Enable looked to be on course for the victory, holding the lead late with 50 yards to go, but slowed in the final furlong which allowed Waldgeist to claim the win and deny Enable a third consecutive Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and prevent Frankie Dettori claiming his seventh victory at one of Europe’s top races.
Jockey Dettori said he felt the ground had played a part in the surprise result with the soft ground meaning the horse wasn’t able to rely on the acceleration that had seen the horse win the Coral-Eclipse, King George and the Yorkshire Oaks this season. Dettori said;
The ground was very sticky and I struggled in the first bit of the race. I let her find her feet, and she came good to me in the false straight. I waited for the 300 metres (marker), but didn’t find as much as I thought. – Frankie Dettori.
Dettori, winner of more than 500 Group races, said he felt that Enable folded towards the end and by the time the 200-metre pole was passed, she was a spent force. Trainer John Gosden agreed with Dettori’s verdict saying that Enable had run a great race, but she was just outstayed on the ground. Gosden added that he couldn’t be more pleased with the horse.
Both John Gosden and racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe failed to give any details on what is next for the filly, the mare was expected to retire after the race, but Grimthorpe declined to answer the question saying that Enable’s owner Khalid Abdullah would take his time and will reflect on the various possibilities.
The future of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Waldgeist is also uncertain with a potential trip to America for next month’s Breeders’ Cup Turf being considered for the horse. Part-owner Dietrich Von Boetticher has played down those rumours saying that he felt you should never exhaust a horse and emphasised that the welfare of the horse comes first, Boetticher said: “This is all about what’s good for Waldgeist and not what’s good for the owners.”
