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Champion trainer John Gosden is not taking anything for granted as star mare Enable takes aim at the £1.25 million G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes (3.40pm) at Ascot this Saturday, July 27.

Enable  captured the 12-furlong midsummer highlight in 2017 during a glittering three-year-old campaign that saw her win five G1 races in a row, but she was unable to defend her crown last year due to injury.

The dual G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe heroine made a successful reappearance this year in the 10-furlong G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park on July 6, when pushed out to win by three parts of a length from old rival Magical.

Saturday offers Enable the chance to become the third two-time winner of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes and the first this century, following Dahlia (1973 & 1974) and Swain (1997 & 1998). The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes is part of the QIPCO British Champions Series.

Speaking on the Warren Hill gallops during a press event in Newmarket this morning, Gosden said: "Enable has been in good form since Sandown. I thought she ran a lovely race there. Frankie had her in the correct position and she won with a bit in hand.

"She was coming off an eight-month break. She did not go for a racecourse gallop beforehand and did all of her work here in Newmarket. I would say it wasn't until we got her on a gallop she likes, the round gallop on Limekilns, that she showed her zest and old spark.

"Prior to then, she was the like the heavyweight boxer trying to get ready for a championship fight - he has been off a number of months and running the roads and being in the gym is tough mentally.

"Enable was just going through the motions, but two weeks before Sandown you saw all her passion and enthusiasm come out for racing. Suddenly, Frankie was hanging on rather than saying can we go a little faster dear. She is very assertive and knows what she wants to do. The key thing is to go with the flow and not argue with her.

"The Eclipse is close enough [to Ascot], but you are getting three weeks and hopefully that will be fine. She has just been doing routine work since Sandown. She worked on Saturday with Frankie on her. We were going to work on the grass, but we did not get enough rain so she worked on the All-Weather. She seems happy and well in the face of what will be a tall order.

"The betting industry has put her in at a price that says they don't want people to be backing her. I don't think the price is realistic of her chances (Enable is 4/6 with Ascot's official bookmaker Betfred), but I suppose they are just protecting themselves if she does win.

"Enable won the King George as a three-year-old filly getting weight, just as Taghrooda (2014) did. It is a little different when you're older and suddenly you have a Derby winner coming at you who's getting the weight, and a magnificent older horse in Crystal Ocean who ran a blinder last year and won the Prince Of Wales's Stakes well last month.

"This is no penalty kick, absolutely not. It is a really exciting race with a deep field. Obviously, Enable and Crystal Ocean set the standard and then you have the three-year-olds getting the allowances. Enable is up for it, but I just don't think it is the formality that is indicated. I see her more as even money shot against this field rather than the price she is.

"There is a weight of expectation. Enable is a great filly and a pleasure to be around. She had a very difficult year in 2018, coming back from surgery, injury and then sickness between Kempton and the Arc, and she still managed to do the job. We have had a smoother run this year and, as you saw this morning, she maintains her enthusiasm for training and racing.

"She has a great physique and a wonderful mind on her. When she came in as a yearling, the one thing that amazed me straight away was the depth of her girth and heart room. Frankie says that when she stretches in the final part of the race, he can actually feel his legs move as she gets lower and picks up. There are not that many horses he has felt that on.

"She is comfortable over a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half. As you saw at Sandown, she has tactical speed and that tends to help the jockey. When she won the Arc at Chantilly, it was her speed from a very tricky draw that meant she did not get boxed in.

"She is the best mile and a half filly I have trained, and what she has done has been pretty extraordinary. I admired her a lot last year, coming back the way she did. She was not at her best in the Arc, but Frankie rode a magnificent race because he knew that he did not have the petrol in the tank that he would normally have, which is why he held onto her for so long. Then when we went to America and suddenly she was coming back to her best.

"I think we probably have seen the best of her. She was good the other day and as a three-year-old. Hopefully, we can get through Ascot, then you have York and the Arc. It is a big ask for any horse, but as you saw there, right now she is proud and happy within herself."

Cheval Grand is out to give Japan a first victory in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes. Four Japanese-trained horses have contested the great G1 race, with Cheval Grand's sire Heart's Cry faring best when a close third behind Hurricane Run in 2006. The others were Sirius Symboli (1985, 8th), Air Shakur (2000, 5th) and Deep Brillante (2012, 8th). He is a 25/1 chance with Betfred.

Cheval Grand ranks among the best middle distance horses in Japan. The seven-year-old captured the G1 Japan Cup in November, 2017, and has also finished third in the two latest editions of the G1 Arima Kinen, Japan's premier all-aged contest at Nakayama in December.

On his latest start in March, Cheval Grand competed overseas for the first time when second to Old Persian in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, UAE, on Dubai World Cup Night.

Trainer Yasuo Tomomichi said this morning: "When Cheval Grand ran in Dubai, he took the travelling very well, so afterwards the owner [Kazuhiro Sasaki] decided that he wanted to target more overseas races. After the King George, we are also thinking about the Juddmonte International at York and possibly the Arc.

"Cheval Grand has been in England for one week. This morning is the first time I have seen the horse since he left Japan, and his condition is the same as it was before he travelled over.

"Cheval Grand has not had many races for a seven-year-old and has a pedigree that says he will improve as he gets older. I don't think his age is a problem.

"It was always the plan to give him a break after he ran in Dubai. There will be no problems with his fitness. Cheval Grand has the stamina and power. He is the best horse I have trained, but Enable is very strong, a machine.

"Ascot is a very tough racecourse and quite tricky compared to tracks in Japan, which is why we chose Oisin Murphy to ride because he knows everything about Ascot.

"The King George has a long history and is very famous in the racing world. It would be one the high points of my career to win this race."

Cheval Grand will work on the Newmarket gallops tomorrow morning, with Murphy in the saddle.

Overseas-trained runners in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth QIPCO Stakes (1980-2018)

YEAR HORSE/POSITION TRAINER COUNTRY

2018

Rostropovich (5th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Hydrangea (7th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

2017

Idaho (3rd) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Highland Reel (4th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Sixties Song (10th) Alfredo Gaitan Argentina 

2016

HIGHLAND REEL (1ST) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Sir Isaac Newton (4th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Erupt (5th) Francis-Henri Graffard France

2015

Dylan Mouth (7th) Stefano Botti Italy

2014

Trading Leather (5th) Jim Bolger Ireland

Magician (6th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Leitir Mor (8th) Jim Bolger Ireland 

2013

NOVELLIST (1ST) Andreas Wohler Germany

Trading Leather (2nd) Jim Bolger Ireland

Cirrus Des Aigles (4th) Corine Barande-Barbe France

Very Nice Name (7th) Alban De Mieulle Qatar 

2012

DANEDREAM (1ST) Peter Schiergen Germany

St Nicholas Abbey (3rd) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Reliable Man (4th) Alain de Royer-Dupre France

Dunaden (6th) Mikel Delzangles France

Deep Brilliante (8th) Yoshito Yahagi Japan

Robin Hood (10th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

2011

St Nicholas Abbey (3rd) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

2010

Cape Blanco (2nd) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Daryakana (4th) Alan de Royer-Dupre France

2009

Golden Sword (5th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Frozen Fire (7th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Rockhampton (8th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland 

2008

DUKE OF MARMALADE (1ST) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Red Rock Canyon (4th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Macarthur (8th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland 

2007

DYLAN THOMAS (1ST) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Scorpion (5th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Prince Flori (7th) Sascha Smrczek Germany 

2006

HURRICANE RUN (1ST) Andre Fabre France

Heart's Cry (3rd) Kojiro Hashiguchi Japan 

2005

AZAMOUR (1ST) John Oxx Ireland

Bago (3rd) Jonathan Pease France

Ace (5th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Grey Swallow (7th) Dermot Weld Ireland

Policy Maker (12th) Elie Lellouche France

2004

Hard Buck (2nd) Kenny McPeek USA

Vallee Enchantee (5th) Elie Lellouche France

Tycoon (6th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland 

2003

ALAMSHAR (1ST) John Oxx Ireland

Victory Moon (10th) Mike de Kock South Africa

2002

Aquarelliste (4th) Elie Lellouche France

Boreal (7th) Peter Schiergen Germany 

2001

GALILEO (1ST) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

Hightori (3rd) Philippe Demercastel France

Anabaa Blue (7th) Carlos Lerner France

Chimes At Midnight (10th) Luke Comer Ireland

Ice Dancer (12th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland 

2000

MONTJEU (1ST) John Hammond France

Air Shakur (5th) Hideyuki Mori Japan

Raypour (6th) John Oxx Ireland

1999

Sunshine Street (5th) Noel Meade Ireland

Indigenous (6th) Ivan Allan Hong Kong

1998

Risk Material (8th) Aidan O'Brien Ireland

1997

Helissio (3rd) Elie Lellouche France

1996

Oscar Schindler (4th) Kevin Prendergast Ireland

1995

Winged Love (4th) Andre Fabre France

Carnegie (6th) Andre Fabre France

1994

Apple Tree (4th) Andre Fabre France

Petit Loup (5th) Criquette Head France

1993

Desert Team (7th) Jim Bolger Ireland

Platini (10th) Bruno Schutz Germany 

1992

ST JOVITE (1ST) Jim Bolger Ireland

1991

no overseas runners

1990

In The Wings (5th) Andre Fabre France

1989

Tisserand (7th) M Vincis Italy

1988

Tony Bin (3rd) Luigi Camici Italy

Soft Machine (7th) P Rago France

Silver Lane (9th) Maurice Zilber France

1987

Triptych (3rd) Patrick Biancone France

Tony Bin (5th) Luigi Camici Italy

Acatenango (6th) Heinz Jentzsch Germany

1986

Triptych (3rd) Patrick Biancone France

1985

Law Society (4th) Vincent O'Brien Ireland

Strawberry Road (6th) Patrick Biancone France

Sirius Symboli (8th) Toshio Nihonyanagi* Japan

Treizieme (9th) Maurice Zilber France

Princess Pati (11th) Con Collins Ireland

1984

Sadler's Wells (2nd) Vincent O'Brien Ireland

Dahar (7th) Maurice Zilber France

Luth Enchantee (8th) John Cunnington Jun France

Fly Me (9th) Andre Fabre France

Darshaan (10th) Alain de Royer-Dupre France

Magwal (11th) Andre Fabre France

1983

Lancastrian (5th) David Smaga France

Carlingford Castle (6th) Liam Browne Ireland

Lemhi Gold (8th) Olivier Douieb France

1982

Assert (2nd) David O'Brien Ireland

Bikala (5th) Patrick Biancone France

Dronacharya (9th) A Netser** Israel

1981

no overseas runners

1980

Gregorian (3rd) Vincent O'Brien Ireland

Dunnette (4th) Emmanuel Chevalier Du Fau France

Le Marmot (5th) Francois Boutin France

* Stabled with John Winter in Newmarket and ran in his name.

** Stabled with Duncan Sasse in Lambourn and ran in his name.