Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

84 Horse&Hound1 August 2019

Pictures by Bill Selwyn and Getty Images

RACING

ASCOT

26-27 July

EditedbyHannahLemieux

[email protected]

@hannah_lemieux1

AscotRacecourse,Berks

THISyear’sKingGeorgeVIand

QueenElizabethStakeswasbilled

asa “racefortheages”.Theover-

hypingofsuchcontests,combined

witha goodamountofSod’sLaw,

usuallymeansit turnsouteither

tobeone-sidedora dampsquib.

ButatAscotonSaturday, 27

July,EnableandCrystalOcean

producedsomethingevenbetter.

Thetop-ratedmareandtop-

ratedhorseintheworldwenttoe-

to-toefor2½furlongs.Fromthe

momentFrankieDettoriengaged

Enableinbattleatthetopof

Ascot’sstraight,therewasnever

muchmorethana headinit and

theresultwasnevercertainuntil,

inthelast 50 yards,Enablebegan

togetontop,winningbya neck.

Indoingso,shebecame

onlythethirdhorsetowintwo

KingGeorgesbutthisoneleft

Dettori“emotionallydrained”.

Evenhegetsnervousridingher

and,unliketheCoral-Eclipseat

Sandown which could not have

EnableshowshertruemettleandFrankieDettorihis

brilliance, as the pairdigdeeptolandanemotionalwin

gonemoretoplan(shealsowon),

nothingwenttoscriptinthefirst

mileofthisrace.Itis nowonder

helovesher,becauseatAscotshe

helpedhimoutofa bitofa hole.

Littlewasmadeofheroutside

drawbeforetherace,butit proved

problematic.Dettoricouldnot

getheranywhereneartheinside

goingtoSwinleyBottom.Theonly

waytogetinwastodropback

and,roundthatfirstturn,Enable

hadjusttwohorsesbehindher.

Butthegallopwasstrong

asthethreepacemakersfor

theDerbywinnerAnthony

VanDycktriedtomakeit a

realtestofstamina,hopinghis

latekickwouldcomeintoplay.

Butironically,thefirsthorsein

troublewastheEpsomheroand,

ultimately,heonlymanagedto

beatoneofhispacemakershome.

However,fora horseusually

riddenhandily,Enablewasa long

way back, while Crystal Ocean,

underJamesDoyle,wasgetting

therunoftherace.Butrounding

theturn,Enablehadcruisedonto

CrystalOcean’stailandwe were

setforanepicfinish.

‘SHEGIVESMEEMOTION

NOOTHERHORSEHAS’

ITgetsa lotofbadpresswhena

jockeygoesoverboardwiththe

whip in a tight finish of a valuable

ByMARCUSARMYTAGE

Epic Enable

raceand,whileDettorimighthave

engagedEnableinbattlea bit

soonerthantrainerJohnGosden

mighthavehoped,hewastotally

brilliantonher.

Aftera singlesmack

encouragedherto“jump”Crystal

Ocean,heputhisstickdownand

forthelasttwofurlongsit was

allaboutthejockey’srhythm,

balanceandstrength.The

impetuousDettoriofhisyouth

mighthavedoneit differently,

buthewasasbraveashismarein

thecircumstances.

“I’mexhaustedemotionally,”

saidDettoriafterwards.“She’s

verygoodbutshe’salsoverybrave

—she’sjustbrilliantandit wasa

fantastichorserace.Whathasn’t

shewon?Shehassucha willto

win,we’reontheroadtotheArc

now.Shegivesmeemotionthat

no other horse has given to me,

‘Iloveher’:FrankieDettori

stealsa valiantKingGeorgeVI

andQueenElizabethStakes

winaboardEnable,admitting

it ‘wasthehardestGroup One

I have ever had’

Frankie Dettori and connections celebrate the hard-fought victory