Enable - Eclipse Stakes - 2019

Enable was very good in winning her 10th race in a row in the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes at Sandown on her return against race-fit opposition.

Enable’s task was tougher, if not quite as tough as it might have been, with no Sea Of Class (struck down with colic) or Crystal Ocean, and only one three-year-old (the Derby also-ran Telecaster) in opposition.

But she needed to be close to her “A-game” to beat her old rival Magical, and that she did with a degree of comfort.

Soon settled in second, Enable was perfectly placed when a steady mid-race section became a full-on charge for the line, and she remained on the bridle longer than any of her rivals.

A sectional of 11.5s took her to the front two furlongs out, then sectionals of 11.85s and 12.7s kept her there, though Magical had narrowed the gap to three-quarters of a length by the line (the same margin as had been between them in the US late last year).

In terms of overall time, this was not one of Enable’s greatest performances as she missed the track record by 2.63s despite pretty fast conditions, but that was in large part down to those soft earlier sectionals.

Her 115 basic timefigure goes up to 124 after that has been factored in, with Magical as good as ever on 123.

Enable is 127 at her recent peak, and there is every reason to think she is still capable of that.

If you wanted to pick holes in Enable’s claims to be odds-on for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot at the end of the month – then it could be pointed out that Crystal Ocean beat Magical by half a length further at Royal Ascot this year and that there would appear to be several middle-distance three-year-olds better than Telecaster around.

But Enable just keeps on winning and has a magnificent blend of speed and stamina. It will take a very good one indeed to beat her, and it’s not clear that such a rival is around any longer.

Crystal Ocean - Prince of Wales's Stakes - 2019

The Prince of Wales’s Stakes, was run in driving rain and on ground that was heading quickly from “good” to “soft”.

A last three-furlong time of 38.53s for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes translates into a 101.3% finishing speed (speed at finish as a percentage of speed for race overall), which is only fractionally quicker than the par for course and distance.

I didn’t think it at the time, as some of the beaten horses appeared too far out of their ground, but the race was a pretty fair test on the day, with none of the principals deserving much of an upgrade.

The result is a 127 timefigure for Crystal Ocean which is the joint-top at the meeting with Blue Point’s King’s Stand win.

Magical, who received a 3lb sex allowance and was beaten one and a quarter lengths, gets 121, and Waldgeist, who never really threatened, on 117.

He must have a decent chance of going one better in that race this time round.

I had been sceptical that Crystal Ocean was as good as some were making out, but this was right up there with his fast-time King George performance on this course last July, and he must have a decent chance of going one better in that race this time round. There’s a chance he ideally needs give in the ground, like he had here, when racing over 10 furlongs.

Enable - September Stakes 2018

Enable took on the King George runner-up Crystal Ocean and two no-hopers in the Group 3 September Stakes.

Looking big and well beforehand, if rather keen to get on with things, Enable benefited from setting soft fractions but was little more than a length up on her main rival before going into overdrive to power through the last three furlongs in approximately 34.2s. Crystal Ocean tried hard but could not lay a glove on Enable and came home three and a half lengths in arrears.

Beating a horse of Crystal Ocean’s calibre easily is no mean feat at any time, never mind after a lengthy layoff, though it should be remembered that he was conceding Enable 8lbs.

The steady early pace means that Enable’s timefigure was an unexceptional 112, though that was boosted to 122 on sectionals. Crystal Ocean goes up from a basic 113 to 120 by the same means.

The likelihood is that Enable is every bit as good as she was last year, when the Arc was the last of six races she won on the trot.

Crystal Ocean - King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes 2018

Poet’s Word and Crystal Ocean fought out the finish of the second-fastest King George in history, with the former prevailing by a neck. Only Novellist has won the race in quicker time, and that was on lightning-quick ground in 2013.

Record times and ostensibly fast times need to be viewed in context, of course. The context for this year’s King George includes the fact that the race was run in a time 4.22s quicker than the strongly-run concluding handicap, where around 3.0s might have been expected, and that it dwarfed all straight-course times on the card (though wind played its part in that).

There was quite a bit of debate after the event about the rides on the first two, particularly as to whether William Buick had gone too soon on Crystal Ocean. Again, time analysis can help with that, and the answer is “no”.

As a result, I have a timefigure of 133 on Poet’s Word and Crystal Ocean, which are the best of the season so far, though it could certainly be argued with hindsight that Poet’s Word had run something similar when defeating Cracksman in a fast time at Royal Ascot also.

Despite the conditions, which might have been expected to keep margins small, there was a yawning gap of nine lengths back to Coronet, who had been beaten by only a nose in a Group 1 the time before, with four other very smart performers well-beaten.

There was quite a bit of debate after the event about the rides on the first two, particularly as to whether William Buick had gone too soon on Crystal Ocean. Again, time analysis can help with that, and the answer is “no”.

We have lots of evidence over many years as to how to run efficiently at Ascot, especially at a mile and a half, and that is to run the final three furlongs of the race in around 99.6% of your average race speed.

By my reckoning, Crystal Ocean ran that closing sectional in 36.68s, or a speed 99.8% of his average race speed, which is very nearly perfect. What’s more, his last two furlongs of 24.78s (98.4%) and last furlong of 12.58s (97.0%) were remarkably close to par also. By contrast, Poet’s Word was slightly further back than ideal turning in – something acknowledged by his jockey James Doyle – but found all that was needed to get up late on. His sectionals come out at 36.04s (101.5%), 24.36s (100.1%) and 12.34s (98.8%).

The difference between those figures and par suggest Poet’s Word can be rated better than the result, if by only a little – his was still a pretty efficient performance – and so I will have him on 134.

The most important conclusions of all about this year’s King George include that the first two put up top-class performances backed up by the clock, that the right horse probably won, that the jockeys on the first two rode close to perfect efficiency, and that – purely subjectively – it was one of the most thrilling finishes to a race which has thrown up more than a few such spectacles.

Enable - Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe 2017

Enable was an impressive and above-average winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at its temporary home at Chantilly, Enable, in beating Cloth Of Stars, Ulysses, Order Of St George and 14 others emphatically, put a seal on a stellar season in which she has emerged as comfortably the best middle-distance performer in Europe.

In time terms, this win was not quite out of the top drawer – I make it worth a figure of 124, which is just above her previous best of 123 at Ascot – but Enable was in little danger once set alight at the 400-metre marker and could probably have run quicker still had the early pace been a bit more generous.

There were healthy margins all the way back to the sixth, though it has to be said that behind that the runners were in something of a heap.

Enable has a marvellous blend of speed and stamina, and possesses a rare adaptability to going and course.