G1 Number 10 For Enable

Keeping it simple in Thursday’s G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks, an emotional Frankie Dettori steered Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) to an all-the-way 10th victory at the top level to reward her abundant followers with the perfect send-off in her native country.

There will be one more, far greater task for her to complete to eclipse Frankel (GB) in terms of numbers in this category in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is certainly no slouch and this performance was as convincing as any of the preceding ones.

“It’s embarrassing crying on TV, but I was crying with happiness,” Dettori said after his 14th Group 1 win of 2018. “She felt great and she’s had a great send-off in front of the English people."

John Gosden gave some insight into what makes Enable special afterwards. “You have to have power, strength and heart, but she combines that with great mentality like Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. You have to have that,” he said.

“She’s got an amazing mind and is such a competitor." Of her final test, he added, “This was a nice stepping stone to the Arc, but I’m very aware of the 3-year-old colts–we saw a nice one win here yesterday in Japan and Jean-Claude [Rouget] has a nice horse [Sottsass] who won the Prix du Jockey Club–I thought he looked exceptional."

Enable's dam, Concentric has an unraced 2-year-old filly by Frankel (GB) named Portrush (GB), while she has a yearling colt by Sea the Stars (Ire) and a 2019 full-brother to Enable.

Table: Enable's 10 Group 1 wins

Virus setback for Brutal

Group 1 winner Brutal (NZ) (O’Reilly {NZ}) is set for a shortened spring campaign after a virus interrupted the early stages of his preparation.

The connections of the last-start Doncaster Mile winner are now eyeing the new $7.5 million Golden Eagle on November 2 as his primary spring target.

"He came back in really good form and he had just a minor hiccup,” part-owner Rupert Legh told Racing.com.

“He had one of little colds that so many horses are having in Sydney, and we just had a week or so to get over a few sniffles. But he's back in full training again. We haven't lost much (time) at all. You are better off having it now rather than halfway through a prep.

"I know you hear it too often, but he has come back bigger and stronger and his temperament hasn't varied at all since we put him out for a spell, so there's a lot of hype and excitement around seeing Brutal back on the track.

"I'd say you probably won't see him until late September, but we only really want to have one run before he goes into the Golden Eagle, and that will more than likely be it for him.

"The autumn has got some great races for him, but we'd love to pick up a Golden Eagle on the way through."

NSW deputy chief steward resigns

New South Wales has lost two senior stewards and its chief investigator as the spring carnival gets underway.

Racing NSW deputy chief steward Phillip Dingwall has resigned, as has senior steward Danny Greer, who was based on the Central Coast. Chief investigator Nathan Hayward has also tendered his resignation.

Dingwall has around 30 years’ experience, including a decade in Hong Kong before rejoining Racing NSW three years ago.

Former Queensland chief steward Wade Birch joined the NSW panel in June.

Chief steward Marc Van Gestel says the resignations are coincidental.

High hopes for Baller

There are audacious spring ambitions for emerging sprinter Baller (High Chaparral {Ire}), and he gets an immediate chance to justify them against a smart field at Randwick.

With a benchmark rating of 76, Baller is eligible for easier races than Saturday's G3 Show County Quality, with Doncaster Mile runner-up Dreamforce (Fastnet Rock), the promising Deprive (Denman) and the latter's Godolphin barn mate Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), an import who has been Group 1-placed over a mile in France, in the field.

Trained by Anthony Cummings, Baller has won three of his eight starts and was given a taste of stakes racing in the autumn when his efforts included a fifth to Nature Strip in the G1 Galaxy.

Now a 4-year-old, the entire has returned to the stable bigger and stronger and connections will give him every chance to make his mark during the carnival.

"Our plan with him, plain and simple, is to have him as a Group 1 sprinter by the end of the spring," Cummings said. "This will be a good starting point for him. He's drawn a nice gate. He'll be just off the speed and he's quite strong to the line as we've seen before.

"If he's up to what the trials show and what we've thought of him for a while, he's going to be very competitive."

The Show County traditionally provides a strong guide to the spring and was won last year by Le Romain (Hard Spun {USA}), who went on to finish second in two Group One races and fourth in the Everest.

Tavisan takes small steps

While most trainers are eyeing off big spring purses, Mick Price is prepared to pick off a few of the minor ones with Tavisan (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}).

As a 3-year-old last season, Tavisan was placed three times in stakes company before running last in the Caulfield Guineas.

Tavisan returned in the autumn but after one run, when last at Caulfield, he was spelled and gelded.

With no concerns about Tavison's future as a stallion, Price is looking to maximise his earning capabilities.

Tavisan, who has a handicap rating of 80, races for the third time as a gelding in Saturday's Ranvet H., having registered a win and a third from his past two outings.

"He needs to improve his rating a fair bit to get to better races," Price said. "He was in a benchmark 84 the other day, which was the ideal race for him, but he didn't blast away and beat them.

"There's $140,000 for Listed races and $125,000 for a benchmark 90 on Saturday, and for a horse like him, it's not much point harming his rating if you don't have to.

"We'll place him to maximise his earning potential and see how we go."

Allpress excited for Japanese challenge

Multiple New Zealand premiership-winning jockey Lisa Allpress hopes her competitive streak and previous experience in Japan can give her an edge in this weekend's World All Stars Jockeys series at Sapporo Racecourse in Hokkaido.

Allpress has arrived in Hokkaido ahead of the four-race series which runs over two meetings at Sapporo. She has also picked up a further three rides including Daimei Fuji (Jpn) (Agnes Digital {USA}) in the G3 Keeneland Cup on Sunday.

As well as competing for individual honours, Allpress is part of the international team, which also features Ireland's Colm O'Donoghue, Hong Kong's Karis Teetan and the United States' Julien Leparoux, up against Japan's finest including Yutaka Take, Christophe Lemaire, Suguru Hamanaka and Nanako Fujita.

"I'm super excited. When I got here yesterday I felt that connection with Japan again. I really like Japan. It's a nice place to be and the people are lovely," Allpress said.

"I just hope the horses go well. A lot is the luck of the draw. I'm here to enjoy myself but to do my best and go as close to winning as I can. We've already been so well looked after."

Summer return for Hiflyer

The connections of Group 1 performer Hiflyer (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) have taken a patient approach after the gelding suffered an injury in the autumn.

“He had a minor setback after his last race, he pulled a muscle in his back,” Lock said.

“We have just given him time to get over it. We decided we weren’t going to target the Group 1 series at Hastings this year, so we have left him out a little bit longer and he has really done well. He is due back in the stable in the next six weeks and he looks fantastic.”

With a likely summer return Lock said there are plenty of opportunities for the son of Tavistock and he will take a lot of benefit from is extended spell.

“He has never really had a long decent break like this, so we will just get him fit and ready and if he comes up and does everything right in his first couple of runs, we will step him up and may go back to Sydney with him or just stay around here,” Lock said.

“Once the tracks get better, I am looking forward to stepping him up over ground again and see whether he can handle it.”