Gosden Aware of Threat to Enable in King George

John Gosden is bracing himself for a potentially tricky tactical battle with Ballydoyle July 27, with the trainer wary about the threats posed to highweighted older mare Enable by her talented opposition in the QIPCO King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1).

Enable returned in fine style with a straightforward victory in the Coral-Eclipse (G1) this month and is back to the trip over which she has largely showcased her brilliance, although Gosden is expecting a tougher test than Sandown.

"This is a fascinating race with great depth," he said. "There is the (Investec) Derby (G1) winner with three wing men, the best older horse in France, the best older horse in Britain, a Japan Cup (G1) winner, and the winner of the two best trials, the Coronation Cup (G1) and the Hardwicke (G2). It's only lacking a top 3-year-old filly."

Gosden recalled the tactical affair Enable encountered in the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T), when Hunting Horn hemmed her in and forced her wide before his stablemate Magical threw down a sustained, but ultimately futile, challenge.

With Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck cast in the lead role for Aidan O'Brien and ably supported by stablemates Magic Wand, Norway, and Hunting Horn, Gosden believes the King George could develop into a tactical affair.

"We'll see what happens," he said. "I stood with a senior U.S. racing correspondent at the Breeders' Cup, and he was aghast at Hunting Horn hunting us—'harassed,' as it was put the other day.

"I always leave the tactics to the jockeys. You discuss a race, you discuss what might come up, but when those gates come open and it doesn't come up as you planned, jockeys have a completely blank canvas and must do whatever they feel is right. If you start telling Frankie (Dettori) how to ride a race around here, I think that's me getting out of my depth."

In a clash billed as the finest renewal of a King George for some time, Gosden is expecting Enable to need to be near her absolute peak to triumph.

He added: "We were very happy with her going into Sandown and very happy since, so let's hope she can come back now as a 5-year-old and show us her absolute best 3-year-old form. I'd be very hopeful of that.

"We hope to see that brilliant turn of foot again, but you're being tested against the best horses around. This will be a test of every horse in that field, let alone her."

Grimthorpe Excited to See Enable Strut Her Stuff Again

When you have been up close and personal with a plethora of stars including Frankel, Kingman, Midday, Oasis Dream, and Workforce, spotting star quality becomes an easier task.

Teddy Grimthorpe, the longstanding racing manager to Enable's owner/breeder Khalid Abdullah, enjoys one of the most enviable positions in the sport, and he will be front and center again to witness Enable's latest outing.

If Grimthorpe is feeling any nerves regarding the star mare, they were not on show Friday, as he said: "It doesn't matter how I feel, it's how she feels! She's had a straightforward preparation this year. Everything has gone pretty smoothly.

"She came out of the Eclipse in great form and has gone on nicely since that. John and Frankie have been very happy with her."

In a week when temperatures have reached blistering heights, it is fitting Ascot's midsummer highlight looks set to be a barnburner, and bookmakers have made Enable the favorite.

While not pinpointing any of Enable's 10 rivals, Grimthorpe knows a big performance will be needed for her to secure an 11th straight win, adding: "Everyone has said this is a high-class renewal, and I think you'd be very stupid to rule out anything that's coming. From that point of view, we have to concentrate on Enable, and she's coming into the race in rude health."

Grimthorpe is not flustered about Enable's draw in stall 11.

"If you'd given me a choice between one and 11, I'd have certainly chosen 11," he said. "High numbers have generally had good results in the race. I don't think it's a worry over a mile and a half at Ascot."

Asking where Enable sits in the Juddmonte pantheon is a question fraught with difficulty, and when asked, Grimthorpe provided a suitably diplomatic answer.

"I think it's always dangerous to get into that," he said. "Different horses at different times mean different things, but certainly she's up there with his very greatest racehorses. Prince Khalid is very much looking forward to it, and she's really something special to him."