Enable's Arc: No, it doesn't matter more if there's money on it, sit back and just enjoy the ride
They say it matters more if there is money on it - not true, not even close, writes James Toney at Longchamp.
Too often racing frames its narrative through the prism of fractions and a baffling lexicon designed to confuse.
Yes, Enable is the hottest of hotpots and the jolliest of jollies in today's Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe but forget about the ground, the trends, the conspiracy theories about the draw and what you might invest. Just enjoy the ride.
And, besides, if your interest is principally governed by how many Euros or pounds you'll stick in your pocket today, then do something else because this is no Sunday to be a heathen.
Because you don't have to know one end of a horse from another to appreciate what could unfold this afternoon, it'll be drama undiluted on the grandest of stages.
It's the final chapter of a story that has transfixed racing, the symbiotic partnership between the greatest race mare of her generation - possibly the greatest ever - and seemingly forever young jockey who has long transcended his sport.
Frankie Dettori and Enable have combined to win 12 straight races, including ten Group Ones, racing's biggest prizes.
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They've won Europe's richest race at Longchamps twice before - and only one horse, Treve, has even attempted to bag a third, ironically a bid Dettori denied.
They've enjoyed success at home and aboard, last year winning in Paris and then crossing the ocean to claim an unprecedented double in the Breeders’ Cup. This mercurial and marvellous pair are big over here and big over there.
Stars of flat racing burn bright and brilliant and fade frustratingly fast, the biggest names earning the real money when retired safely to a field to do what comes naturally and create the next generation.
It's a credit to Enable's owner Khalid Abdullah, whose love of French racing dates back to his time as a student in Paris, that he has kept Enable running into her five-year old season.
Though when you're as rich as Croesus, the chance of making history means the chance of making money can surely wait just a little longer?
The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is now upon us and it'll soon be time for the jumps, where all roads lead to Cheltenham, that sporting behemoth that dominates the weeks to come and too often sucks the oxygen from the conversation.
If National Hunt has one towering monument then a flat season enjoys many peaks, the early season Classics, the pomp and circumstance of Royal Ascot, midsummer showpieces and big-money finales, none bigger or better than the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with its century of history.
They say jumps is about heart and flat is about the head - today turns that age old equation a total 360.
Dettori, enjoying his most successful season just a few weeks short of his 49th birthday, knows this chance will not come again, his tension palpable in recent weeks.
If Enable has fleet of foot then Detorri has the turn of phrase - giddily comparing success in Longchamps this Sunday to the moon landing.
It certainly could be one giant leap for man and horse, so strap yourselves in, it's time for takeoff.
