Sadly it wasn’t to be a fairytale ending to Enable’s career. Her bid to rewrite the record books and win a third Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp never came to fruition.
However, in my opinion she will go down in history as Prince Khalid ibn Abdullah’s greatest horse. At the end of the day, horses are judged by what they achieve on the racecourse.
The Enable versus Frankel debate is one that may go on for a very long time. When we talk about the true racing legends, we talk about their career, their courage, their ability to overcome adversity.
There is a reason why Messi and Ronaldo are hailed as the greatest footballers of all time. Maradona, Best and Ronaldinho might have been the most incredible players visually, but longevity is the key to greatness.
Frankel was an incredible racehorse, visually probably the best I have seen. Does that make him a greater horse than Enable? No. Why? Because he never overcame true adversity and he never fulfilled his full potential as a racehorse.
Enable has won Group 1 races in Ireland, England and France but it didn’t stop there. She also travelled over to America and won at the 2018 Breeders’ Cup. She was continuously tested and overcame adversity time after time after time.
Trainer John Gosden deserves a huge amount of credit. His ability to consistently peak the star mare in what is always a very turbulent and energy-sapping Flat season is mesmerising.
This is a mare that broke record after record, winning three King George’s, winning two Arc’s. She was the only horse ever to win an Arc and win at the Breeders’ Cup in the same year.
Longevity and her achievements is what sets Enable apart from Frankel. Colts generally don’t train that long. Yeats was one exception who stayed on to race as an eight-year-old and left an incredible legacy behind.
Enable started out her career in Newcastle as a two-year-old in 2016 and ran in her fourth Arc in 2020. When you think about that, it is pretty mind-boggling.
Forget ratings. We know Frankel has a ridiculous rating and nobody is disputing it. We have seen incredible horses that never travelled abroad, Winx being one.
Frankel will always have a place in our hearts. It was an incredible story and journey for trainer Sir Henry Cecil. As a horse racing fan, I think we all have a piece of Frankel in our hearts. He was electric. But he was cutely campaigned.
We must remember that Frankel was campaigned to keep his unbeaten record in tact. He was not campaigned to win the best races in Europe.
Enable sought world domination, and she did it!