Fame Seeking Glory As A Cup Horse In 2011

Aidan O'Brien is wondering if he might have found the perfect replacement for his great Ascot Gold Cup horse Yeats in the shape of the high-class middle distance performer Fame And Glory, who looks set to race beyond a
mile-and-a-half for the first time when tackling the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan on Sunday, writes Elliot Slater.

Rumours circulating that suggest O'Brien believes that Fame And Glory, (last seen when finishing fifth to Workforce in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October), has what it takes to make it as a top-flight stayer, have already seen some firms introduce the son of Montjeu as a 6/1 second-favourite in the latest Ascot odds, even though he's never run beyond 12 furlongs in his 15-race career.

Sunday's race, run over 13 furlongs, was used as a regular stepping stone and seasonal return for O'Brien's outstanding four-time Gold Cup winner Yeats, and many believe his plan to start Fame And Glory off in the same
event is a strong hint that he is to pursue the Cup race route this *year with his four-time Group 1 winner. The Ballydoyle colt, twice runner-up to the mighty Sea The Stars in the 2009 season (including in the Epsom Derby), showed himself to be one Europe's very best older horses last term with successive victories in the High Chaparral Stakes and Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh, before beating Sariska in the Group 1 Investec Coronation Cup at Epsom last June, and then strolling home in the Group 2 Royal Whip Stakes back at the Curragh in his preparation for the 'Arc', where he endured a rough passage and never really recovered after being badly hampered a furlong-and-a-half out.