Dwyer To Miss Season With Injury

Martin Dwyer will be out the rest of the season after sustaining an injury last month that requires surgery. The jockey, who won the 2006 G1 Derby aboard Sir Percy (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}), tore his ACL after a leather iron broke on the gallops riding out for Brian Meehan. Dwyer, who is stable jockey for trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick, will be having surgery in the next few weeks.

“He is having plenty of physio down at Oaksey House [rehabilitation and fitness centre in Lambourn] before the operation, because they wanted to take the inflammation away as much as they could before they operate,” said co-trainer William Muir of Dwyer, who is married to Muir's daughter Claire.

“He is having the operation in early May. He is definitely having the ACL operation. He is a bit down, because he can't do anything. He is in a leg brace, what can you do?

“I can't answer how long he will be out for. It depends on how quickly he will recover, but he is a pretty tough lad. I think he has to have it screwed or stapled and they will see what the damage is when they operate. It will take a little time to recover.”

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Glory Vase Wins Second Hong Kong Vase At Sha Tin

Champion jockey Joao Moreira combined with the Tomohito Ozeki-trained Japanese stayer Glory Vase for a stunning win in the Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong Sunday.

It was a repeat of their 2019 success but achieved in different style as Moreira registered his seventh Hong Kong International win and his third in the Vase having also been successful on the Japanese-trained Satono Crown in 2016.

Glory Vase unleashed a withering burst from second last turning for home, in contrast to the handier stalking passage he enjoyed in 2019, to deny fairytale results for the trainers of the placegetters. Briton William Muir with his Hong Kong debut runner in second-placed Pyledriver and Frenchman Alain de Royer-Dupre – twice a HKIR winner – who prepared third place Ebaiyra, who'll be his final Hong Kong runner as the trainer retires at the end of the year.

Local challenger Reliable Team led, as expected, but was exposed early to significant pressure from Stay Foolish, the one other Japanese-trained runner, with Martin Dwyer – who won the Vase in 2004 – ensuring that Pyledriver enjoyed the slipstream run behind the pacemakers and the Muir-trained stayer looked the likely winner on straightening but could not hold out the indefatigable Glory Vase.

Dwyer was delighted with the performance of his mount but conceded, which was apparent for all to see, that the winner was simply too good.

“Really pleased, good run but I think the winner is very good,” Dwyer said.

Moreira, meanwhile, was understandably upbeat about the winner whom he described as his “best chance” in the International Races in the preamble to the meeting.

“No doubts about it, I did enjoy it so much,” Moreira said, “this win and everything in my life is to the honor of Jesus Christ, who has been in my life always and today has been a very good example.

“I felt Him with me and everything went as I expected. I had a smooth run, going to the fence and saving ground. I just made sure I got into the clear and I know he's a very strong horse at the finish and there was not a fight.

“He has proven to be the best horse today.”

Christophe Soumillon, who rode minor placegetter Ebaiyra, said the French filly performed creditably. “She ran well, she was a bit keen in the first part of the race. When we came to the last turn, I thought she would probably fight for the win but the last 200 (meters), she got tired.”

Last year's winner Mogul conceded meekly in the home straight after being poised to challenge coming to the home turn and jockey Ryan Moore said he was “disappointing”.

Glory Vase won by one length from Pyledriver with Ebaiyra a further two and a half lengths back in third. Glory Vase was competing in Hong Kong for the second time this year having finished second to Loves Only You in the G1 FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) in April.

Hong Kong racing continues this Wednesday, December 15, at Happy Valley.

The post Glory Vase Wins Second Hong Kong Vase At Sha Tin appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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‘This Chance Has To Be Grabbed With Both Hands’: 46-Year-Old Martin Dwyer Returns To Hong Kong With Likely Favorite

Sunday, Dec. 12, 2004: A nervous young jockey from Liverpool gazes round a star-studded Sha Tin paddock ahead of his ride on Andrew Balding's Phoenix Reach in the G1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m, or 1 1/2 miles) and wonders whether he truly belongs.

Frankie Dettori doesn't have a care in the world; Olivier Peslier, Christophe Soumillon and Gerald Mosse have seen it all before; and Douglas Whyte, Michael Kinane and Kieren Fallon wear the sort of steely gazes that suggest you wouldn't want to play poker with them.

There wasn't a catchy term for feelings of self-doubt brought on by pressurized situations back then. But there is now. And the man who rides Pyledriver in this year's LONGINES Hong Kong Vase recognizes the symptoms of Imposter Syndrome all too well.

“You do start to question yourself when you go abroad for those big international races for the first time,” says Martin Dwyer. “You don't tell anyone, of course, but it's there deep down. Doubt does creep in and Phoenix Reach was the horse who helped me get over that.”

Dwyer's pre-race nerves back in 2004 weren't helped at the start when it emerged that Phoenix Reach's bridle had broken and it took some sharp thinking to solve the problem.

“My horse was wearing blinkers and the starter said he would have to be scratched if we took them off to replace the bridle,” he says. “You can imagine how hard my heart was beating by this point and I could hear a few jockeys saying 'take that one in.'

“I couldn't blame them as senior riders use all sorts of little tricks to get an edge, but there was a great horseman called Fergus Gallagher on the stalls team. It was a scary moment right in front of a huge crowd but luckily my horse didn't flinch as Fergus replaced the bridle while I stood and held him.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Phoenix Reach was a 26-1 shot having finished sixth in the G1 Japan Cup two weeks earlier but he stalked the leaders in his new red headgear and struck for home halfway up the home straight.

Dettori loomed large aboard Godolphin raider Sights On Gold soon after but Dwyer had kept something in reserve and Phoenix Reach held on gamely by half a length as the pair drew clear of Peslier on the French-trained favorite Vallee Enchantee.

“Breaking through on the global stage is a massive moment for any jockey,” adds Dwyer. “I'm not one for wild celebrations but I did wave the whip after passing the post. Frankie came across to congratulate me and I just remember the whole trip as a mind-blowing experience.”

Phoenix Reach gave Dwyer another memorable success in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba in March 2005 and his stock reached a new high back in Britain the following summer when he threaded Sir Percy through the narrowest of gaps to prevail in a dramatic four-way finish for the G1 Epsom Derby.

But top-level glory remains elusive for all bar a select few and, like his beloved Everton FC, Dwyer has spent most of the last 15 years performing consistently in the middle of the Premier League hoping for the arrival of a genuine star to take on the Galacticos again.

Cue the emergence of Pyledriver, trained in partnership by Dwyer's “glass half full” father-in-law William Muir and Chris Grassick and homing in on Sunday's (Dec. 12) LONGINES Hong KongVase as a fresh horse with just three runs in 2021.

“The first day I really knew we had something special was when he quickened so impressively to win the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer,” he adds.

“We put a line through his run in a very messy Derby but he destroyed his rivals under a penalty in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York and he's come back in great heart this year to win the Coronation Cup at Epsom and the Churchill Stakes at Lingfield last month.”

That G1 Coronation Cup success, following Casual Look's 2003 G1 Oaks win and Sir Percy's Derby, means Dwyer is one of a select handful of riders to have landed all of Epsom's crown jewels.

“I love Epsom and I'm really proud to have won all three G1s there as I don't get the chances every year that Frankie and Ryan (Moore) get. Of course, it was a blow that Pyledriver missed the summer with a muscle problem but sometimes things happen for a reason and maybe the best is yet to come.”

Pyledriver lines up this weekend as the highest rated horse in the field with an international rating of 121 and has beaten last year's LONGINES Hong Kong Vase hero Mogul comfortably in three of their four meetings, including the Coronation Cup.

His chance is there for all to see on form and Dwyer feels his unusual character is part of what makes him so good.

“He's like a schoolboy in class who has all the talent in the world but can look out of the window if he loses concentration,” he adds. “There's no way he would let me put his bridle on in a morning – and his groom Babu has plenty of bumps and bruises because of him – but that's just Pyledriver. He knows how much talent he's got and isn't afraid to tell you.”

Dwyer thinks carefully when asked how his 2021 Vase hope compares with the 2004 model.

“That's a tough one,” he concedes. “Phoenix Reach was great, so versatile, a warrior who really battled for you. Pyledriver has more character and quirks but I do think he has more natural ability and he means the world to everyone connected with him.”

Which brings us neatly to Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021, when a calm, veteran jockey from Liverpool will gaze around the Sha Tin paddock ahead of the Vase to see Soumillon, Moore, Joao Moreira, Vincent Ho and Damian Lane among his rivals.

“Yes, I'm a different person now and this will be a massive buzz,” says Dwyer. “But let's get this straight, this might be the last time I get to ride in an HKIR race. I hope it isn't but you never know and that's why this chance has to be grabbed with both hands.”

Now 46 and in the autumn of a 30-year career that has yielded over 1500 winners, Martin Dwyer knows Father Time is undefeated and that this sort of chance may never come again.

But this time there will be no sense of Imposter Syndrome. Dwyer and Pyledriver have shown time and again that they belong at the top level. All they need now is a little luck – and the bridle to remain intact.

The post ‘This Chance Has To Be Grabbed With Both Hands’: 46-Year-Old Martin Dwyer Returns To Hong Kong With Likely Favorite appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Pyledriver Gets Gutsy Win In Churchill Stakes At Lingfield Park

Pyledriver was the headline act at Lingfield Park in Lingfield, England, this afternoon and duly delivered with a gutsy success in the Listed Betway Churchill Stakes over 10 furlongs, one of two Fast-Track Qualifiers on the card.

Joint-trainer William Muir had urged caution in the build-up to the race given it was Pyledriver's first outing since winning the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs in early June.

Sent off the 6/4 favorite under Martin Dwyer, Pyledriver raced enthusiastically behind front runner Fox Tal before launching a strong challenge on the home turn. The four-year-old held a slender advantage passing the furlong pole and stayed on gamely to repel Harrovian by half a length. Felix was a neck further back in third.

This success sets up Pyledriver for an international campaign, with next month's G1 Hong Kong Vase his next port of call, and also guarantees his place in the £200,000 Betway Easter Classic on Finals Day.

Muir said: “Pyledriver has never let anybody down. He wasn't fit today and we brought him here purposely to improve from it.

“Silvestre [de Sousa, rider of Fox Tal] wanted to go on and we got the perfect sit behind him. Martin said the gears our lad showed when they turned in…he was gone, and then he just got tired late on.

“He was 12 kilograms over his racing weight coming here today. It was the same at Newmarket at the start of the season, but I wasn't worried he got beat that day because I knew he would improve. He has just given 7lb to race-fit horses and he wasn't fit. It was a hell of a performance.

“Hong Kong is our main target and then beyond that, we are looking at the Saudi Cup and the Dubai Sheema Classic. Why not have a go at the Saudi Cup? They reckon it is the nicest dirt track in the world. Ted Voute said it's a fantastic surface and reckons this horse will love it.”

Dwyer said: “Pyledriver was a bit full of himself but that is to be expected after a lay-off. I was delighted with him. He traveled lovely and showed a good turn of foot off the bend.

“It worked out nicely with Silvestre making the pace and going a pretty decent lick. He is an exuberant runner this fella and I preferred to sit a few lengths off the leader rather than right behind him.

“He had a bit against him today, down in trip under a penalty. I think he was only 80 percent fit, but this is a great stepping-stone to the big races.

“I chased him round the bend after the line because I wanted him to get something out of it. He has to go a mile and a half on the turf next in a month's time. I wanted him to take his jacket off and do a bit of work today, so it means we don't have to do tons with him between now and his next race.

“He is a Group 1 winner and a Group 1 horse. A lot of people have been following this horse over the last couple of years. He won on his debut at 50/1 and has been a real success story for his owner-breeders and the whole team.”

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