| Quest For Fame | |
|---|---|
 Racing colours of Khalid Abdullah | |
| Sire | Rainbow Quest |
| Grandsire | Blushing Groom |
| Dam | Aryenne |
| Damsire | Green Dancer |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 15 February 1987 |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Colour | Bay |
| Breeder | Juddmonte Farms |
| Owner | Khalid Abdullah |
| Trainer | Jeremy Tree Roger Charlton Robert J. Frankel (USA) |
| Record | 15: 4-4-2 |
| Earnings | £937,398 |
| Major wins | |
| Epsom Derby (1990) San Luis Obispo Handicap (1992) Hollywood Invitational Turf Handicap (1992) Timeform rating: 127 | |
| Last updated on 21 October 2023 | |
Quest For Fame (1987–2011) was a British-bred and British-trainedThoroughbredrace horse andsire. In a racing career which lasted from October 1989 until November 1992, he ran fifteen times and won four races. His most notable success came in 1990 when he won theDerby. He was later trained in the United States, where he won theSan Luis Obispo Handicap and theHollywood Invitational Turf Handicap in 1992. He was the first Epsom Derby winner to win a major race as a five-year-old sinceSt. Gatien in 1886.
Quest For Fame was a very dark-coated bay horse who was bred by Juddmonte Farms, the breeding organisation of his ownerKhalid Abdullah. His sire,Rainbow Quest, was a highly successful racehorse who won thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1985. He went on to become an important stallion, siring theGroup One winnersNedawi,Millenary andCroco Rouge.[1] Quest For Fame's dam, Aryenne, won thePoule d'Essai des Pouliches in 1980. Quest for Fame was sent into training withJeremy Tree atBeckhampton inWiltshire.
Quest For Fame made his debut in a maiden race atNewbury on 28 October 1989. He started 2/1 favourite and finished second to Tyburn Tree.[2]
After the retirement of Jeremy Tree, the training of Quest For Fame was taken over by his assistant Roger Charlton. In April 1990, Quest For Fame returned to Newbury and recorded his first win when taking the Spring Maiden Stakes by one and a halflengths.[3] At Chester in May he finished second of the three runners in theChester Vase, beaten a length byBelmez.
At Epsom on 6 June, Quest For Fame started 7/1 fourth favourite for theDerby. Ridden by the eleven-times championPat Eddery, he took the lead over afurlong from the finish and pulled clear to win by three lengths from Blue Stag. The beaten horses includedElmaamul, Linamix, Zoman, andMr Brooks.[4]
In July Quest For Fame started 5/4 favourite for theIrish Derby at theCurragh. He finished fifth behind the fillySalsabil.
Quest For Fame ran five times as a four-year-old without winning. In theCoronation Cup at Epsom in June, he finished fourth of the seven runners behind In The Groove. In August, he ran second toTerimon in theInternational Stakes. He started odds-on favourite for the Group Three September Stakes atKempton but was beaten a neck by the three-year-old Young Buster. On his final European start, Quest For Fame finished seventh of the fourteen runners behindSuave Dancer in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Quest For Fame's lack of success led to his being sent off a 58/1 outsider for theBreeders' Cup Turf atChurchill Downs in November. He belied his odds and produced his best performance of the season in running third toMiss Alleged.[5]
In 1992, Quest For Fame was transferred to the stable ofRobert J. Frankel inCalifornia. In February, he recorded his first win since the 1990 Derby when defeating Miss Alleged in the Grade IIISan Luis Obispo Handicap atSanta Anita Park[6] In May atHollywood Park Racetrack, he carried top weight of 124pounds to victory in the Grade IHollywood Invitational Turf Handicap.[7]
Quest For Fame was off the racecourse for four months before returning in the autumn of 1992. He finished unplaced in theArlington Million behind Dear Doctor before running in theBreeders' Cup Turf at Gulfstream Park in October. The field also included the three-year-oldDr Devious, meaning that the race featured the first meeting between Epsom Derby winners sinceNijinsky defeatedBlakeney in the 1970King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Quest for Fame got the better of Dr Devious by a length, as they finished third and fourth behindFraise.[8] On his final start, Quest for Fame was unplaced behindTokai Teio in theJapan Cup.
In their bookA Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Quest For Fame a "poor" Derby winner.[9]
Quest for Fame stood as a stallion in the United States and Australia until he was pensioned from breeding duty in 2010.[10]
He sired 7 individualGroup One winners.
| Foaled | Name | Sex | Major Wins |
| 1994 | Famous Digger | f | Del Mar Oaks |
| 1995 | Dracula | c | Champagne Stakes,Sires' Produce Stakes (BRC),George Main Stakes |
| 1996 | Tributes | f | Crown Oaks |
| 1997 | Unworldly | f | Flight Stakes |
| 1998 | Viscount | c | Sires' Produce Stakes (ATC),Champagne Stakes,George Main Stakes |
| 2000 | Sarrera | g | Queen Elizabeth Stakes,Doomben Cup |
| 2002 | De Beers | c | Rosehill Guineas |
| Sire Rainbow Quest (USA) 1981 | Blushing Groom 1974 | Red God | Nasrullah |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring Run | |||
| Runaway Bride | Wild Risk | ||
| Aimee | |||
| I Will Follow 1975 | Herbager | Vandale | |
| Flagette | |||
| Where You Lead | Raise a Native | ||
| Noblesse | |||
| Dam Aryenne (IRE) 1977 | Green Dancer 1972 | Nijinsky | Northern Dancer |
| Flaming Page | |||
| Green Valley | Val de Loir | ||
| Sly Pola | |||
| Americaine 1968 | Cambremont | Sicmabre | |
| Djebellica | |||
| Alora | Ballyogan | ||
| Agnes (Family:4) |