Yeats won the Gold Cup for the third consecutive year on Thursday, becoming only the second horse in history to achieve the feat.
Yeats, the 11-8 favorite ridden by Johnny Murtagh, shook off the challenge of Coastal Path and Geordieland in the last half-mile (0.8km) to win by five lengths. Geordieland was second in the 2 mile, 4 furlong (4,023m) race, with Coastal Path a further four-and-a-half lengths back in third.
“He has the heart of a lion,” Murtagh said. “I knew he would kill them. This horse is different — he has that touch of class that sets him apart.”
PHOTO: AP
The victory gave Murtagh and trainer Aidan O’Brien their fourth Group One win at this year’s Royal Ascot meet.
“It’s unbelievable — I didn’t think it could happen,” O’Brien said.
“He is a straightforward horse to look after. When he gets fit he gets aggressive and has massive lungs and a massive heart. We’ve never had a horse like that. It’s special for everyone involved,” the trainer said.
PHOTO: AFP
Yeats was ridden to victory by Kieren Fallon in 2006 and Michael Kinnane last year.
Sagaro won the Gold Cup three straight times from 1975 to 1977, with Lester Piggott aboard each time. The Gold Cup was first run in 1807.
Yeats became the first seven-year-old to win the race since Drum Taps in 2003.
PHOTO: AP
“That was one of Yeats’ most impressive performances,” Coastal Path trainer Andre Fabre said.
Geordieland jockey Shane Kelly said Yeats showed his class in the final furlong.
“I don’t know what we could do to beat him — maybe tie his legs together,” Kelly said with a smile.
PHOTO: AFP
Yeats had a delayed start to his racing career when he was injured just before the 2004 Derby at Epsom, but returned to win the Coronation Cup the next year. After his first Gold Cup victory in 2006, Yeats also won Goodwood Cup and headed to Melbourne Cup, where he finished a disappointing seventh in Australia’s most prestigious horse race.
O’Brien said Yeats could return to Australia later this year and didn’t rule out a fourth attempt at the Gold Cup.
“I don’t know when the time will come to preserve his genes and that is the reality as we’ve never had a horse with as big a pair of lungs and as big a heart as he has — they are physical things,” O’Brien said.
PHOTO: EPA
Coolmore stud head John Magnier, who works closely with O’Brien at his Ballydoyle racing yard, is eager for Yeats to be retired to stud. Yeats was sired by Sadler’s Wells, who is also based at Coolmore.
“He would be one of my favorites as none of ours have done anything like that before,” Magnier said.
“We set out to try and win the three Gold Cups and have done that now. We’ll have a discussion with everyone at the end of the year about his future and see what is the right thing to do for the horse,” he said. “He will be eight next year, so it will be like a granddad getting married so I really don’t know, but he was more impressive today than he has been any other day.”
On Wednesday, Murtagh and O’Brien teamed to win the Prince of Wales’ Stakes with Duke of Marmalade. On Tuesday, they won with Henrythenavigator in the St. James’ Palace Stakes and Haradasun in the Queen Anne Stakes.
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