“Pyledriver is the best horse I've ever had anything to do with and gave us so many fantastic days,” said co-trainer William Muir. “From day one he never let us down; brilliant temperament, went on any ground, clean winded and super sound. The only issue he ever had was caused by another horse leaning on him in that race in Saudi. It'll be a very sad day when he leaves the yard but I think he'll continue to excel in his new career.”

Bred by Knox and Wells, Ltd., he was a 10,000gns buy-back at the 2017 Tattersalls December Foal Sale and went into training with Muir and Chris Grassick in the colours of the La Pyle Partnership. A debut winner as a juvenile at Salisbury in 2019, he earned a listed victory later that year. Pyledriver then was second in the G3 Classic Trial and won the G2 Great Voltigeur prior to a run in the G1 Derby. He bounced back later that year to take the G2 King Edward VII S. and was also Classic-placed when third in the G1 St Leger.

Never worse than second in four 4-year-old starts, Pyledriver won the Coronation Cup after running second in the G2 Jockey Club S., and later in the year was second by just a length in the G1 Hong Kong Vase.

After a trip to Saudi Arabia and a fourth in Meydan's G1 Dubai Sheema Classic to kickstart his 5-year-old campaign, he was second defending his Coronation Cup crown prior to trouncing a quality field in the King George. This term, he won the G2 Hardwicke S. in good style at Royal Ascot and was fifth in another King George. His record stands at 20-8-4-1 and $2,606,075 in earnings.

“Pyledriver is a fine big horse, with plenty of quality about him, a great colour and a very good walk,” said Robert McCarthy who went to inspect him. “He was a terrific racehorse and he's a complete outcross for the majority of National Hunt mares here in Ireland.”

Pyledriver is the first foal out of the dual winner La Pyle, herself a half-sister to G1 Grand Prix de Paris winner Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) and a full-sister to G3 Park Express S. heroine Normandel (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}).

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“Desert Crown worked this morning, he worked nicely and everybody was happy with him,” said Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail. “He's not a great worker, as has been stated before, but everyone was very happy with him this morning and everything went as well as expected.”

The Sir Michael Stoute trainee was due to run in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot, but was forced to miss the race due to a leg infection. Missing since last year's King George with an ankle injury, the 4-year-old finished second to subsequent King George hero Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. on May 25.

Added Raymond of the work, “William [Buick] didn't ride him. Ryan Moore rode him this morning. He's ridden him a lot of times at home and Sir Michael just sometimes likes a different opinion.

“One thing I can definitely tell you is this horse needed it badly at Sandown, it wasn't said at the time but Michael was quite surprised how much he was blowing afterwards. He had worked on the grass but nowhere near as much as we would have liked as it kept on pouring down.

“We're looking forward to next week. He's got to go somewhere and when you are in his class, there are only certain races you can run in.”

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Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is no ordinary Derby winner either, displaying pace as he closed out the Blue Riband that can only be described as phenomenal. Thankfully, the deification of speed confined solely to distances no further than 10 furlongs can now be dispelled given that we can see the evidence of what a colt like Ballydoyle's newest star can do over this sacred trip of a mile and a half. For too long, a colt with the immense commercial significance of Auguste Rodin wouldn't have been here for this race, yet here he is.

Despite the unflattering visuals of his finish to the Irish Derby, Auguste Rodin was quick there too but what he doesn't need is soft ground, as we found out at Newmarket. Ascot's midweek rain has ensured that the surface is not going to be conducive to the kind of alacrity that he has shown in his two Derbys, yet connections have never wavered in their commitment to be present in this great event. Friday's two course-and-distance handicaps were slowly-run, but still they were completed in times between :11 and :12 seconds slower than standard, so that's what we are dealing with. Even if the surface dries ahead of Saturday afternoon, Auguste Rodin will have to produce something extra as he seeks dominion over his elders.

“The better the ground, the better it will suit him,” Aidan O'Brien said. “We wouldn't want it getting any worse. He's a beautiful mover, he doesn't raise his feet much. We'll definitely walk the track, obviously.”

Ryan Moore added, “This race is as good as it gets in recent years and certainly in terms of depth, even with the no-shows. We'd like to think Auguste Rodin is towards the top of the list of the most likely winners though and [it was] a strong Derby, [so] we expect him to be very competitive here.”

Irish Derby (G1)
2.410 m – 1.250.000 EUR – for 3yo colts
Curragh

Auguste Rodin (IRE)
(3C Deep Impact – Rhododendron , by Galileo)
J : Ryan Moore
T:A.P. O'Brien
O: M Tabor & D Smith & Mrs J Magnier & Westerberg
B : @coolmorestudpic.twitter.com/zvVpvLf7Nd

— (@WorldRacing1) July 2, 2023

Kings And Queens Of Speed

What makes this King George especially strong is the presence of multiple runners able to produce outstanding time performances, not least the physical giant King Of Steel (Wootton Bassett {GB}) whose blast from three to two out in the Derby was undeniably that of a top-class 3-year-old. He might have been getting tired due to lack of match-fitness as the O'Brien runner outstayed him at the death, but his stamina for this trip is not as-yet fully proven given that his G2 King Edward VII S. success was gained off a notably moderate pace. A day before King Of Steel put in that powerful sectional in the Derby, Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) had blown by a significant peer in Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) over the same course and distance to win the G1 Coronation Cup with the killer blow being her rapid :10.52 split to two out. Only the very best can explode in that manner, even allowing for the speed-inducing nature of Epsom at that point of the race, while Westover went to the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud next time and ran a hole in the wind.

Horses For Courses and Points To Prove

   Ascot is very much a track that sees horses that have performed there come back time and again, so that bodes well for last year's winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) who boasts a perfect record in a total of three course-and-distance runs. Emily Upjohn and Westover were caught out by the initial downhill run from the stalls in this 12 months ago, with the former over-racing under restraint and the latter charging off too fast through the early stages. The Gosdens' filly has returned in the interim to win a G1 British Champions Fillies & Mares S. on ground a touch worse than this, so she has little to prove while Westover looks a more tractable character at four and should have a strong pace to slip behind this time.

That exacting tempo provided by the runaway version of Westover and the Ballydoyle stalwart Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) last year should be in evidence again given the presence of Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}), so the race set-up will tell us just how good Pyledriver really is. For a horse that is always prone to being slightly under-valued by the press, the indomitable 6-year-old is some achiever and Willie Muir is undaunted by this test.

“We'll go there and run our race and see how good everyone else is,” he said. “They've all got great credentials, they're all horses that have been out and proved themselves this year. They're all there to go and have a go.”

As it stands, PYLEDRIVER is heading to this year's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes!

Let's relive his incredible winning performance last year.

Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/Cru0n1OUts

— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) July 19, 2023

Free Hit For Hukum

Days before Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) brought his brilliant 3-year-old campaign to a dramatic climax, his full-brother Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) was annihilating his rivals over this course and distance in a soft-ground G3 Cumberland Lodge S. having been subdued by Hamish (GB) (Motivator {GB}) in the G3 September S. a month earlier. At that point, we were talking about a nice horse who had limitations, possibly a Group 3 bully, but then he blew away Pyledriver in the Coronation Cup last June and we had to have a re-set. That was the case again on his belated next start when upsetting Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. at Sandown in May, so what can we expect of Shadwell's low-mileage veteran in a humdinger such as this?

Angus Gold is unsure. “It looks a fabulous race, let's hope it lives up to its billing. Now it's just a question of getting luck in running and whether he's good enough,” he said. “We've obviously won the King George before with Taghrooda and Nashwan and it's always been a huge race. It was the most important race of the summer when I was growing up and people of my generation still consider it a very important race, so it's lovely to have a horse in with a chance.”

Is Luxembourg The Forgotten Horse?

Prior to being jumped by Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Prince of Wales's S., Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) was one of this race's key favourites. While it is hard to forgive that effort given how intense this affair is going to be, the fact is that the G1 Irish Champion S. and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup hero was one of four who ran far below their best alongside Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) and Bay Bridge (GB) (New Bay {GB}) for unexplained reasons. What is clear from all evidence is that he is made for this trip and while for all that he isn't Auguste Rodin he could be a Dylan Thomas or Duke Of Marmalade and that is usually enough.

“He'll love a mile and a half and will get the trip very well,” Aidan O'Brien said. “It's a race we were always looking at with him and we thought it was going to suit. He's solid, has had his two runs and he's ready.”

Ryan Moore has had to go elsewhere this time, but he is acutely aware of his threat. “Luxembourg is also a proper Group 1 horse and he has unfinished business at this trip after an inconclusive run in very deep ground in the Arc,” he said. “A win for him wouldn't surprise me at all.” Intriguingly, one of the best judges in any of the world's weighing rooms is also looking further afield for the most credible threat to Auguste Rodin. “I'd be most wary of Emily Upjohn, who I probably think has the best form coming into the race after her second to Paddington in the Eclipse,” he offered up on his Betfair blog.

Hamish Doubt

William Haggas on Friday warned that the multiple Group 3 winner Hamish is unlikely to line up if the ground worsens further. “Hamish will only run if it rains properly, otherwise he won't,” he said. “He's not going to run on good-to-soft, but there's rain around and who knows? If it came up proper soft, that's what he wants and in this company he needs it really soft or heavy, not only for him but also to maybe blunt some of the others' ability.”

York Boost For My Prospero?

While William Haggas readies to pull the Somerville Lodge pet Hamish from Ascot's showpiece, he has important business in his native Yorkshire as My Prospero (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) bids to get back on track in the G2 York S. One of the four flops in Royal Ascot's G1 Prince of Wales's S. and possibly the most disappointing given his upside heading to that contest, Sunderland Holding's G2 Prix Eugene Adam winner who went so close in the G1 Champion S. has the ideal opportunity to rebuild here.

“It's one of those races, but he's very well and he should go well,” his trainer said. “I was a bit disappointed with his run at Ascot, he's definitely better than that I think, but Saturday will tell us because he needs to be shaping up well here.”

Heading the opposition to My Prospero is Shadwell's Alflaila (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}), another Owen Burrows special who took the G3 Strensall S. and G3 Darley S. at the end of his 3-year-old campaign. “It's his first start since October, but he was a progressive horse last year,” Angus Gold said. “The funny thing with him is he's by Dark Angel and out of an Oasis Dream (GB) mare and yet he stays a mile well and even a mile and a furlong. We're going up again in trip to a mile and a quarter, but I don't see that being a problem, it's more a question of how rusty he is. He had quite an injury obviously, but he's been sound and everything since he's been back in training and we didn't rush him and targeted this race. It's a trappy little contest and he'll need to be at his best, but it will just be nice to get him back on the track.”

A Study Of Symbology

On Ascot's card, the six-furlong G3 Princess Margaret S. sees Isa Salman Al Khalifa's exciting Symbology (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) bid to back up the impression of her debut win at York a fortnight ago. Trainer Clive Cox is happy to jump straight into pattern company with the half-sister to El Caballo (GB) (Havana Gold {Ire}).

“This is a huge step forwards in comparison, but this is a filly we like very much,” he said. “We've been having a really pleasing run with the 2-year-olds and that was another pleasing success in a week where we'd won the July S. and had a double at Doncaster as well, so it gave us a good feel.”

Surprisingly, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing's G3 Albany S. third Soprano (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) is declared, despite having been third to Shuwari (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) in Thursday's Listed Star S.

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The G1 British Champions Fillies And Mares S. winner, who won the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom on her seasonal bow, was giving her rival seven pounds on the day.

Gosden, who trains with his son Thady, said, “After a race like that you take stock, but I couldn't be more thrilled. She's in great form with herself, I had to canter her again quickly.

“I'm very pleased with her and there's no reason at the minute why she wouldn't go to the King George.”

One of the filly's rivals, 2022 Derby hero Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), is not certain for the race after recovering a setback which kept him out of the Royal Ascot meeting, and trainer Sir Michael Stoute said, “We don't know if we will get him ready in time [for the King George]. He is back in fast work, so we will decide closer to the time. It's a little bit tight time-wise.”

Gosden also confirmed plans for another of his stable stars in Mostahdaf (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), who was ranked second in the world on the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings on Thursday. The 2023 G1 Prince of Wales's S. hero will point to the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York on Aug. 23.

“He goes to the International, he should enjoy York as he likes to play around before the races like Stradivarius used to,” he told Racing TV.

“We've had to space his races, he ran in the [G3] Neom Cup in Saudi which he won in February, he came back and then went to the [G1] Sheema Classic in March, in which he took on the world champion in Equinox (Jpn) and tried to race with him, which is a mistake.

“He came back to a mile and a quarter and showed us what he could do in the Prince of Wales's in which he was very impressive. He came out of it super, he's very full of himself every morning.”

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“Hukum will run if and when we get some rain,” confirmed Shadwell's racing manager Angus Gold. “It was a touch and go situation Saturday. We were longing to run him, but [trainer] Owen [Burrows] just felt in the end that, while we could run him and he could win it, he might come back a bit sore after it and we'd all look silly.”

He continued, “We kept him in training and spent a lot of time getting him right again after his injury last year and he just felt it was too big a risk. It is frustrating but sensible.

“Very much the idea is the King George. If the ground was good or even if it was good to firm, we might have to take a chance. That's the big day. We will see how we are going nearer the time.”

Gold also confirmed that G1 Prince of Wales's victor Mostahdaf (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) will miss next week's G1 Coral-Eclipse S., a race that has been earmarked for G1 Prix d'Ispahan winner Anmaat (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}).

“Mostahdaf has come out of it very good, said Gold. “I spoke to [trainer] John Gosden [Saturday] and he says he is bouncing.”

“The Eclipse is off the cards for Mostahdaf. We still have Anmaat in, ground permitting. If he's in good form and conditions look suitable, hopefully, we will go there with him.”

“I think we will be sitting still with Mostahdaf and, hopefully, get him to York in the same form in August.”

Listed winner Al Asifah (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who finished sixth after being supplemented to Thursday's G2 Ribblesdale S., will also be given some time off, according to Gold.

“We'll give her a break now and get her back in the autumn,” he said. “I still think she will be a very nice filly. We haven't even discussed targets. We will give her some gentle downtime, three weeks or so, then bring her back and take it from there.”

Dual Group 2 winner Mutasaabeq (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) will also be given a freshener following an eleventh in the GI Queen Anne S. Tuesday. Victorious in the G2 bet365 Mile at Newmarket May 5, the 5-year-old came home fifth in Newbury's G1 Lockinge S. May 20.

“We'll see what there is for him, but we will just give him a bit of time now,” he explained. “He's had three runs relatively quickly, but he's the sort of horse who could easily come out and win another Group 2 later in the year.”

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“Desert Crown is in good shape,” said owner Saeeed Suhail's racing manager Bruce Raymond. “He was turned out for a bit at Darley. He was there for about eight weeks and it did him really good.

“He came back in around mid-November and I saw him last week. He looks a million dollars–you'd think it was June. He has a beautiful coat, he looks great and started cantering five days before Michael got back from Barbados. He has been cantering away, although not strong cantering. Everything has been OK.”

A winner of a maiden on debut at Nottingham as a juvenile, the bay returned to take the G2 Dante S. at York last May by 3 1/4 lengths prior to his Classic heroics. The G3 Brigadier Gerard S. near the end of May, as well as the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. are likely targets for the 4-year-old.

He added, “I would have thought he would go to the Brigadier Gerard and then the King George. It is the usual route.

“Michael won't say anything, of course. If I ask him, he will say, 'That's for you to guess and me to know!'. So I'm guessing he's going in that direction, but he does look well and we'll just have to see what happens.”

Trainer Sir Michael Stoute would indeed not be drawn on future plans, and said, “It's February. I haven't made any plans and we don't want to get carried away with anything.”

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“It was an early start, but he felt fantastic,” Doyle told Sky Sports Racing. “I jumped on him at 5:10 a.m. and he did a nice blow up the Al Bahathri, a gallop he knows well, and he felt in good order. There was no questions asked, but I have to say he felt super and moved great.

“It's very exciting–what a race. It's a small but select field, but there's not one runner in the race that doesn't deserve to be there.”

The ride on the globetrotting Group 1 winner became available when owner Prince Faisal announced that David Egan was no longer his retained rider. Mishriff, who just missed when second to Vadeni (Fr) (Churchill {Ire}) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse S. at Sandown on July 2, ran second in last year's King George. He faces G1 Irish Derby hero Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) among others on Saturday.

“The prospect of him being more tuned up for the King George is quite exciting and the mile and a half doesn't seem to be a problem,” added Doyle of the John and Thady Gosden runner. “He's a horse that really wears his heart on his sleeve late on a race. He has that superb way of galloping where he really does get his head low. I wish every horse tried as hard as he does.”

Egan had partnered Mishriff to some of his greatest wins, including the inaugural $20-million Saudi Cup, the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, and his victory in the 2021 G1 Juddmonte International S.

Doyle added, “I haven't had chance to speak to David yet, but I will do. Obviously I feel terribly sorry for David, it's never nice, but I heard him say he's not the first person to be jocked off a horse and he won't be the last. I think that's the right way to look at it, these things happen and how you deal with these events kind of defines you as a person.

“He's dealt with it like a grown up man and we mustn't forget he's still a young man in this sport, so he's still learning his trade and full credit to the way he's coped with everything.”

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Actually, let's face it, when it comes to bad times it hasn't just been this week, has it? Events of this year in particular have made it harder to love racing as we rock from one unsavoury incident to the next courtesy of some of the sport's leading trainers in Europe and America.

The image that can now just be described as 'that photo', cast a pall over the Cheltenham Festival and it continues to harm the sport. Without it, there would almost certainly not have been a Panorama programme entitled The Dark Side of Horse Racing. Whether it was deemed to be fair or not, the programme's makers were able to draw a line straight from the shame and horror of seeing racehorses being slaughtered in an abattoir in the most distressing manner straight back to that photo, as the former trainer of three of the horses featured in the documentary was the same as the one sitting astride a dead horse on his gallops.

It was made clear that Gordon Elliott was not the person who sent these horses overseas to the abattoir in the UK, and he was not the only trainer named in the programme: another horse had also been identified as formerly being in training with Gavin Cromwell. While the latter declined to comment, a response from Elliott in the programme stated that two of the horses had been sent to a nearby dealer upon retirement from racing and another had been rehomed with one of his riders. A subsequent quote in the Racing Post from Caren Walsh, the owner of the mare Kiss Me Kayf who also sits on the Horse Racing Ireland board and its Welfare Council, appeared to contradict this. While fully supportive of Elliott, she expressed shock that her mare had ended up in Britain rather than the Irish abattoir to which Walsh thought she had been sent. Yes, it was shocking, but not for that reason. 

Euthanasia, however upsetting it may be for the individuals directly concerned, is undoubtedly the kindest thing for a horse who may never be sound or pain-free again. But there are guidelines for this set out by the Horse Welfare Board, and they include the line: “Whenever possible, euthanasia should be performed at home or in suitable surroundings, exceptions would include on a racecourse and in veterinary clinics.”

For all the excellent and extensive work being done in the rehoming and retraining of racehorses for other disciplines, even one horse ending up in the circumstances shown last Monday night undoes all of that in the time it takes someone to watch such a programme and decide that racing is cruel.

There may yet be some good to come out of the Panorama documentary. Britain and Ireland are two distinct nations with separate racing authorities but they are intrinsically linked in so many ways, from a shared Stud Book to the sales and the racecourse. The matter of one of the horses at the abattoir bearing the microchip of a horse who had previously been put down on a racecourse has been referred to the gardai in Ireland and talks between the British Horseracing Authority and its Irish counterpart have already begun. Hopefully they will lead to joint-legislation being imposed that means racehorses cannot suffer from someone opting to make a small amount of money from the meat man rather than paying a vet to end a horse's life if that is the only option available. 

But really, we shouldn't need rules to tell us that this is an extremely suboptimal end for an animal which has been bred for our fun. For there is no doubt that if we do not put horse welfare first, always, throughout all of their lives, then we have no right to be involved in a sport which will not be allowed to continue indefinitely if we don't all wake up to the importance of this and act accordingly. 

The Blue Knight

And then along came Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) to cheer us all up. The doom-mongers may have been trying to give the mile-and-a-half Derby its last rites but the great race is not for changing, not yet at least. 

Twenty years after his mighty and recently departed grandsire Galileo (Ire) completed the Derby-King George double, the statuesque Adayar charged along the Ascot straight to remind us that those who conquer Epsom can and do go on to be rather special. Have we forgotten in those intervening years New Approach (Ire), Sea The Stars (Ire), Workforce (GB), Camelot (GB), Australia (GB), and Golden Horn (GB)? 

Strangely, another horse who is in danger of being forgotten in the Galileo/Adayar comparisons is the rather important middle man, Frankel. Like London buses, Adayar and his stable-mate Hurricane Lane (Ire) have come along in the same year to vie with each other for the title of best 3-year-old middle-distance colt in training. 

With their two Group 1 wins apiece to date, they will not only play a significant role in giving Frankel a good chance of becoming champion sire for the first time–he is currently leading Galileo, though not by much–but also in perhaps delivering a first champion trainer title to Charlie Appleby. 

The trainer was unfortunately missing from Ascot on Saturday having been 'pinged' by the Covid app and forced into isolation. With typical modesty he told TDN on Sunday, “The job was done and all I was going to do was come along and put the saddle on, but it would have been nice to have seen him win. We all know that days like that don't come around too often.”

For Appleby, who was released from isolation by Sunday, those days have been coming around more frequently this year than for his colleagues. Of the trio at the top of the British trainers' table with more than £2 million in prize-money earnings, only two of them actually train in Britain. In a human version of the royal blue/navy blue duels of old, Appleby is out in front for Godolphin ahead of Aidan O'Brien, who admittedly has far fewer runners in Britain, with Andrew Balding's mighty season putting him in third place. The crucial statistic for Appleby, however, is his strike-rate for the season of 28%, with the form of his stable highlighted by the fact that all three of his runners on Saturday won, including the listed-winning juvenile New Science (GB) (Lope De Vega {Ire}).

Similarly, Frankel boasts a strike-rate of 42% winners to runners in Europe. His tally of 18 stakes winners in 2021 is bettered only by Dubawi (Ire), who has had 23.

Appleby delivered a positive update on Adayar, who is apparently growing up in mind as quickly as he is in body. He said, “He's pulled up well and, with Hurricane Lane as well, the pair of them are so similar in that they have the constitution that good racehorses must have: their work, their mindset, they're unbelievable.”

The trainer continued, “Adayar came back last night at 8pm, he ate all his hay and feed, he drank, slept, got up this morning and went on the sea walker, and you wouldn't know he'd had a race. It's the same with Hurricane Lane–his recovery rate is so good.

“Adayar has always caught the eye, but what surprised us in the Derby was the turn of foot that he showed. Hindsight is a great thing when you can go back and watch these races. At the time you are just hoping they can stay in front, but when you can go back and digest the race, he showed a great turn of foot again [on Saturday], to kick off the turn and maintain it.”

Reflecting on the form of this year's Derby, Appleby added, “You've got one horse who has come out, Hurricane Lane, and won an Irish Derby and a Grand Prix de Paris within five weeks, and Adayar has now come out and won the King George. Commercially everyone is looking at races like the St James's Palace and the top mile events, but we have to remember that Derby winners are what owner/breeders want to breed and we don't want to be going down the route of breeding just for speed. The top-class mile-and-a-half races are fantastic races to watch.”

Appleby's plan now is to keep his two star colts apart until the first weekend of October.

“To win a race, you can't always go in there with just one bullet, so if you have two potential players, as hopefully we do in Hurricane Lane and Adayar, hopefully that gives us a better shot of winning a race like the Arc,” he said. “I just want to give the operation the best chance of doing that, but until then we will keep them apart. Hurricane Lane has done his travelling, he's been to Ireland and he's been round Longchamp, so I think it's more likely that he will head to the St Leger. If he won it anywhere near as easily as he did the Grand Prix de Paris then we would send him on to the Arc. Adayar hasn't had the experience of travelling yet so we will probably head towards the Prix Niel and go that classic Arc prep route.” 

And, with news to cheer those who love to see the best horses race on, Appleby added, “They are two lovely big 3-year-olds who we hope to see around as 4-year-olds as well. With the Classics you only have one chance to have a crack, but if one of them doesn't happen to make the Arc this year then hopefully they would make it next year. The main thing is that everyone is enjoying it and we're doing what we are setting out to achieve. Yesterday's result gave Sheikh Mohammed great enjoyment and brought back many memories of yesteryear and some of the Godolphin greats.”

Indeed, before Galileo, the last horse to have completed the Derby-King George double was Lammtarra, who was trained in Moulton Paddocks by Saeed Bin Suroor, though he did not race in the Godolphin blue. 

Lammtarra was by Nijinsky, who is another of the 14 horses to have won both races and who features as the grandsire of yet another of that select group, Generous (GB). Nijinsky also pops up in Adayar's pedigree through his grandam Anna Palariva (Ire), who is by Nijinsky's son Caerleon. Meanwhile, Mill Reef, who did the double 50 years ago (followed by his son Reference Point in 1987) is the sire of Adayar's fourth dam Anna Matrushka (GB).

Royal Recognition For Breeders 

The day before the King George, Ascot hosted a lunch for all those who bred a winner at the Royal Meeting. It was the sixth time the course had put on such an occasion, and it is an initiative greatly appreciated by the breeders in attendance, who also receive a memento.

A number of breeders made the trip from Ireland, including Roger O'Callaghan, whose Tally-Ho Stud bred Campanelle (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), a victrix at Royal Ascot for the last two years, as well as G2 Norfolk S. winner Perfect Power (Ire), having also bred his sire, Ardad (Ire), winner of the Windsor Castle S. in 2016.

Hats off to Ascot–not that that's encouraged at the Royal Meeting– for recognising those who help to provide the most important ingredient for one of the best weeks of British racing.

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Godolphin's Adayar is not the only 3-year-old in the field, as G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby second Lone Eagle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) also steps forward for Martyn Meade.

Rounding out the nine are the globetrotting Group 1 winners Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) from the William Haggas yard, John and Thady Gosden trainee Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}).

“I talked to John after Mishriff worked on Saturday and John was very happy with him,” said Ted Voute, racing manager for Prince Faisal on the $20-million Saudi Cup and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic scorer. “It has very much been left up to John where he runs next and, having discussed it with the Prince, Ascot looks the likely target.

“We want to win a Group 1 in England with Mishriff and you can't win one unless you run in them. He has beaten some very good horses from around the world and now is the time to see what he can do against the big battalions from England and Ireland in particular.”

The progressive dual Group 1-winning filly Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) for David Menuisier. A notable absentee is G1 Coronation Cup victor Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) who suffered a setback.

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Muir told Nick Luck's Daily Podcast, “He worked superb on Saturday, we went to Charlie Hills's and he worked stunning with a very good miler. I walked over to meet him coming back–he was bouncing –washed him down and what have you and all was fine, but that evening I just thought he was slightly wrong behind on his off hind.

“My vet came, his testicle was pulled right up so he thinks he might have rolled in his box and tweaked his groin. Any horse, they are my life, like my children, so I can't run him if he's not 100%.

“He'll be checked over again until we can find exactly what it is, but I told the owners I didn't even think I was going to confirm him which is gutting as he's as well as I could have him. He came off the gallops and I thought nothing could beat him.

Added Muir of other potential targets for his stable star, “There's loads more races–we're in the [G1] Juddmonte [International S. at York on Aug. 18] whatever happens if it's something very simple. We were going to give him a break at some stage as we're thinking of taking him round the world at the back end of the season, so maybe this might be the enforced break. We've got to do whatever is right with every horse we've got.”

Besides Love, seven other Group 1 winners–have stood their ground for the Ascot showpiece, including the 4-year-old filly Wonderful Tonight (Fr) (Le Havre {Fr}), as well as G1 Cazoo Derby hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) and Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}), globetrotters Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) and Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}), and Galileo full-brothers Mogul (GB) and Japan (GB).

“I talked to John after Mishriff worked on Saturday and John was very happy with him,” said Ted Voute, racing manager for Mishriff's owner Prince Faisal on the $20-million Saudi Cup and G1 Dubai Sheema Classic scorer. “It has very much been left up to John where he runs next and, having discussed it with the Prince, Ascot looks the likely target.

“We want to win a Group 1 in England with Mishriff and you can't win one unless you run in them. He has beaten some very good horses from around the world and now is the time to see what he can do against the big battalions from England and Ireland in particular.”

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