Ratings Update: Queen Enable regains King George crown

We were treated to an epic running of the King George at Ascot on Saturday, a race run at a strong pace on good to soft ground testing both stamina and willingness to the full, and it was very much a case of the cream coming to the top as the market leaders Enable and Crystal Ocean fought out a finish that will live long in the memory.

There have been other dual Arc winners, and other dual King George winners, but Enable now boasts the unique record of having both races twice – among her other Group 1 victories, of course – as well as becoming the first horse to regain the King George which she had to miss last year. The only others to have won it twice are the French-trained filly Dahlia (1973/74) and Godolphin’s Swain (1997/98), the latter’s second victory coming as a six-year-old when ridden by Frankie Dettori.

Dettori and Enable had four and a half lengths to spare when winning the King George for the first time in 2017, but Saturday’s hard-fought success by a neck came at the end of a race which tactically went against them, a wide draw meaning Enable had to come from further back than usual. As for the ratings of the principals, it’s very much a case of ‘as you were’ as each of the first three home ran up to their current master ratings: Enable (129), Crystal Ocean (131) and Waldgeist (127).

Spine-tingling! Enable wins the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes again in a titanic battle up the @Ascot straight with Crystal Ocean! pic.twitter.com/tD76zmVmbd

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) 27 July 2019

Enable’s Chantilly Arc as a three-year-old remains her career-best effort on Timeform ratings (134), and if her more recent form hasn’t matched that, bear in mind that her last four victories have all been gained by less than a length, Saturday the first time she’d had a male rival as her runner-up since beating Crystal Ocean for the first time on better terms on her belated return in last year’s September Stakes at Kempton - she was in receipt of the standard 3 lb sex allowance on Saturday.

Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner Crystal Ocean, who briefly edged ahead of Enable in the straight, ran right up to his Royal Ascot form in being beaten a neck in the King George for the second year running – he’d come off the worse in another thriller with stablemate Poet’s Word last year – while Waldgeist, another five-year-old, who couldn’t land a blow when third to Crystal Ocean last month, was back to the sort of form that had seen him beaten a similar distance behind Enable when fourth in last year’s Arc.

A third Arc has always been the motivation for keeping Enable in training for another year, though after her hard race at the weekend it remains to be seen if she’ll take in either the Juddmonte International or the Yorkshire Oaks before then.

Although a deep field on paper with the welcome but rare presence these days of the Derby winner, there were a couple of disappointments to mention. Coronation Cup and Hardwicke Stakes winner Defoe (126) ran no sort of race and neither did Anthony Van Dyck (125), surprisingly fitted with cheekpieces for the first time following his Irish Derby defeat, in trouble a long way from home and now with questions to answer next time.

Many of Enable’s admirable qualities are shared by another popular filly Laurens, and she returned to her very best (120) for the first time this season when winning the sixth Group 1 of her career, the Prix Rothschild, at Deauville on Sunday. Her half-length beating of last year’s winner With You (also back to best form, 119) doesn’t tell the whole story of the race as Laurens dominated virtually throughout, the runner-up hard at work in rear before only managing to close her down late on.

What a horse she is! A sixth Group 1 victory for the ever-tough Laurens who shows guts and determination to claim the Prix Rothschild at @fgdeauville for @karl_burke... pic.twitter.com/QKrXDOPQSD

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) 28 July 2019

Twelve months ago Elarqam (124 from 121) was beaten at short odds into third in the York Stakes but he’s enjoying an excellent campaign as a four-year-old and added to his two listed wins this year with a clear-cut victory over the well-backed Addeybb (122) in this year’s running of the Group 2 contest, seeming to relish the softest ground he has encountered to date.

Back at Ascot, the big betting race of the weekend was the International Stakes over seven furlongs in which course regular Raising Sand (118 from 115) gained his fourth win at the track with a head victory over the gambled-on Kaeso (110 from 109). Although one of the senior runners, Raising Sand was better than ever and will no doubt be back for the remaining valuable handicaps over Ascot’s straight course – he won the Challenge Cup over course and distance last October. Kaeso had Raising Sand just behind him when a narrowly-beaten third in the Victoria Cup earlier in the year and no doubt they’ll cross swords again, Kaeso impressing here with the way he burst to the front only to be worn down late on.

How impressed were you with Armory at @LeopardstownRC on Thursday evening? Could he follow in the footsteps of Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck who won the Tyros Stakes 12 months ago? Our report includes Gary O'Brien's interview with Ryan Moore >>>https://t.co/BV33BmCvVR pic.twitter.com/XYvVBLorA4

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) 26 July 2019

Two-year-old racing is beginning to hot up and there have been a couple of smart performances in recent days. Aidan O’Brien tends to target Leopardstown’s Tyros Stakes with his better juveniles (Gleneagles, Churchill and last year Anthony Van Dyck among his past winners), and last Thursday’s winner Armory (110p from 96p) could well be cut from a similar cloth judging from his very impressive five-length victory over stablemate Toronto (96p from 89p).

Impressive! Earthlight strides clear in extremely taking fashion and makes it three from three to maintain his unbeaten record and saunter to Group 3 victory in the Prix de Cabourg at @fgdeauville... pic.twitter.com/tdz0J3jYJ0

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) 28 July 2019

Meanwhile, Andre Fabre and Godolphin also look to have an exciting prospect in Earthlight (110p from 98p) who settled matters with an impressive turn of foot to win Sunday’s Prix de Cabourg at Deauville by four lengths. He’s now unbeaten in three starts and would be an interesting runner in next month’s Prix Morny back at Deauville.