Yeats

Yeats (USA) B 1976, died January 3, 2002 (Nijinsky-Lisadell by Forli)

VINCENT O’Brien must have had high hopes when the colt from champion racehorse Nijinsky and the Coronation Stakes-Gr.2 winner Lisadell arrived at Ballydoyle in 1978.

Not only was the handsome colt by his Triple Crown winner, but his dam was a sister to the top class miler Thatch (Sussex Stakes-Gr.1) and a half-sister to Gr.1 winner King Pellinore. The reality was to prove a bit more disappointing than the dream but, in time, the colt now named Yeats (USA) would live up to his illustrious lineage.

This first foal of his dam must have shown a bit in private too as he started favourite for his first run as a juvenile, a 6f maiden at The Curragh in July only to be beaten three lengths when second in a field of 10.

He didn’t appear again until late October when he started long odds-on in another maiden at The Curragh, again over 6f. He was given a good drubbing by the speedy Jasmine Star (winner of the Greenlands Stakes-Gr.3 and an eventual sire in Australia), coming home second and five lengths in his wake. Interestingly, Jasmine Star was by Ridan (Nasrullah-Rough Shod by Gold Bridge), a brother to Thong, the grandam of Yeats.

 Things looked up the following season when Yeats was unbeaten in three starts, all at 6f, and earned an annual Timeform of 110. He broke his maiden at Phoenix Park, won a minor event at Naas and then trounced runner-up Secret of Success by six lengths in the Herbertstown Stakes-LR at Phoenix Park before being shipped off to the Antipodes to stud, standing his first season at Woodlands in 1980 at a fee of $8500.

Yeats remained at Woodlands for a good deal of his stud career, moving to Oaklands Stud in Queensland for his latter seasons.

He died at that stud on January 3, 2002, aged 26 and had been retired from active duty since 2000 when he covered 18 mares, getting them all in foal.

To early January, 2002, Yeats had 441 winners from 722 starters for earnings of more than $18.7m. His 15 stakes winners include four-time Gr.1 (inc. W.S. Cox Plate) winner and sire Our Poetic Prince, Stradbroke Handicap-Gr.1 winner Dancing Poet, VicHealth Cup-Gr.1 and Toorak Hancicap-Gr.1 winner Poetic King, VATC Schweppes Cup-Gr.3 winner Academian, Black Opal Stakes-Gr.3 winner and Golden Slipper-Gr.1 placegetter Just Blooming as well as Bulldog Yeats, Mingling Glances, Great Poet, Rapan Boy, Dancing Dynamite, Ben Bulbin, Deal, Lone Poet, Morgan Capri and Booroonga.

In 2002 he had 52 winners of 92 races last season and earnings of $658,510. His daughters have left the winners of more than $8m, with 17 stakes winners including Silver Slipper-Gr.2 winner and ill-fated stallion Gold Brose, Seto Flowerian, Rubicall, The Golden Dane, Winning Partners, Prenuptial, Rose of Talaq, Bewilder, Sir Poet, Dutch Harry, Dyslexia, and Dartbrook Girl.

Yeats, who stood 15.3 hands, is a half-brother to stakes winner Golden Dome (who raced in Europe and Australia) and stakes-placed Lisaleen and Rosa Mundi.

Yeats is a brother-in-blood to stakes winner and Gr.1-placed Bound and to Gr.2 winner Number (dam of Widden shuttle sire Jade Robbery and grandam of Kooringal Stud’s Inflate) and his dam is a sister to Special, dam of Nureyev and grandam of Sadler’s Wells, Fairy King, Perugino, Tate Gallery and Fairy Gold.

In addition to Lisadell and Special, Thong is also the dam of Geiger Counter, Thatch,

King Pellinore, Espadrille, Kilavea and Handsewn (dam of the inbred Festival Hall, 4fx2f to Thong, who stands at Eliza Park).

In fact there’s a host of top class horses who descend from Simon’s Shoes (fifth dam of Yeats), and that’s why his daughters will prove to be worth their weight in gold.

Inbreeding to this family has been wonderfully successful in the past and with more young sons of Sadler’s Wells and Fairy King now on the Australian roster, as well as other young sires carrying female members of this clan, duplicating the family is going to be a lot easier than when Yeats first went to stud.

Neville Stewart, the principal of Oaklands Stud said Yeats “was a charm to handle throughout his stud career”.

  “Yeatsy was always full of spirit and confidence and had real character and personality,” he added.