Fame And Glory wins Royal Whip
Just 24 hours after Harbinger broke down the horse who would have been one of his biggest rivals this autumn made his first, tentative, steps to taking the champion’s mantle.
Fame And Glory made his first racecourse appearance since a summer break and ran out the winner of the Group Two Keeneland Royal Whip Stakes at the Curragh.
Stable companions Dixie Music and Grand Admiral set the gallop and the leader was all of 10 lengths clear at halfway but Johnny Murtagh did not look worried as he set Fame And Glory about what was little more than a highly-paid exercise canter with a quarter-mile to run.
He caught his pacemaker with a furlong to run and won by three-and-a-half length, with Grand Admiral claiming a clean sweep for the Aidan O’Brien yard but it was far from a scintillating performance from Fame And Glory, who was making it four wins from five starts this season.
As a pointer to his chances for his later races – his long-term aim is the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe – it told little more that he is still in possession of four legs, one at each corner, and they still work as well as they did before. Fame And Glory was beaten on his first run of the season, when many of O’Brien’s horses were in need of their first run, and had not run since he beat Sariska in the Coronation Cup at Epsom in June.
O’Brien seemed satisfied that the colt would improve for the sterner tests that lie ahead. “He’s had a break and, for his start back, we were delighted with him,” he said. “His next run is possibly either the Irish Champion Stakes or the Arc trial in Longchamp [the Prix Foy] the following week. He was just ready to start back today so hopefully he’s ready for his next run.”
The news on Harbinger, who was injured in a gallop at Newmarket yesterday, is that he appears to have come through surgery to insert two screws in his fractured near-fore cannon bone successfully. Speaking on Sunday, John Warren, director of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing said: "Harbinger has eaten up, is very comfortable and in very good condition, which is the most important thing." A decision about retiring the colt to stud is likely to be made in the next 24 hours.
David Nicholls may never have a runner in the Arc but when it comes to sprints – anything from a handicap upwards – he can punch his weight with the best of them and Regal Parade delivered the knockout blow in the Group One Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville.
Varenar, who is usually ridden as a hold-up horse, was up on the pace from the stalls, but from a furlong out, the race boiled down to a duel between Regal Parade and the French filly Joanna, who was dropping to a sprint distance for the first time this season.
But she could not find the same speed as Regal Parade, the winner of the Sprint Cup at Haydock last season, who was weaved through the field by Adrian Nicholls. When the pair took the lead Joanna looked to be cruising but she did not find as much as Regal Parade who pulled a half-length clear in the final 100 yards, with High Standing taking third.
Tags: