Across the pond

[tachyon]

Wow!

Enable is for real!!

[BaroqueAgain1]

IMHO, Nathaniel is going to be a really good sire.

[tachyon]

@Ascot has posted the epic photo finish between Danedream and Nathaniel in the 2012 King George.







Dual Oaks winner Enable (Nathaniel) is likely to run in the Yorkshire Oaks next, bypassing the King George.

[Northport]

That was such a great a great race. Daneream, Nathaniel, St. Nick... a really vintage renewal of the King George. 2017 has been a bit of a meh year for European racing. Highland Reel and Enable are both terrific, but almost every class is lacking a real superstar.

[carole]

To me it feels like it has been like this for a couple of years now, no real super horses that would stand out across the world, not just in Europe.

[BaroqueAgain1]

Caravaggio looked like he was that sort of star...until he finished fourth (I think?) in the July Cup at Newmarket.

[Starine]

Dual Oaks winner Enable looking likely to tackle King George
https://www.racingpost.com/news/king-ge ... mix/294070

[Northport]

To me it feels like it has been like this for a couple of years now, no real super horses that would stand out across the world, not just in Europe.

Well, there's always Winx. But off the top of my head, the most recent ones would be Arrogate, Pharoah, Chrome, and Maurice, but pre-2015 there were some vintage crops the world over. 2013 Japan may have been one of the best ever - Lord Kanaloa, Gentildonna, Orfevre? Forget about it!

[slewobarney]

That was such a great a great race. Daneream, Nathaniel, St. Nick... a really vintage renewal of the King George. 2017 has been a bit of a meh year for European racing. Highland Reel and Enable are both terrific, but almost every class is lacking a real superstar.

Yes, great, great race. Danedream was never going to win this...until she does.

There are many, but today I'll go with one that was probably not seen by many on this board.....

Danedream (2011 Arc de T winner) in the 2012 King George VI & Queen Eliz Stakes (a nice field incl Nathaniel & St Nicholas Abbey). Even in the slo mo, it doesn't look like she can get up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Nu1x6qc-bUh

Heck of a race.

[carole]

To me it feels like it has been like this for a couple of years now, no real super horses that would stand out across the world, not just in Europe.

Well, there's always Winx. But off the top of my head, the most recent ones would be Arrogate, Pharoah, Chrome, and Maurice, but pre-2015 there were some vintage crops the world over. 2013 Japan may have been one of the best ever - Lord Kanaloa, Gentildonna, Orfevre? Forget about it!

Oh no I meant in Europe, America has had a really good few years!

[stark]

https://twitter.com/AtTheRaces/status/8 ... 8463844353

An investigation is to be carried out after the 'wrong horse' won a race at Great Yarmouth at odds of 50-1.

The two-year-old Mandarin Princess, trained by Charlie McBride, was declared winner of the race at 13:40 BST after beating favourite Fyre Cay.

But a scan afterwards identified the horse as three-year-old stablemate Millie's Kiss, who had been due to run in a later race.

Stewards referred the matter to the British Horseracing Authority (BHA).

The result officially stands for betting purposes, but some bookmakers have said they will pay out on the horses finishing first and second.

The BHA described the incident as "unprecedented" since a microchipping identification system for horses was introduced in 1999.

It said: "The scan identified the horse to be Millie's Kiss, the trainer's other runner in race four.

"They (the stewards) interviewed the trainer, the stable groom, the veterinary officer and the equine welfare integrity officer responsible for the sampling unit.

"Having heard their evidence they referred the matter to the head office of the British Horseracing Authority and ordered Millie's Kiss to be withdrawn from race four."

[BaroqueAgain1]

Dual Oaks winner Enable steps up in King George
A powerhouse renewal of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Sponsored by Qipco) (G1) is on tap July 29 at Ascot with dual Oaks winner Enable taking on older rivals Highland Reel, his full brother Idaho, Jack Hobbs and Ulysses.
The 1 1/2-mile test is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race offering a guaranteed spot in the Nov. 4 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... ing-george

From RacingPost:
As well as Enable, Highland Reel will have to contend with three other previous Group 1 winners: Jack Hobbs, My Dream Boat and Eclipse winner Ulysses. Sixties Song is also a dual Grade 1 winner in South America, while Highland Reel's year-younger brother Idaho comes in on the back of a win in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, perhaps the major trial for the King George.
The field is completed by Desert Encounter, Benbatl and Maverick Wave, the first two having recorded career-best efforts in the Eclipse and Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot respectively.
The most surprising of the six absentees at the declarations stage were Permian and Hawkbill.
Read more: https://www.racingpost.com/news/king-ge ... rge/294495

What a great field! I wouldn't have thought that Enable would be vying for favoritism over a horse like Highland Reel, but then I saw that she is getting a fourteen pound weight break from him.
I am going to have to get up early to watch this race. Looks like the race goes off at 7:35 AM Pacific.

[ThreeMustangs]

Dual Oaks winner Enable steps up in King George
A powerhouse renewal of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Sponsored by Qipco) (G1) is on tap July 29 at Ascot with dual Oaks winner Enable taking on older rivals Highland Reel, his full brother Idaho, Jack Hobbs and Ulysses.
The 1 1/2-mile test is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race offering a guaranteed spot in the Nov. 4 Longines Breeders' Cup Turf (G1T) at Del Mar.
Read more: http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... ing-george

From RacingPost:
As well as Enable, Highland Reel will have to contend with three other previous Group 1 winners: Jack Hobbs, My Dream Boat and Eclipse winner Ulysses. Sixties Song is also a dual Grade 1 winner in South America, while Highland Reel's year-younger brother Idaho comes in on the back of a win in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, perhaps the major trial for the King George.
The field is completed by Desert Encounter, Benbatl and Maverick Wave, the first two having recorded career-best efforts in the Eclipse and Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot respectively.
The most surprising of the six absentees at the declarations stage were Permian and Hawkbill.
Read more: https://www.racingpost.com/news/king-ge ... rge/294495

What a great field! I wouldn't have thought that Enable would be vying for favoritism over a horse like Highland Reel, but then I saw that she is getting a fourteen pound weight break from him.
I am going to have to get up early to watch this race. Looks like the race goes off at 7:35 AM Pacific.

Frankie's battle to make weight for Enable:

https://www.racingpost.com/news/king-ge ... ide/294381

Bummed not to see Permian run.

[Starine]

I'd really like Jack Hobbs to step up and redeem himself after his Prince of Wales debacle, but I'm not sure how likely that is to happen.

[tachyon]

Enable is a SUPERSTAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BaroqueAgain1]

Tremendous race by Enable...although it's hard to discount the weight advantage (14 pounds less than Highland Reel!) the filly got. That has to help, especially over soft ground.
Ulysses was lengths back in second, Highland Reel's little bro, Idaho, got third, with HR fourth. HR never looked comfortable and came through most of the stretch with his head cocked to the left. I hope he gets some rest and then comes back for the fall...maybe the BC Turf, where he's most likely to find the fast ground that he likes?

[carole]

Wow what a superstar! Looks like Nathaniel has finally beaten Frankel in something, he has sired that big superstar first!

Can't wait to see her take on the Arc Maybe she will come face to face with Soul Stirring and then we'll get another battle between Frankel and Nathaniel

[BaroqueAgain1]

That would be quite a match-up. With the winning record fillies have in the Arc, I really like their chances. And the weight allowance sophomore fillies get in the French classic is a distinct advantage, IMHO.

[Sparrow Castle]

Enjoyed this article.

Big, beautiful and ripe for a third tilt at glorious Goodwood

It is only when Big Orange is led from his box at Fitzroy House Stables that you recognise the sheer implausibility of his story. His heroic deeds on the racecourse conjure images of an equine gladiator with an indestructible physique. The reality is quite different. It is scarcely credible that he can raise a gallop at all.

A first, intimate encounter with the horse who bewitched galleries at Royal Ascot lays it bare. There’s nothing much wrong with his head save that it is overtly large. His ears are extravagantly long, which many judges like to see in a racehorse. Yet lower your eye to the rest of his frame and it soon becomes clear why he should more likely break down than break opponents’ hearts.

On that score his trainer, Michael Bell, makes no attempt to mitigate. “Basically, to look at him, he’s a very old fashioned National Hunt type of horse,” says the 56-year-old. “He stands 17 hands, he has very high withers and a jumper’s bump on his hind quarters. He's slightly back at the knee, and to top it all he was a box-walker when he was younger.”

He is also a little straight through his hocks, which can inhibit forward propulsion, and very upright on his pasterns, but it’s the box-walking that would ring the loudest alarm bell. Box-walking is an undesirable trait, redolent of a nervy disposition, and constant pacing around a box means the horse will invariably lose condition. In simple terms, you can’t train a horse who lacks condition.

More: https://www.racingpost.com/news/he-s-al ... you/294513

[tachyon]

Wow what a superstar! Looks like Nathaniel has finally beaten Frankel in something, he has sired that big superstar first!

Can't wait to see her take on the Arc Maybe she will come face to face with Soul Stirring and then we'll get another battle between Frankel and Nathaniel

It's a shame that Frankel filly Soul Stirring(JPN) will not be shipped to Europe this year but next year.
But it would be great if Enable comes to Japan to face with Soul Stirring in the Japan Cup (.... yeah, I know it's very unlikely, haha).
Like Enable in Europe, Soul Stirring is believed to be the best 3yo in Japan at this point.