FRANKIE Dettori won the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for an unprecedented fifth time yesterday as the Khalid Abdullah-owned Enable blitzed the opposition at Chantilly.
No British-trained filly had previously won Europe’s premier middle-distance prize, but Enable showed she is something very special by making racing history as she took her Group One haul to five.
The winner of the English, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks and the King George, Enable saved her best performance of the year for the last.
Trainer John Gosden and jockey Dettori knew this was a filly of a lifetime and she duly delivered.
Enable’s tactical speed meant Dettori could place her just where he wanted and make his move at the right time for him. Leading inside the two-furlong marker, Enable pulled away to score by two and a half lengths from Cloth Of Stars, with Ulysses third.
Dettori said: “I was very confident all week ... she is a tremendous filly. I said to John last week she is the best she has ever been.
“To keep this filly at 100 per cent all year is fantastic. I had position ‘A’, I knew I had no weight and she stays, so I kicked and she gave me four lengths and the race was over.”
Gosden hinted there is every chance the filly will stay in training as a four-year-old. He said: “She’s very special and she was well positioned by Frankie in order to show her sheer class and brilliance.
“I think it would be wrong to run her again this year. I think to go to the Breeders’ Cup would be too hard on the filly. If she’s in great form we should consider next year.”
Aidan O’Brien was out of luck in the Arc after saddling the first three home 12 months ago, but still took his Group One tally for the year to 22 with a double through Happily and Rhododendron in the Qatar Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and Rhododendron Prix de l’Opera Longines respectively.
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