Fame and Glory opened up the afterburners in powering to a seven-length victory in the Group 1, $281,000 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on Sunday, shortly before Bethrah produced a 16-1 upset in the $406,000 Irish 1000 Guineas.

Goldikova returned to the races in triumph at Longchamp on Sunday with an authoritative victory in the Group 1, $312,000, Prix d'Ispahan. The two-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner had no problems with the odd distance of 1 1/8 miles, 55 yards as she cruised to victory under a perfectly timed ride from Olivier Peslier.

History was made at Tokyo Racecourse on Sunday as Apapane and Saint Emilion finished in a dead heat in the $2.5 million Yushun Himba, or Japanese Oaks, marking the first time a dead heat has occurred in a Grade 1 race in Japan.

Canford Cliffs missed the break but took advantage of a blistering pace set by one of Aidan O'Brien's six runners to win the $406,000 Irish 2000 Guineas in last-to-first fashion at the Curragh on Saturday. The victory by Canford Cliffs, a son of Tagula, gave trainer Richard Hannon and his ultra-cool rider Richard Hughes their first triumph in the one-mile classic.

Japanese 1000 Guineas winner Apapane goes in search of a classic double at Tokyo on Sunday when she will start the favorite in the $2 million Yushun Himba, or Japanese Oaks. Although she is a daughter of Japanese Derby winner King Kamehameha, there are doubts about her ability to stay 1 1/2 miles, as her Salt Lake dam Salty Bid never won beyond six furlongs.

A wide-open renewal of the $406,000 Irish 1000 Guineas looks like a cavalry charge, with 19 fillies going a mile at the Curragh on Sunday, but the $281,000 Tattersalls Gold Cup on the same card features an intriguing matchup between Coolmore's Fame and Glory and Godolphin's Cutlass Bay.

Goldikova sets out Sunday on the road to what she hopes will be a third consecutive Breeders' Cup Mile title when she meets a first-class field in the Group 1, $312,000 Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp.

Trainer Freddie Head and owners Gerard and Alain Wertheimer will be holding their breath, however, as the 5-year-old Goldikova failed in this same race last year when she was seventh on unsuitably soft ground.

Aidan O'Brien will be a busy man Saturday afternoon at the Curragh, when he saddles six of the 13 runners in the $402,000 Irish 2000 Guineas. He will, of course, be aided by his team of capable assistants, but victory in the one-mile classic could be a more difficult prospect than getting his half-dozen into the gate.

Godolphin Racing's diverging European forces suffered mixed fortunes at Goodwood on Wednesday when Rewilding won the Cocked Hat Stakes while Wedding March finished dead last in the Height of Fashion Stakes, a pair of Epsom classic preps in which both horses were favored to win.

A pair of Irish classics and the return of two-time Breeders' Cup Mile winner Goldikova are the highlights of a weekend in which five Group 1 races will be run at Curragh and Longchamp.

Aidan O'Brien has nominated nine of the 20 runners for Saturday's Irish 2000 Guineas, the one-mile colts' classic he has won the last two years with Mastercraftsman and Henrythenavigator.