They are both very genuine, try like hell and really get stuck in.”
Gosden's duo is headed by the Bronte Cup runner-up Enbihaar (Ire) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}) and Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold said, “She's lightly-raced still. She was very hot in her early days, but now has a very good attitude for racing. This would have been the obvious race had she won at York, so there was no reason not to come. I don't think coming back in trip will be a problem.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
