Staying Ace Yeats Pleasing O'Brien

Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats could be in line to make his racecourse reappearance in the next few weeks.

Aidan O'Brien's charge developed into a stayer of the highest calibre last season, but was a shade disappointing in his final outing of the year when sent to Australia for the Melbourne Cup.

The Ballydoyle trainer said: 'Yeats is in great form ? he seems to be showing even more speed this year.

'There is a mile-and-six-furlong race at Navan in a couple of weeks that we will look at and there is also a two-mile race at Ascot coming up.'

O'Brien also had news on some of his other leading lights, including last year's Stan James 2000 Guineas winner George Washington and Oaks heroine Alexandrova.

The first-named recently returned to training after failing to perform as expected as a stallion, but is beginning to find his feet at home again.

He said: 'George Washington is in good form and joined the main string for work yesterday.

'There are two months before Royal Ascot, where the race could be the Queen Anne, and hopefully he will be back by then.

'Alexandrova was just coming along too quickly and we had to stop her, but we will look at bringing her back for the Pretty Polly Stakes.'

O'Brien is still sorting out the pecking order of his juveniles and three-year-olds, but is beginning to get a handle on his string.

He added: 'We're just seeing which horses have gone forward, which have gone back, and which have stayed the same.

'The horse that won in France last weekend (Soldier Of Fortune) could go back to France again or to the Chester Vase instead.

'There are not many races for the two-year-olds at this time of year, but I think there is one at Leopardstown next week where we could have a runner.'

(C) PA Sport