Dettori: Enable proved she's 'as good as she was last year'

As Enable trains up to the July 27 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1), jockey Frankie Dettori will have some peace of mind about the rest of what’s likely to be the 5-year-old’s final season.

“She showed that she’s still as good as she was last year,” Dettori said Sunday in an interview with British broadcaster At The Races.

Enable returned a winner of Sandown’s Coral-Eclipse (G1) on Saturday at 1 1/4 miles, a bit shorter than her preferred 12-furlong trip. But for all of it, she was still 3/4 of a lengths better than Magical, with the same margin separating them in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf.

“It’s great,” Dettori told At The Races of Enable. “She’s back to her normal self, and that’s the way I like her. She’s a strong traveler and a stayer, and she’s got a kick — everything.”

Overall, Enable is 11-for-12 lifetime with eight Grade/Group 1 victories.

“You could argue I probably rode better horses in my career, but her longevity and what she’s done — she’s absolutely awesome,” said Dettori, who notably won four straight races last month at Royal Ascot, including the Gold Cup (G1) aboard Stradivarius.

He said Enable is his favorite of the bunch.

“I love her more than the rest because she’s taken me to, emotionally, places other horses can’t,” the jockey said. “When you think about it, a CV of races we’ve won together on the biggest stages in the world is phenomenal. I have tears in my eyes every time I ride her.”

While connections haven’t mentioned a return to the U.S. for Enable, the same jockey-trainer combination involving John Gosden may have had a Breeders’ Cup Mile contender emerge Sunday when Too Darn Hot, champion 2-year-old, cut back to win for the first time as a 3-year-old in the Prix Jean Prat (G1).