Enable in 'good order' following her King George victory, reports Gosden

John Gosden reported Enable to be in "good order" on Sunday morning following her second victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, which saw her fend off Crystal Ocean by a neck in thrilling fashion.

Future plans are far from certain, and the King George may well prove to be her final start in Britain, with Gosden entertaining the idea of going straight to the Arc with the mare, who has won the Paris spectacular for the last two years.

"She's in good order this morning, she's stood about 25 yards from me and having a pick of grass," Gosden said. "Mr Dettori came round and he looked pretty tired, more tired than her!"

As for whether she will race again on these shores, Gosden, who was speaking on Racing TV's Luck on Sunday, added: "She'll tell us, she's very expressive, and she will tell us what she wants to do. It's whether we go to York or straight to the Arc. We'll make those decisions in the next week.

"She's in two races at York [Juddmonte International and Darley Yorkshire Oaks] so it will be a later decision which one we go for as we would be training for the same meeting. The main decision is whether we go to York or not."

Enable's King George victory took her winning streak to 11 races, with the last and only time she has ever tasted defeat coming at Newbury in April 2017. Dettori has been aboard for every start since that loss and remains unbeaten on her.

Enable (fourth-last) still had plenty to do behind a scorching pace turning in

Gosden said of their partnership: "He shows so much maturity as a jockey and when you really understand and know the horse you're riding and know they're stretching and giving you everything, he probably felt he had it under control and didn't have to use the stick more than once.

"You want to keep a horse balanced, it's very important, and if they're balanced and stretching, you're not really going to do much good by giving them a slap, you're much better stretching with the horse. She was in full flight and he wasn't going to disturb that.

"Despite a cheery front, he feels the weight of responsibility as he adores the filly and wants to do everything right by her."

Drawn in stall 11 of 11, Frankie Dettori was tasked with the challenge of overcoming adversity having been pushed wide by the tactic-savvy Seamie Heffernan-ridden pacemaker Hunting Horn, which forced Enable to take the unusual step of dropping towards the back of the field in search of cover.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained battalion then stretched the field out thanks to a scorching pace, leaving Enable with plenty to do to regain her King George crown following her 2017 victory. But it takes a lot to beat a champion and Enable proved once again that she is just that.

Watch Enable's King George victory here

Gosden added: "Frankie said she wasn't particularly happy with the soft ground down the hill heading into Swinley Bottom and she wasn't quite where he wanted – he wanted to get in and was three or four wide – but she came good as soon as she came out of Swinley Bottom.

"She races more like an old pro now, rather than the useful exuberance she showed in her three-year-old year.

"She's come back from injury and surgery last year and sickness and she's shown such amazing mental strength. I watched Wimbledon where Federer and Djokovic were 12 games all in the final set and thought they're so mentally strong, and so is Enable – which shows what an amazing athlete she is."

Enable and Frankie Dettori with winning connectionsCredit: Mark Cranham

On whether he was worried that Crystal Ocean – who drew clear with Enable in the Ascot straight to a rousing reception from the packed grandstands – would beat Enable at any point, Gosden added: "Yes, very much so. At the one [furlong] marker, a critical moment, he was down there on the rail, had been beautifully ridden and placed, and that's what top-class racing is all about.

"It was literally a duel the whole length of the straight, and with everyone shouting – that's the best of our game.

"She put the field to the sword, but so did he. They're the two best. You had the best older horse out of France [Waldgeist] in behind, obviously Crystal Ocean and Enable's the best racemare."

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