All Eyes on Enable in King George for the Ages

In the week when Britain's second female prime minister left office, Britain's first lady of racing will appear before her people at Ascot, where the indisputably magnificent Enable headlines a QIPCO King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1) comparable to those of the race's golden era.

Nowhere in the world of flat racing is there an active horse more loved or admired than Enable, triumphant in 11 of the 12 tests she has tackled, a two-time winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) and now aspiring to regain the King George crown she forfeited last season through no fault of her own.

With the reborn, revived, and remarkable Frankie Dettori on her back, Enable began her 5-year-old campaign in flawless fashion, capturing the July 6 Coral-Eclipse (G1) at Sandown. The performance was typically marvelous, but she may now need to do more as she continues on the road back to Paris, where on October's first Sunday she will seek to become the Arc's first triple champion.

For this is a King George like King Georges used to be.

It is a battle that takes us back to the halcyon days of a prize won by true icons of the flat. Ribot, Nijinsky, Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerard, Shergar, Dancing Brave, and Nashwan are all on the roll of honor, yet none of those legends ever lined up in a second King George. That Enable comes back for more is testament to her own constitution, the skills of John Gosden, and the sporting approach of owner/breeder Khalid Abdullah.

The betting suggests her task is straightforward, and it may well be if she can match the devastating level of her wide-margin Ascot tour de force in 2017. Perhaps, though, what plays out before us will not be so simple.

The King George was framed as a clash of the generations. Thanks to Aidan O'Brien, it has returned to being just that. No horse since Galileo in 2001 has completed the Investec Derby (G1)-King George double. Eighteen years later, the master of Ballydoyle hopes to bridge that gap with Galileo's son Anthony Van Dyck, one of four runners he saddles in a crown jewel boasting £1.25 million in purse money. Galileo is also the father of Nathaniel, who in 2011 claimed the King George and then carried on his good work by siring Enable. 

Galileo's influence is all across this King George, although he is only indirectly related to the second favorite as uncle. Twelve months ago, Sir Michael Stoute sent out Poet's Word and Crystal Ocean to fight out a furious finish. Crystal Ocean lost out both then and when thumped by Enable in the 188 bet September Stakes (G3)—in his defense, he conceded eight pounds—but he finally gained group 1 glory at Royal Ascot, his Prince of Wales's Stakes (G1) victory under Dettori powering him to the top of the world rankings tree. Now we find out how easy is the head that wears the crown.

Like Enable and Crystal Ocean, Defoe is excelling at 5, having landed the Investec Coronation Cup (G1) and Hardwicke Stakes (G2), and so is French visitor Waldgeist. At the age of 7, Cheval Grand looks to be hailed as Japan's first King George winner.

They have come from far and wide for this wonderful race, and from far and wide there will be fans cheering on Enable. Few things divide us like politics, but nothing can unite us like sport. As the late Hugh McIlvanney said, it is the magnificent triviality. Rarely, however, has there been such need to submerge ourselves in the magnificently trivial. A horse like Enable does indeed bring us together. 

This time, she will do that in a week when serious illness snatched away poor Sea of Class, so nearly the conqueror of Enable at Longchamp only 293 days ago. Fate can be horribly cruel. It can strike at any point, so we must celebrate our stars, appreciative that we have them in the here and now.

That we have Enable is a particularly good reason to give thanks. She is one of the great horses. The King George is one of the great races. As the great race is again graced by the great horse, we will hopefully have ever more reason to be grateful.

Ascot Return Poses Unique New Question

Enable has emphatically answered the questions posed during her stunning career, but a return to Ascot asks a new, amusingly obscure one. Until she bursts out of her stall in her bid for a second King George victory, Enable has yet to run at a track more than once.

Her remarkable career spans 11 wins at 11 tracks, and, as if to further emphasize her adaptability, they came in four countries and on two continents. Even her sole defeat came at Newbury, another course to tick off the list. The travel expenses racked up by any Enable superfans who have followed the 5-year-old mare from Newcastle to Longchamp and Churchill Downs are likely substantial.

There is every chance if you looked up versatility in an equine-themed dictionary, you may simply see the explanation: Enable.

The wide array of courses Enable has conquered makes you wonder whether she can possibly be beaten. The tight, nimble turns of Chester? No problem. The unique camber of Epsom, mixed with a raging thunderstorm as a cinematic backdrop? Cool as a cucumber. The travel required to reach Churchill Downs? New time zone, same result. A drop in trip on quick ground at Sandown when returning from a lengthy absence? Done without a fuss. Next.

And so Enable returns to Berkshire, back in a familiar coliseum and primed for another battle. They say in some sports, competitors should never go back to the home of former glories. But will it make a jot of difference to Enable, who never ceases to remain anything other than calm, focused, and simply brilliant? The widest draw of all adds a new element to the equation, but the sums normally add up to the same solution. Enable runs, Enable wins, Frankie celebrates.