ASCOT GOLD Cup winner Yeats has emerged in good shape after his history-making run on Thursday. The Aidan O’Brien trained eight-year-old achieved what no other horse had managed by taking the stamina-sapping event for a fourth time, and arguably winning it with more ease than ever before.

“He seems in good form,” said O’Brien. “I saw him walking this morning and he seems to be in good form. It was a great day. Everybody on track wanted him to win and that was probably the biggest pressure of all.

“If it didn’t happen it was going to be a downer for everybody but it’s marvellous, those days happen very rarely and a day like that will probably never happen again in my lifetime.”

Meanwhile, Yeats’ rider, Johnny Murtagh, has lodged an appeal against the five-day suspension he received for careless riding on Kayf Aramis in Tuesday’s Ascot Stakes.