THE John Gosden-trained filly is no stranger to bar-moving and new-height-setting. A month ago, she won the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on just her second run of the season. In so doing, she became just the second horse to won back-to-back Arcs since Alleged won the second of his two in 1978. That’s 40 years ago.

But history stared back in her face again on Saturday night. No horse had ever won the Arc and gone on to victory at the Breeders’ Cup the same year. Found in 2016, Golden Horn in 2015, Dylan Thomas in 2007, Sakhee in 2001, Subotica in 1992, Saumarez in 1990, Trempolino in 1987. Even Dancing Brave in 1986.

Eight Arc winners had tried, and all eight had failed.

There was a suspicion that the Arc winners’ poor record was as much down to happenstance as it was down to a true (inverse) correlation between victory in the Arc and victory at the Breeders’ Cup. Sakhee was only just beaten by Tiznow in the Classic in 2001. Golden Horn was only just beaten by Found in the Turf in 2015, and Aidan O’Brien’s filly herself had run in the Arc.

Even so, zero for eight is a daunting stat.

Enable had to be very good too because, in Magical, Khalid Abdullah’s filly had a worthy adversary.

Aidan O’Brien’s filly was unlucky to come up against a filly of Enable’s rare ability, because the pair of them pulled miles clear of their rivals. Without Enable, Magical would have been a nine-length Turf winner.

They scrapped for the length of the (relatively short) Churchill Downs home straight. Two top-class horses and two top-class jockeys, as John Gosden said afterwards. Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore.

In much the same way as the pair of them had scrapped for the length of the Keeneland home straight in the same race in 2005 on Golden Horn and Found. Three years ago, it was Ryan Moore who emerged victorious. On Saturday, it was Frankie Dettori.

Saturday was D-Day in lots of ways. Dettori Day. Earlier in the day, he had delivered Expert Eye with a perfectly-timed run to get him home by a cosy half a length in the Mile.

That was Breeders’ Cup win number 13. And that wasn’t unlucky for anybody, because he was off the 13 mark and onto 14 just 80 minutes later. He remains one of the best big-stage riders in the world.

And Enable is one of the best racehorses in the world. It really would be surprising if she was not kept in training next year, with the objective of winning a third Arc de Triomphe.

No horse has ever won three Arcs and it would be very surprising if her owner/breeder Khalid Adbullah did not want to give her a chance of realising an historic feat that would truly put the cap on all that she has already achieved.