COUNTDOWN TO THE ARC: TODAY AND ALL THE WEEK: Enable has been a Daqman Fortune Cookie for 12 consecutive wins. Today Daqman recalls what attracted him to her. Tomorrow: her record. All this week: countdown to her Arc treble bid.
O’BRIEN’S NINE IN A ROW IS SUPERNAP NUMBER 23: Daqman landed his 23rd supernap of the season when Innisfree (WON 4-6) took the Beresford Stakes at the Curragh yesterday, despite the heavy ground, for Aidan O’Brien’s ninth successive win in the race. Racing continues in a mudbath today and it’s recommended you keep stakes low.
HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR ENABLE!
I remember Enable being beaten. It was Newbury in April, 2017. She wasn’t given a hard time behind stablemate Shutter Speed but stayed on well to be third.
Can’t say I thought she’d never be beaten again in 12 consecutive races under Frankie Dettori. But I did note that she changed gear instantly when given a tap with the whip.
I would see that again as she matured with confidence and experience, and stepped up to a mile and a half. Sometimes when in full stride, she would quicken some more. Just how many gears had she! That was never a question; always a gasp of admiration.
I put her in my Fortune Cookies in time to land a 6-1 win. After that she’d always be favourite, eight times out of 10 odds on at SP, but six times around evens or a shade of odds against in the BETDAQ morning offers.
In three of her races she was so short all day as to be unbackable and, at the start of the last two seasons, she started her year so late (September in 2018; July this year) that she was put on the Fortune Cookies sidelines for a while.
But she was never dropped altogether. I learned my lesson removing Tiger Roll from the Cookies list on the grounds that most Grand National winners don’t survive to race adequately again, and only a Red Rum can win two or three times. He was/is a Red Rum!
Enable enabled so much in her career. For the owner, Kladid Abdullah, £9.3million. For Frankie the key to winding himself back up the ladder of all-time greats. Perhaps to the very top.
Lester Piggott never had an Enable. Even Nijinsky (11-13) could be beaten Only Brigadier Gerard (17-18) and Frankel (14-14) went on and on. And on.
But the daughter of Nathaniel, out of a Sadlers Wells mare, is different. Unlike the stars who stroll home with nothing to beat, Enable cruises into contention, but intelligently so, levelling out her racing speed to give them a chance, then doing more to break their hearts. Dettori knows just how to help her measure that victory roll.
Never before have I seen John Gosden so nervous, or lost for words. Never before has Frankie shaken with emotion. Bottled up a dam of tears. Admitted his love for Enable like a besotted teenager.
Enable belongs to another elite; none of them so far mentioned in this little hall-of-fame reminisce.
She is not a Mill Reef, Phar Lap, Seabiscuit, Secretariat or Sea Bird; and none of the above. She was a filly. She is a mare.
Strangely she came along at the same time as another, Winx, who won 20 races at Randwick alone, her 33 consecutive wins overwhelming the record of sprinter Black Caviar (25-25), another Aussie mare, earlier in the decade.
Now we hold our breath. Can Enable win three straight Arcs? It’s never been done, though several have scored twice: Ksar (1921-22), Corrida (1936-37), Tantieme (1950-51), Ribot (1955-56), Alleged (1977-78), Treve (2013-14). Six of them. Lucky seven, Enable?
KEEP PETTOCH ON SIDE
2.20 Hamilton A stiff six furlongs on heavy ground will very much make sure this is a test of stamina and one which Quirky Gertie should relish.
Mick Channon also has this one entered up for Ayr tomorrow – so is he planning a double strike in 24 hours?
The three-year-old hasn’t tackled heavy ground yet but was a winner on soft ground at Lingfield over seven furlongs in July and Lingfield’s turf course is often bottomless. She bolted home that day under hands and heels by four lengths and whilst this is tougher, she should enjoy the conditions again.
At the time of writing she is disputing favouritism with Dancing Rave whose three career wins have all come with give in the ground including a course and distance success in July. She’s 5lb higher in the weights now and comes here on the back of a moderate effort at Pontefract last time out.
Conga won on soft ground as a two-year-old but hasn’t shown much this year. She is however down in class and will find this easier. She might be the biggest danger to ‘Gertie’.
3.35 Bath One of those sprint handicaps that looked impossible at first glance but on breaking it down the case for Pettochside is pretty compelling.
The John Bridger trained runner is the senior member of the race here at 10-years-old but he is in rude current health as he showed at Goodwood last week to overcome trouble in running and go on and win with something in hand under an inspired ride from Tony Eley who quite rightly has kept the ride today.
The best news of all is that he goes unpenalised for that win as it came in an apprentice race – plus we get the benefit of Eley’s 5lb claim in today’s race on a horse he knows so well.
His main rivals all look within the grip of the handicapper, including Firenze Rosa who was three lengths behind Pettochside at Goodwood last week.
7.50 Wolverhampton Monogamy is hard to weigh up. After a promising debut at Newbury she finished well beaten at Sandown on only her start in April. She’s been off the course since and tries the all-weather for the first time. Too many question marks for me to supporting her as favourite here.
Fortamour looks safer after his easy win at Newcastle earlier in the month. He won with plenty in hand on just his second start and looks progressive enough to defy the resulting penalty.
DAQMAN’S BETS (all staked to win 10 points)
BET 4.0pts win QUIRKY GERTIE (2.20 Hamilton)
BET 4.7pts win (nap) PETTOCHSIDE (3.35 Bath)
BET 3.1pts win FORTAMOUR (7.50 Wolverhampton)
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