Enable fine following Arc defeat

Enable is reported to be none the worse the morning after her heartbreaking defeat in the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Excitement reached fever pitch in the minutes before the race as John Gosden’s remarkable mare went to post bidding to become the first three-times winner of Europe’s premier middle-distance contest.

Carrying a huge weight of expectation, the Khalid Abdullah-owned five-year-old moved to the lead in the home straight and looked set to claim a famous victory after pulling clear in the hands of Frankie Dettori.

However, her stride shortened in the last half-furlong and Waldgeist swept by in the closing stages to provide trainer Andre Fabre with a record eighth Arc victory.

Connections of Enable were magnanimous in defeat immediately after the race — and the owner’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe was far from despondent on Monday morning.

He told the PA news agency: “Enable seems fine. She ate up last night and she’s on her way home.

“She ran a super race and we can’t complain. She was just outstayed by the winner on the ground, it’s as simple as that really.”

Connections are keen to let the dust settle before commenting on future plans.

If the great mare is to run again this year, the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on October 19 or the Breeders’ Cup Turf — which she won last November — would appear the obvious options.

Grimthorpe added: “There are no plans — I don’t know (if she will run again).”