Criquette Head-Maarek hails 'top-class' Enable following Arc glory

Criquette Head-Maarek, trainer of dual Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine Treve, has led the tributes to Enable following her stunning display at Chantilly on Sunday.

The brilliant Treve became the first horse since Alleged in the 1970s to win back-to-back runnings of Europe's premier middle-distance contest in 2013 and 2014

She was retired after finishing fourth behind Golden Horn when bidding to become the first three-time Arc winner in history two years ago.

The John Gosden-trained Enable added her name to the illustrious roll of honour with a performance for the ages under Frankie Dettori, and Head-Maarek was unsurprisingly impressed.

"She is a top-class filly and I was so pleased to see her win," said the trainer.

"When you love horses, you want to see the best horses winning and she was so much better than the rest yesterday.

"She travelled so strongly and was even a little bit free. They weren't going fast enough for her but when Frankie asked her to quicken, the race was over."

Enable was winning her fifth successive Group One following her triumphs in the Epsom Oaks, Irish Oaks, King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Yorkshire Oaks.

Head-Maarek was particularly pleased for owner-breeder Prince Khalid Abdullah, for whom she trains several horses.

"I'm delighted for Prince Khalid. It is special for him," she added.

"It is not only what the filly did yesterday, what she has done all year has been fantastic. The way she won the Oaks and in Ascot (King George) was so good."

Asked how she would compare her to her former superstar filly, Head-Maarek joked: "When she wins a second Arc, then maybe I can compare her to Treve.

"I wish I had her in my stable, that is for sure."

Alain de Royer-Dupre has saddled two Arc winners in Dalakhani (2003) and the unbeaten Zarkava.

He said: "I think Enable is a similar kind of filly to Zarkava. She has a large amount of ability and even if she had got into a traffic jam, it would not have mattered. She was able to gallop clear of the rest of them with ease."

Andre Fabre has trained a record seven winners of the prestigious event and saddled this year's runner-up Cloth Of Stars.

He said: "Enable was very impressive, not for the first time this year.

"I was delighted with Cloth Of Stars. He did what I expected him to do. We'll see how he comes out of the race, but we could look at the Breeders' Cup.

"It is a bit soon to say whether he will stay in training next year."

Gosden's fellow Newmarket-based trainer Sir Michael Stoute struck gold in 2010 with Derby hero Workforce and saw his Coral-Eclipse and Juddmonte International winner Ulysses finish third on Sunday.

Of Enable, he told At The Races: "She's a machine. I think she rates right up there with the best."

Mick Kinane won the Arc three times aboard Carroll House (1989), Montjeu (1999) and Sea The Stars (2009). He was keen to praise both horse and rider, with Dettori becoming the most successful rider in the race's history after claiming his fifth victory.

Kinane said: "She's obviously a fantastic filly. It's great to see. She looks like a filly who likes to get on with it and you'd have to say she was very impressive.

"She's an exceptional filly and it's a great record for Frankie to have."