Yeats Passes Million Mark Yeats took his career earnings past the #1million mark by landing the Royal Bank of Scotland Goodwood Cup for a second time. The Aidan O'Brien-trained triple Ascot Gold Cup winner took over from the pace-setting Tungsten Strike two furlongs out and powered clear of the opposition. The 8-15 shot was giving Johnny Murtagh a double on the day and was his fifth winner of the meeting. Tungsten Strike (33-1) hung on for second with Sagara (33-1) third. Darryll Holland set out to make the two-mile contest a real stamina test on Tungsten Strike. Amanda Perrett's stayer, wearing cheekpieces for the first time, bowled along at the head of affairs but Murtagh soon took second place on Yeats and even allowed the leader to go five lengths clear six furlongs out. However, he mowed down Tungsten Strike in the straight going on a quarter of a mile from the finish. Tungsten Strike stuck to his task really well but was seven lengths down at the line. Sagara was another length and a quarter back in third. Murtagh said: "He's a great horse and a true warrior. "The crowds turned out to see him and he didn't let them down. "He's often done more at home on the gallops. "He was a little fresh at Ascot and today was much better. He's got a very high cruising speed - when he gets into top gear he can maintain it constantly. "He's truly a great stayer." Perrett said: "Well done to the owner for having a go, we thought we would run him in the mile-and-six-furlong handicap but it has paid off. "We tried to pinch a bit of a lead, but Johnny (Murtagh) has ridden our horse before and wasn't going to let him get away. "We are very proud of the horse and we will probably come back here for the March Stakes before going to Ascot and then to the Jockey Club Cup." Saeed bin Suroor said of the third: "He ran well but would have been even better if the ground had been a bit softer. "We are a bit disappointed with Regal Flush (fifth) and we might drop back in distance with him."
