Enable may skip York appointment

The five-year-old got the better of Crystal Ocean by a neck in an epic battle for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday – a race that will live long in the memory and saw her become only the third horse to win the midsummer showpiece twice.

Enable holds entries in both the Juddmonte International – which is sponsored by her owner, Khalid Abdullah – and the Darley Yorkshire Oaks at next month’s Ebor meeting at York.

However, Gosden is unsure whether to plot a direct course to France, as the daughter of Nathaniel attempts to become the first three-time Arc winner on October 6.

He said: “She will tell us – she’s very expressive.

“She’ll tell us what she wants to do. We talked about it yesterday, (racing manager) Teddy Grimthorpe as well, whether we go to York or do we just go straight to the Arc.

“I think we will start making those decisions in the next week.

“She’s in both races – that would be a later decision. You’re training for the same meeting, so that makes it fairly easy.

“But I think the key thing is whether she goes to York at all, or whether we just do the other thing, freshen her up – she runs well fresh – and bring her up to the Arc without having taken any risks in going anywhere else.’’

Gosden reported his multiple Group One winner to be in fine form following what appeared to be one of the toughest tests of her career to date. He added: “She got back and ate all her feed up.

“She races more like an old pro now rather than the youthful exuberance of her three-year-old days – she’s a bit more measured in everything, I think.

“She seems in good order this (Sunday) morning. Mr (Frankie) Dettori came round and looked pretty tired actually – more tired than her!’’

Gosden was also keen to pay tribute to Enable’s resilience, with the mare seemingly back to her very best after a troubled campaign last term.

He said: “As everyone knows, she’s come back from injuries and surgery last year and then a week’s sickness between her Kempton run and the Arc – she’s just shown such amazing mental strength.”

Laurens returned to winning ways in the best possible fashion as she gained the sixth Group One success of her career with victory in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville yesterday.

In a race run at a lively pace from the off on soft ground at the French seaside track, PJ McDonald and the Karl Burke-trained Laurens had everything on the stretch well over a furlong and a half out, but the final furlong proved to be a long one for her supporters, as Freddy Head’s With You hit her stride to finish with real purpose.

The post came in time, however, with half a length separating the front two and another length and a half back to the previously unbeaten Obligate.

A top-level winner as a two-year-old and three-year-old, Laurens had started this season with a fine second in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury, before finishing sixth in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Burke said: “People were calling whether we should have kept her in training, including John (Dance, owner) really, he was having second thoughts and thought he’d made the wrong decision.

“But she’s a high-class filly and still showed us at home that she had plenty of ability.”

“Watching it live there, she looked like she had them all at it at halfway, I know she did her usual bit of not overdoing herself in the last furlong, but 50

yards from the line she had the race won.

“I always look at the horses behind us when we’re travelling well and they all looked in trouble at halfway, I was hoping PJ would kick early and go nick a

length or two.

“It was closer than I thought, but she does that to us every time, she doesn’t do a lot when she’s in front.’’

Asked about future plans, the North Yorkshire-based handler said: “I haven’t had a talk with John yet, but we’ve got the Prix Jean Romanet, I’d be quite happy to run her there if she’s fit and well, but I’m not sure John wants to

step her up to the mile and a quarter.

“If we don’t go there, I’d imagine we’d just wait for the Matron (at Leopardstown on September 14).”