IRISH DERBY REPORT: IT SEEMS to be Fame And Glory's misfortune to have been born in the same year as Sea The Stars, as, even after a hugely impressive Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby rout yesterday, the shadow of his absent rival hung over the Curragh almost as much as the oppressive summer heat.
Beaten by Sea The Stars at Epsom three weeks previously, Fame And Glory duly took full advantage of what looked beforehand like an A1 opportunity to notch his own Classic success.
In the process, he secured a fourth success in a row in Ireland’s premier Classic for Aidan O’Brien, and a seventh in all to allow him pass out the Irish Derby tally of the legendary Vincent O’Brien. It was also an astonishing 11th Irish Classic victory in a row for John Magnier’s Coolmore operation.
For jockey Johnny Murtagh it was “only” a third win in the €1.5 million contest and one he enjoyed to the full after he’d steered Fame And Glory past stable companion Golden Sword to win by five lengths, with Mouryan a length further back in third.
However, after a week in which a combination of watering and poor weather saw John Oxx pull the plug on Sea The Stars running just 24 hours beforehand, there was no getting away from the feeling that something was missing yesterday.
Obviously the most obvious absentee was Sea The Stars, but there was also a 15 per cent drop in yesterday’s Derby attendance to just over 23,000. And instead of a much-anticipated clash between the Epsom winner and the Ballydoyle battalions, we had a curious coronation vibe.
Clearly that had something to do with the familiarity of the winning connections, but an awful lot more to how an odds-on favourite managed to out-class his rivals.
Off a breakneck pace set by his stable companions, Rockhampton and Golden Sword, Fame And Glory travelled with conspicuous ease throughout. Murtagh didn’t come close to full pressure to put the horse to the front over a furlong out and Fame And Glory passed the line an eased-down winner.
Afterwards the jockey insisted the colt is still improving, something that makes the chain of events which ruled out Sea The Stars seem even more regrettable.
“He has improved quite a bit from Epsom and I don’t care what turned up today – he would have been hard to beat,” Murtagh said. “I thought when he worked earlier this week he was going to do something like this. I rode Sinndar (2000) and Alamshar (2003) and they went on to better things. This horse has a similar profile.”
Significantly, Murtagh proposed the Irish Champion Stakes as a target for Fame And Glory, which could yet result in another clash with Sea The Stars.
“He is 1-0 up but hopefully we will lock horns later in the year – it will be great for racing,” added Murtagh.
O’Brien agreed, and threw in races like the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Breeders’ Cup Classic into the mix for the rest of Fame And Glory’s three-year-old career.
Not surprisingly, he also talked up the significance of yesterday’s victory.
“Everyone knows how special this race is. It usually decides the best three-year-old at a mile and a half,” the champion trainer said.
“We are lucky to have such a great horse. He is improving with each run. A mile and a quarter won’t be a problem. If it happens (a clash with Sea The Stars), it would be great for racing.”
Away from the winner’s enclosure, though, that idea didn’t seem to stir any dread in the Sea The Stars camp. Oxx was delighted with Mourayan’s run – and will prepare him for a Leger campaign – but conceded that the dual-Classic winner is a long way clear of his stable companion.
“It’s disappointing Sea The Stars couldn’t run, but the ground is still on the slow side of good and our horse really likes to hear his feet rattle,” he said. “But his form is there and it is nice to see that the form has worked out.”
What will be even nicer is when a pair of outstanding three-year-olds get the chance to take each other on again.
