Yeats, named after Jack Butler Yeats, a painter and brother to the one and only W B Yeats, poet extraordinaire, is a living Irish horse who is known to be the only horse to ever cruise to victory in the Ascot Golf Cup four times on the spin. He was born in 2001 at Barronstown Stud. His owners are John Magnier and Coolmore Stud.
Career
Yeats started out at the age of two, winning his first race quite easily. At 3 years, he continued his hot spell, winning his first two starts of the season. He however suffered an injury and would be on the sidelines for close to a season. When he came back to the game in 2005, there were difficulties getting to the top, but he did win the Coronation Cup. In 2006, he won the Ascot Gold Cup and would remain a fixture in the competition for the following four years. In these races, Yeats established himself as a stayer. This meant that while he was okay with short races, he was made for the long ones, where his mettle and aura of patience could intimidate almost any rival on the tracks. The Goldwood Cup was also one of Yeat’s spoils of 2006.
Even as Yeats advanced in age, he never showed any signs of lethargy. After 2006, he went on to win the Ascot 3 more times, with the last coming in 2009, the year he retired. His other victories included the Vintage Crop Stakes, Irish St. Leger and Saval Beg Stakes. He now stands as a stud at Coolmore’s National Hunt foaling grounds in Ireland, where he has sired tens of studs at huge fees. His winnings on the tracks at the time he said goodbye to the sport were an astronomical £1,146,977, thanks to his tendency to thrive in the longer , more complex races.
