Connections of superstar mare Enable have confirmed her retirement with immediate effect.
John Gosden’s dual Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe heroine finished sixth when chasing a record third victory in Europe’s premier middle-distance contest eight days ago.
A potential swansong on Champions Day at Ascot this weekend was subsequently mooted, but a statement released by owner-breeder Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte operation on Monday morning confirmed she has run her final race.
Douglas Erskine Crum, CEO of Juddmonte, said: “After consulting her trainer John Gosden and his racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe, Prince Khalid has decided that Enable will be retired from racing and will now join the Juddmonte broodmare band to be covered by Kingman in 2021.”
Enable retires having won 15 of her 19 career starts, including 11 Group Ones.
Earlier this summer she became the first horse to win a third King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, while her big-race haul also includes the Oaks at Epsom, the Irish Oaks, two Yorkshire Oaks’ and the Coral-Eclipse.
Enable accumulated record earnings for a European-trained horse of £10.7million during five seasons and in 2018 became the only horse to win the Arc and the Breeders’ Cup Turf in the same year.
Having finished second to Waldgeist when bidding for the Arc hat-trick last season, the daughter of Nathaniel was kept in training as a six-year-old in the hope of going one better.
And while she ultimately came up short in testing conditions in Paris, she will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the greats.
Grimthorpe said: “She has brought so much joy to everyone who has been involved with her. Her elegance and forceful personality have been nurtured by John and his team at Clarehaven, especially by Imran who has looked after her with such calm and devotion.
“In her, Frankie found a willing partner to execute her ability on the racecourse. Her CV withstands the closest of inspections, very few can match what she has given to racing.”
Gosden also paid a fulsome tribute to his stable star.
The Clarehaven handler said in a statement: “Enable has retired happy and sound after an extraordinary career. We all here at Clarehaven Stables have been very fortunate to be with her for the past five years and to appreciate her strong character and athletic prowess.
“Her daily presence has been a joy and her record in Group Ones including four Oaks, three King Georges, two Arcs, an Eclipse and a Breeders’ Cup Turf is a marvel and unprecedented. We look forward to visiting her nearby in her new career.”
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