Dettori: Enable is raring to go ahead of historic Arc bid

Frankie Dettori has reported star mare Enable to be in excellent form, as she bids to become the first horse in history to win three renewals of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. 

The six-year-old was narrowly edged out by Waldgeist in her pursuit of history at Longchamp last October, but Dettori has reported her to be in fine form ahead of her fifth season in training.

And although she’s very much entering the closing stages of her career, he added that she still very much retains all of her enthusiasm for racing.

He told Luck On Sunday: “I’ve seen the big girl often in the mornings. John (Gosden) is keeping me well away from her at the moment, but she looks well. 

“She looks magnificent, and sometimes when the horses are getting old you get afraid that they might lose their racing brain, but she seems very alert and struts around the place like she owns it! She’s very fresh, and she looks very alert, so that’s always a good sign.

“The main aim is to try to get her to the first Sunday in October in as best shape as we can get her, to try and do something no horse has ever done in Arc history."

Racing has been pencilled in to return in Britain on June 1, and Dettori added that he was optimistic that the sport would be able to resume sooner rather than later; 

“It’s still not been completely rubber-stamped, so we’ll have to wait next week, but I think what the BHA has proposed and the way they’ve structured the start, it gives us every chance that we could go ahead and start,” he said. 

“We’re no different to any other sport, so we all got together and put a programme in place and if we get the green light it’s full steam ahead. 

“It’s going to be fast and furious, exciting and very concentrated, but if everything goes to plan at least we’ll be able to catch up. By the time we get to July/August, we should hopefully be back to normal.

“Saving the three-year-old classics is mightily important for everything, so if we can catch up with them they can have a full season as well. The plan they’ve proposed is unbelievable, and let’s hope that we’re able to do it.”

Meanwhile, Dettori confirmed that he would be looking after his own affairs this term, following the retirement of his long-term agent Ray Cochrane - who called time on their 20-year partnership last week.

He said: “Ninety percent of my rides are for John (Gosden), and I’ll be 50 in December, so I haven’t got 20 years in front of me anymore. 

“There’s no point having someone who’s eager to send me around for two meetings a day - I don’t need that anymore - so I can kind of look after myself. Most of the trainers know my number if they want me, so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.