Report: Enable unlikely to travel for Breeders' Cup defense
While Sunday's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe has been widely speculated as Enable's career finale, trainer John Gosden added credence to that expectation in a wide-ranging preview of Europe's most lucrative race by VSiN's Ron Flatter.
Flatter, in France to cover the Arc at Longchamp, spoke with trainer John Gosden about the prospects of Enable then returning to the U.S. to defend her victory in the Breeders' Cup Turf. In short: They aren't good.
“I think the way the feeling is now is that she’s done that,” Gosden told Flatter. “I get the feeling that (the Arc) will probably be her last race.”
Enable in 2018 became the first horse to win both the Arc and the Breeders' Cup in the same season when she prevailed at Churchill Downs. This time, by way of a victory in the July 27 King George (G1) at Ascot, the 5-year-old by Nathaniel does hold a "Win and You're In" trip to the Nov. 2 Turf at Santa Anita Park.
But the Breeders' Cup Turf isn't the race Gosden mentioned to Flatter as an option for an encore. Rather, Ascot hosts its Champion Stakes (G1) 13 days after the Arc. Still, Gosden added to Flatter, "I get the feeling that is the wish of the owner" to retire Enable after the Arc.
The mare, campaigned by Prince Khalid Abdullah, will be seeking a historic third straight score in the Arc. Overall, Enable has won 13 of 14 career starts, with 12 of those victories coming consecutively leading into Sunday.