Frankie Dettori believes that Aidan O’Brien’s Love is entitled to her Arc favouritism, as he looks ahead to his date with destiny on Enable in a Longchamp showdown.
The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe brings together the best of Europe’s middle-distance division and 2020 is no different. A superstar showdown has emerged as the season progressed, as Love has torn through the classic division.
She’s unbeaten in 2020, including a pair of classics. The sky has looked the limit since she destroyed the Oaks’ field back in July. Enable has won a pair of Arcs and looked better than ever when decimating her rivals at Ascot in a small-field King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Ever since though two performances, the pair have been locked on an undeniable collision course.
He may be in love with Enable, but Dettori spoke highly of O’Brien’s filly in his Sporting Index blog.
Speaking of York, Dettori said: “Nobody can be surprised what Ghaiyyath did in the Juddmonte and what Love did in the Yorkshire Oaks, they are the superstars and they delivered.”
Speaking more in depth about Love’s chance in the Arc, Dettori wrote: “Love has now won the Guineas by four lengths, the Oaks by nine and the Yorkshire Oaks by five, she’s a three-year-old who gets all the allowances and overall you’d have to say she’s now entitled to her place at the top of the betting for the Arc.”
Such is the class of both Love and Enable, that a rift in the market has formed between them and the pack. With Ghaiyyath a potential no show, the market understandably has the Longchamp feature pegged as a two-horse race. No other horse, bar Ghaiyyath, is in single-figure odds.
Both Enable and Love have secured RPRs of 124 in their best performances of the season. Enable achieved that figure when romping home in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, while Love posted a career-best effort (on the figures) when pushed out to land the Yorkshire Oaks.
Love will have the advantage of a three-year-old weight allowance in the Arc, where she’ll face her biggest test yet against the best of the older generation. The question remains, is Love really all you need? Or does following Dettori Enable further success?