Grade 1 Success For Yeats In Irish Gold Cup

Conflated (8g Yeats - Saucy Present, by Presenting) produced a career-best performance to provide Yeats with further big race success in the Grade 1 Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown.

A Grade 3 winner last season, Gordon Elliott’s charge was last seen winning a Grade B chase at Navan and stepped up to three miles on Saturday. Ridden to chase the leaders by Davy Russell, the Gigginstown-owned bay led from three out and extended his advantage from the second last. Keeping on strongly on the run-in, he scored by six and a half lengths to land the €140,000 prize.

Speaking after the race, Russell said, “He jumped super and did everything really, really well.” Explaining the winner’s step up in class, Elliott revealed, “I wanted to find out where I was going, how good or bad he was. I know he's a horse with a massive engine.” As for future plans, he said, “We've got the Gold Cup, the Ryanair and he's in the Grand National.”

Conflated was bred by the Dillon family and is a sibling of Grade 1 chaser Ordinary World (Milan). His dam has a three-year-old filly by Walk In The Park.