Enable eyes more history as fantastic filly bids for Breeders' Cup glory

Frankie Dettori rode Enable to Arc history, becoming only the seventh horse to win the famous race twice. (AFP)
Updated 16 October 2018
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Enable eyes more history as fantastic filly bids for Breeders' Cup glory

  • No horse has ever won the Arc and Breeders' Cup in the same season.
  • The last Arc winner to win again in the same season was All Along, way back in 1983.

LONDON: Two-time Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Enable will bid for yet more history after it was announced she is to run in the Breeders' Cup Turf next month.

Two weeks ago the Saudi Arabian-owned filly became only the seventh double winner of the Arc. Straight after the famous race at Longchamps in Paris it was mooted that Enable, owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah, would aim to become the first home to win a hat-trick of Arcs. 

But while that still may happen Teddy Grimthrorpe, racing manager for Khalid Abdullah, revealed the filly will first try to become the first winner of both the Arc and Breeders' Cup in the same season. 

In a statement Grimthorpe said: “Prince Khalid has given the go ahead for Enable to run in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, Group One. No decisions on her future will be made until after the race.

“(Enable) is an extraordinary athlete.”

The last Arc winner to win again in the same season was All Along, way back in 1983. Trained by Patrick Biancone and ridden by Walter Swinburn, she won the Canadian International a couple of weeks' later.

The John Gosden-trained horse won her second Arc under Frankie Dettori earlier this month. And Gosden admitted there had been some debate as to whether the the four-year-old would defend her Paris crown. 

“I was pretty anxious going into it as we lost a week. Losing a filly for five days that should be cantering and working knocks you back and we went back to where we were before the Kempton race.

“You lose the benefit of having a run and she missed her main work. It was a bit nip and tuck.”

 


Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka powers her way into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open

Updated 25 January 2026
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Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka powers her way into the quarterfinals at the Australian Open

  • Aryna Sabalenka rolls over the 19-year-old Canadian in just 31 minutes on Rod Laver Arena
  • Sabalenka will be up against an even younger player in the quarterfinals, 18-year-old Iva Jovic

MELBOURNE: Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka, attempting to win her third Australian Open title in four years, reached the quarterfinals on Sunday with a victory over No. 17 Victoria Mboko of Canada 6-1, 7-6 (1).
Sabalenka, using a high-powered serve that produced three aces in the first set, rolled over the 19-year-old Canadian in just 31 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Sabalenka was not quite as dominant in the second set — producing a few more unforced errors — against Mboko, who played well enough to beat many players but not the two-time Australian Open champion.
“What an incredible player for such a young age,” the 27-year-old Sabalenka said of the young Canadian. “It’s incredible to see these kids coming up on Tour. I can’t believe I say that. I feel like I’m a kid.”
“She pushed me so much, and I’m happy to be through,” Sabalenka added in her on-court interview.
Sabalenka led the second set 4-1, and then failed to convert three match points while leading 5-4. Mboko slowly took back the momentum and forced a tiebreaker only for Sabalenka to dominate.
It was the 20th straight tiebreak victory for Sabalenka.
“I try to — not to think this is a tiebreak and play point by point, and I guess that’s the key to consistency,” she said.
Sabalenka won this Grand Slam in 2023 and 2024 and was the runner-up last year against Madison Keys. The Belarussian has also won two US Open titles.
Sabalenka will be up against an even younger player in the quarterfinals — 18-year-old American Iva Jovic.
The No. 29-seeded Jovic defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-0, 6-1 on John Cain Arena in just 53 minutes as she advanced to her first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
In a later match Sunday on Rod Laver Arena, the top-seeded man Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced American No. 19 Tommy Paul for a spot in the quarterfinals.
Alexander Zverev and Coco Gauff, the third seeds on the men and women’s side, also played later for spots in the quarterfinals.