Britain's all-conquering filly Enable will race on next season, setting up a potential mouth-watering clash with Winx at Royal Ascot.
Retirement had been mooted for horse racing's latest superstar but on Monday owner Prince Khalid bin Abdullah announced that Enable would remain in training with John Gosden for 2018.
Enable, a three-year-old daughter of Galileo's Nathaniel, has taken out the Group I Epsom Oaks (12f 5y), Group I Irish Oaks (12f), Group I King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (11f 210y), Group I Yorkshire Oaks (11f 187y), and Group I Prix de l'Arc De Triomphe (2400m) in her last five starts.
According to Timeform data, she is rated within 2lb of the best fillies to have raced since the end of World War II.
When asked if Enable could become an even better racehorse at four, regular rider Frankie Dettori told The Guardian: "All she has to do is be the same."
Naturally, news of Enable racing on has fuelled the possibility of a date with local champion Winx next year.
Winx extended her unbeaten sequence to 21 last Saturday when racing away with the Group I Turnbull Stakes (2000m) at Flemington and connections have already confirmed plans to tackle Europe's best in 2018.
Winx has defeated almost 50 Group I winners during her career but the prospect of facing Enable away from home represents an entirely new challenge.
One race where Winx and Enable could lock horns is the Group I Prince Of Wales's Stakes (9f 212y) during the Royal Ascot carnival in June.
Among Enable's other targets next year will be defending her Arc crown when the race returns to Longchamp.
