YEATS has made a slice of British horse racing history by winning the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot for the fourth time.

YEATS has made a slice of British horse racing history by winning the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot for the fourth time.

With Johnny Murtagh in the saddle, the eight-year-old was tucked in behind the early leaders before surging through to open up a commanding lead in yesterday's race.

Yeats finished comfortably, three lengths ahead of Patkai, ridden by Ryan Moore.

Geordieland, runner-up for the last two years, finished a distant third.

Yeats' trainer Aidan O'Brien said: "Unbelievable, that's all I can say. I was so sick this morning as I really believed this couldn't happen.

"History is very hard to change, we knew we had a wonderful horse but usually fairytales don't come true.

"You dream and dream and dream, we were in this position and we never would be again - great things can happen ... I want to say a big thanks to everyone involved." - Sapa-AP