By Andrew Atkinson
Enable is set to face testing going in a bid to become the first horse to win the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe for a third time on Sunday, October 4.
The going was officially very soft at ParisLongchamp after 19mm of rain fell in 24 hours earlier in the week.
John Gosden trained Enable, ridden by Frankie Dettori, will go to post alongside stablemate Stradivarius, winner of the Ascot Gold Cup on soft ground.
Aidan O’Brien trained Love has a question mark, due to the going, deemed to prefer drier conditions ahead of 22 runners in Europe’s richest race.
Enable, beaten by Waldgeist when seeking a third Arc win in 2019, won a record King George for the third time in July, prior to victory in the September Stakes at Kempton Park.
Love who won the 1000 Guineas, also gained victory in the Oaks at Epsom and the Yorkshire Oaks, on good ground.
Aidan O’Brien may also run Mogul (20-1) Japan (33-1) and Sovereign, with Derby winner Serpentine (16-1) a supplementary.
Sottsass (12-1) Deirdre (66-1). Love having eased in the betting11-4; Stradivarius (15-2) who won back-to-back Gold Cups at Ascot on soft. Enable (7-4) remains a positive.
Enable won her final race in Britain when gaining an emphatic victory in the September Stakes at Kempton Park, with Dettori up on the six year old ahead of the Arc preparation.
Enable won by seven lengths ahead of Kirstenbosch and Dettori said: “She felt good – and the dream is alive.”
Dettori, 49, who has been on the gallops with Enable after returning to the UK from riding in France, said after victory at Kempton: “We came here to do the job.
“She was striding out well, and it was a no-contest really. All roads lead to Longchamp.”
Enable’s win was her 15th in 18 runs and follows her record third King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes triumph at Ascot in July.
The mare was second to Waldgeist in the 2019 Arc at ParisLongchamp, after winning Europe’s richest race the previous two years.
History beckons for Enable on Sunday.
Arc de Triomphe betting: Enable 13-8, Love 11-4, Stradivarius 15-2, Sottass 12-1, In Swoop 12-1, Mogul 12-1, Raabihah 16-1, Persian King 16-1, Serpentine 16-1, Japan 25-1, Deirdre 50-1, Way To Paris 50-1. 66-1 bar.
