Frankie Dettori out to make Arc amends but admits Enable faces tough task

Frankie Dettori says last year's Arc day felt like the longest two hours of his riding career after Enable had tried and failed to land a history-making third third victory at Longchamp.

A year on, the Italian jockey has been handed a second chance to surpass the achievements of the likes of the mighty Treve in Paris on the John Gosden-trained star next Sunday but says he has yet to get 'Arc fever' and admits the six-year-old mare faces a formidable task.

Enable is a general 2-1 second favourite to go down in the history books and Dettori said of her chances: "I'm sure Enable will run her very best as she always has in the Arc but that might not be good enough with the likes of Love getting 7lb. The three year-old fillies when they are that good like Zarkava, Treve, Danedream and Enable have proved a tough nut to crack in the past.

"Arcs are never easy to win as everyone will be there as they all want to win one including the Derby winner, Love and Stradivarius."

Enable and rider Ben de Paiva exercise up Warren HillCredit: Edward Whitaker

After watching his favourite mare canter on a rainswept Warren Hill in Newmarket on Friday morning, Dettori is set to ride her in work on Sunday.

He said: "Last year's Arc day was the longest two hours of my riding career, make no mistake. I had the disappointment of the Arc but unfortunately that was only the third race on the card and I had rides in the following races. It felt like a very long afternoon.

"At the moment Arc fever hasn't really hit me yet. We still have this weekend to worry about and I would expect next Wednesday when we get the first forfeits and later on the draw it usually kicks in."

Dettori may well sit on Enable just three more times before she is retired, something he is trying not to think about. He said: "I'll ride Enable work tomorrow and then again on Wednesday and I can't wait.

"In Flat racing it's unusual to have horses in training at six at her level and I've never had a horse this good for this long, Golden Horn and Dubai Millennium were only around for two years but I don't want to focus on the sad thing that she's going to retire and just concentrate on getting her ready again for Paris."

Gosden is also looking forward to the challenge and said: "Enable will be running in her fourth Arc which is remarkable really. Like those old boxers, she has taken a while to get up to full fitness at training camp and it depends if they've lost any of their old speed. Thankfully she seems in good shape and we're looking forward to the Arc as we always do."

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