RACING:SADDLER'S ROCK jockey Johnny Murtagh will use all his inside knowledge to try to unpick Fame And Glory's lock on the Ascot Gold Cup this afternoon but even that might not be enough to prevent Aidan O'Brien's star stayer notching back-to-back wins.

Both Irish horses look to dominate the nine-runner Group 1 Ladies Day feature and having Murtagh on his back is a definite plus for the Saddler’s Rock camp.

For one thing, few ride the Gold Cup course better than Murtagh, who has already scored in the race five times, including the last two of Yeats’ unparalleled four-in-a-row.

But another factor is Murtagh’s in-depth knowledge of Fame And Glory, having won an Irish Derby and a Coronation Cup on board the horse during his three- and four-year-old career. Since then Fame And Glory has morphed into a stayer but Murtagh reckons it is raw ability rather than stamina that makes him so hard to beat.

“I don’t think there’ll ever be another Yeats, but Fame And Glory is a very classy horse,” the Irishman said. “Two and a half miles stretches him to the limit, he might not be a thorough stayer like Yeats, it’s more his class that gets him through.”

Saddler’s Rock impressed on his Savel Beg comeback but it’s worth noting how he needed a few runs last year to come to a peak that ended with a Doncaster Cup win.

Godolphin throw two at the race and Colour Vision’s Kempton defeat of Red Cadeaux reads particularly well. However, Fame and Glory looks a class apart.

Murtagh could have better luck in the Ribblesdale Stakes on board Vow who can surprise the likely favourite The Fugue. John Gosden’s filly was an unlucky loser in the Oaks where she ultimately split the pair of Shirocco Star and Vow. However it is still unclear how suited The Fugue will be by a strongly-run mile and a half.

Murtagh is convinced the Epsom track didn’t suit Vow who can win this en-route to the Irish Oaks. Ger Lyons has snapped up Frankie Dettori for Piri Wango in the Britannia Stakes and this one’s run behind Ishavana at Dundalk last time reads pretty well now.

By then Murtagh will be on a plane to Dublin to team up with two mounts at Leopardstown. A dire weather forecast means Takar’s winning piece of Tetrarch Stakes form on heavy going makes him a bet in the featured Glencairn Stakes while Murtagh can also score on the progressive Man Of Erin.