Yeats Grinds Out Irish St. Leger Win

Yeats showed true class and determination with a hard-fought victory over stablemate Scorpion in the Irish Field St. Leger (Ire-I) at the Curragh Sept. 15.

The St. Leger win came after having been beaten in two previous attempts for the 6-year-old Aidan O’Brien trainee. 

Kieren Fallon held Yeats in mid-division as Scorpion, under Seamus Heffernan, held a comfortable lead throughout much of the race. Two furlongs out, Scorpion seemed to find another gear and spurted three lengths clear of the field.

Fallon had Yeats under a stiff drive and at first didn’t appear to make any headway on the leader. Fallon kept after his charge, and Yeats dug in and gradually wore down Scorpion to win by a half-length.

Mores Wells finished third, 4 1/2-lengths further back.  ime for the 14 furlongs was 3:03.4 over the good to firm turf.

Fallon admitted afterward that he had been worried about the outcome. “Seamie (Heffernan) rode a great race and rode his own race, but they didn’t go very quick, and when Seamie kicked four lengths clear at the top of the straight, my heart was in my mouth.”

Yeats, along with Scorpion and Septimus, is being considered for a possible tilt at the Emirates Melbourne Cup (Aus-I) in November. The son of Sadler’s Wells finished eighth in last year’s edition.