“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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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.

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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.

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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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Frankie Dettori rode three horses for Newmarket Red on Thursday evening, and although a third was his best finish he was complimentary of the new concept.

“The initiative and idea for the William Hill Racing League came along two or three years ago and when they approached me to take part I thought it was a good idea,” he said. “It's something different that will hopefully attract younger audiences, especially with the team concept. It's started off well and looks to already be a success.

“It's six Thursdays, 36 races, so it's dead easy to understand, it's in the summer months, people can come out and enjoy themselves and take an interest in the Racing League teams. The prize-money is great and I think it is great idea.”

Betfair Spokesman Barry Orr said, “There was some great racing in Doncaster and the competitiveness of the League is reflected in the betting. Newmarket Red still head the market but are out to 5-1 from 9-4, with Team Racehorse Lotto the big movers, going from 12-1 to 5-1 joint-favourite with Newmarket Red. Team ODDSBible have also attracted plenty of support and are now 7-1 from 16-1.”

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“We are delighted to add Martin Dwyer to our team,” said Imad Al Sagar in a statement. “I look forward to working with him and envisage a fruitful partnership. Hollie Doyle remains our first jockey. However, the addition of such an experienced and Classic-winning rider such as Martin Dwyer gives us another dimension and adds further support to our team.”

Dwyer booted hom Sir Percy (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) in the 2006 G1 Derby, as well as Casual Look in the G1 Oaks in 2003. He rode Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) to victory in the 2021 G1 Coronation Cup earlier this month.

“I am looking forward to riding for Imad Al Sagar and excited to be part of a good team,” said Dwyer. “Imad Al Sagar is breeding and racing some lovely horses and it's exciting to be riding for an owner-breeder at that level-as a jockey, that's what you strive to do.”

Al Sagar has co-owned Group 1 winners Decorated Knight (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), Authorized (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Araafa (Ire) (Mull Of Kintyre) and stands the first-named stallion at the Irish National Stud. Blue Diamond Stud is home to 38 mares, among them Pearling (Storm Cat), the dam of Decorated Knight, and black-type producers Nouriya (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) and Nessina (Hennessy) to name a few.

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It was also a record-breaking winning margin by a filly who reminded us just what a loss Deep Impact (Jpn) was, not just to Japan but to breeders worldwide, when he died at the age of 17 in 2019. Next month, a handful of his final small crop of yearlings will be offered at the JRHA Select Sale in Hokkaido. The Coolmore team was among the select number of European breeders who had mares worthy of a trip to Japan, and their globetrotting endeavours have already been rewarded with the 2000 Guineas winner Saxon Warrior (Jpn). Now, in Snowfall (Jpn), they have a second British Classic winner bred on that same potent cross that blends the two extraordinarily dominant sires of Japan and Europe, Deep Impact and Galileo. 

It should not be forgotten either that last year's Prix de Diane winner Fancy Blue (Ire), is also by Deep Impact and bred in a similar fashion, being out of a sister to another Epsom hero in High Chaparral (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). And from a limited number of runners in Europe, Deep Impact also sired the 2018 Prix du Jockey Club winner Study Of Man (Ire).

For an Oaks to remember, throw in racing's Mr Showbusiness, Frankie Dettori–in theory playing the unfamiliar role of understudy to Ryan Moore aboard the race favourite Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB})–and you have all the glitz required to light up a racecourse even with a limited number of racegoers. The Queen's Stand, usually packed to this rafters for this weekend, was sparsely populated, even with most of those on track having to take refuge indoors from the ceaseless rain which turned the track into a quagmire and brought the Classic field stand-side as they reeled off Tattenham Corner.

Snowfall clearly didn't mind the rainfall as demonstrated by the menacing way she loomed alongside and swiftly overpowered the long-time leader Mystery Angel (Ire) (Kodi Bear {Ire}). But take away the 16-length winner and the terrier-like runner-up, from the determinedly ambitious stable of George Boughey, had plenty of fancy fillies beaten, including the third-placed Divinely (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a full-sister to Snowfall's dam Best In The World (Ire) and to the brilliant Arc winner Found (Ire). While Snowfall and Divinely would have had the Oaks on their agenda even before they were weaned, it is far to say that it was probably not a race that Noelle Walsh, the breeder of Mystery Angel, had envisaged for her filly. But Boughey has already made people sit up and take notice as he has saddled winner after winner since taking out his licence only last season, and perhaps more should have taken notice of the fact that a syndicate of a very different nature to the Coolmore triumvirate had stumped up £22,500 to supplement Mystery Angel to the Oaks line-up on Monday.

As Snowfall sailed across the line in glorious isolation, Boughey, his great pal and key form ally Sam Haggas, and girlfriend Laura Toller, roared and swung each other around as their filly fought her way home. Their celebrations were every bit as wild  as they would have been for a winner, and in a way she was. For this was a massive result for the stable and for Nick Bradley's racing syndicate on a day which started with yet another impressive juvenile winner for both owner and trainer when Oscula (Ire) (Galileo Gold {Ire}) landed the Woodcote S. on her third start. 

As the Oaks presentation took place in the winner's circle, the celebratory gaggle was joined by Georg von Opel, a huge investor in some of the Coolmore syndicated horses in recent years and part-owner of the fifth-placed Santa Barbara. Just beyond them out on the track where the placed horses unsaddle, Mystery Angel was surrounded by her large, happy band of owners for a photo that will undoubtedly grace plenty of walls. Their investment would have been far smaller but their joy no less confined. 

Just over an hour earlier there had been a similarly pleasing story to the Coronation Cup when Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who had finished 11th in last year's Derby and third in the St Leger, enjoyed an official coming of age. 

By the admission post-race of his co-owner/breeder Roger Devlin, Pyledriver is not as regally bred as some of those he was taking on, but he has a tenacity akin to Mystery Angel's and only temporarily surrendered the advantage he had gained when bowling into the lead halfway round, before grabbing it back from the imposing favourite Al Aasy (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}).

For his jockey Martin Dwyer, who is not among the most fashionable names in the weighing-room, it brought up a hat-trick of Epsom Group 1s that few of his colleagues can match. It has been a long time in the earning, from the day he gave the then-young Andrew Balding his first Classic success with Casual Look (Red Ransom) in the Oaks of 2003, followed by the Derby victory for Sir Percy (GB) ((Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) for Marcus Tregoning and owners Anthony and Victoria Pakenham. The Coronation Cup may not be a Classic but success will have been all the sweeter for the fact that it was the first at Group 1 level for Dwyer's father-in-law William Muir, who this year added Chris Grassick to his training licence.

Devlin shared in Dwyer's joy, and as he watched the replay of the win for the colt he bred in partnership with Guy and Hugh Leach, he said, “Primarily we're delighted for William because he's been training for 30 years and this is his first Group 1 winner. We've been in it for a couple of years and we're very grateful to William for all the effort he puts in.”

He continued, “We thought [Pyledriver] would improve as a 4-year-old. He's fairly modestly bred, like the owners, and we didn't think he had huge stallion potential so it was important for us to get the Group 1 on his CV. That's job done. I'm not quite sure where we go from here. He's entered in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot, but that might come a bit soon, and he has entries in the King George and the Arc, and he proved today he acts on pretty soft ground.”

The owners have much to look forward to as Pyledriver's 10-year-old dam La Pyle (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) has a 3-year-old filly by New Approach (GB) named Country Pyle (GB) who is set to make her debut in the coming weeks, as well as a juvenile Oasis Dream (GB) colt called Stockpyle (GB). 

Devlin added, “We also have a yearling filly by Frankel (GB) and La Pyle is in foal to Kingman (GB). We took the decision to invest and we hope it pays off.”

He also remembered his late friend and advisor Kevin Mercer, the former owner of Usk Valley Stud, where Pyledriver was bred. 

“If it hadn't been for Kevin we wouldn't be here today. He had the vision and the knowledge to think that the mare had it in her,” he said. 

Martin Dwyer admitted after the race that he feared he could be replaced on Pyledriver by a bigger-name jockey. He said: “I love this place, I always have. I've had some great times riding here and I've been lucky. Half my worry was losing the ride on him. It's not easy when you are not fashionable and you are not riding. You will have owners own a good horse like him and then it doesn't pan out and he doesn't win.”

He continued, “The Derby was a write-off and then there are always people saying, 'why don't you use X, Y, Z as they are riding tons of winners and why are you using him as he is not high flying at the moment?' But that is sport and that is what happens so you have to really fight your corner.”

In Pyledriver he has found a fellow battler, and the pair ensured that the day wasn't only about a 21st Classic victory for one of the world's most recognisable jockeys and a 40th British Classic for the unstoppable Aidan O'Brien, who has now won this season's 1000 Guineas and Oaks with the fillies who earned their trainer a £4,000 fine for bearing the wrong saddle cloths in last season's G1 Fillies' Mile. 

For syndicates from one end of the scale to the other, there was plenty to cheer about on Oaks day. There's currently an advertisement on the British racing channels aimed at improving diversity and inclusivity which has the simple catchline of 'Racing is everyone's sport'. On Friday at Epsom it certainly felt so.

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Putting in his best juvenile form on soft ground when successful in the Listed Ascendant S. over a mile at Haydock in September 2019, Pyledriver returned last year to be second in the re-routed G3 Classic Trial over a mile and a quarter on Kempton's Polytrack in early June taking the King Edward VII over this trip at Royal Ascot. After his luckless trip in the Derby, he defied a three-pound penalty in style in the Great Voltigeur before finishing third in the G1 St Leger at Doncaster in September and seventh in the G1 Qipco Champion S. at Ascot in October. Showing a tendency to veer away from the whip on more than one occasion, he was hard against the rail from six out following Dwyer's bold manoeuvre and may have been helped by Al Aasy pinning him down against the fence in the closing stages. His jockey thinks so. “With the rail out [to save ground for Derby day], we were actually racing on the steepest part of the camber and so I was conscious to get to the rail,” he explained. “Jim [Crowley] growls in a finish and gave me no room whatsoever, so it was a real ding-dong battle and I have to say my horse was very brave and pulled out all stops. The first two were a long way in front of two very good horses. All the good horses are in the hands of a very few trainers now and I think that is why people like to see horses like this fella and his sporting owners as the underdog having a go on the big day and achieving something.”

“He's been frustrating at times, but he has tons of ability and was just too fresh and keen at Newmarket and got tired,” Dwyer, who at 46 was continuing the trend of older jockeys winning at the top level so far in this country in 2021. “I struggled with him there, as he was like a bottle of coke that had been shook up but today he was different class and that's all down to the team. We had decided to give him his head this time and let him bowl along and he relaxed so I tried to control the race from second place. Last time we came here, we got flattened at the top of the hill and it was game over but when you get a horse that travels as well as him it's ideal around here. I was able to give him a nice breather and save petrol in case he got into a real scrap, which he did in the end. He'd beaten horses who had gone on to win group 1s afterwards and he's mixed it at the top level a few times, so we were always confident he'd win a group 1 himself. Not many trainers drive their own horses to a group 1 in their own horsebox and win it, so all credit to William.”

For Muir, it was a first success at the highest level and he said, “I started training in 1990 and I've got touched off in group ones, with Stepper Point in two of them and also Averti got beaten in a photo in the Prix de l'Abbaye–this is what we do it for,” he said. “Chris Grassick has only been at the job five minutes and he's got a group one winner! I came here thinking he'd win. I had a meeting yesterday with the owners at a service station and we decided we were going to make the running and change the bridle. When he went to Newmarket, I was in no place to say he was 100 per cent, as today was the day and he was very brave. If you watch it from the outside people ask 'why does he wander, why does he do this and that'. It's just in his make-up, I don't know why he does it, but he is brave.”

Pyledriver's program is set in stone now. “It's mapped out–the Jockey Club Stakes, the Coronation Cup, the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and then the King George,” Muir added. “I should think we'll look at the Arc later on in the year, if we're allowed to go with Covid and everything.”
Pyledriver is the first foal out of La Pyle (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), who is a full-sister to the G3 Park Express S. winner Normandel (Fr) and a half to the G1 Grand Prix de Paris hero Mont Ormel (Fr) (Air Chief Marshal {Ire}) and the dam of this week's Listed Glencairn S. winner Maganimous (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and the G3 Irish St Leger Trial-placed Micro Mange (Ire) (Rip Van Winkle {Ire}). The third dam Lidakiya (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) produced the G1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis and G1 Premio Vittorio di Capua-winning sire Linngari (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}) and is kin to the triple listed scorer and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup runner-up Livadiya (Ire) (Shernazar {Ire}). The dam's as-yet unraced 3-year-old filly by New Approach (Ire) is named Country Pyle (GB), while she also has a 2-year-old colt by Oasis Dream (GB) named Stockpyle (GB) and a yearling filly by Frankel (GB).

Friday, Epsom Downs, Britain
CORAL CORONATION CUP-G1, £330,000, Epsom, 6-4, 4yo/up, 12f 6yT, 2:42.23, g/s.
1–PYLEDRIVER (GB), 126, c, 4, by Harbour Watch (Ire)
1st Dam: La Pyle (Fr), by Le Havre (Ire)
2nd Dam: Lidana (Ire), by King's Best
3rd Dam: Lidakiya (Ire), by Kahyasi (Ire)
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (10,000gns RNA Wlg '17 TATFOA). O-La Pyle Partnership; B-Knox & Wells Limited & R Devlin (GB); T-William Muir & Chris Grassick; J-Martin Dwyer. £187,143. Lifetime Record: 12-5-2-1, $514,200. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Al Aasy (Ire), 126, c, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Kitcara (GB), by Shamardal. (300,000gns Ylg '18 TATOCT). O-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd; B-Sunderland Holding Inc (IRE); T-William Haggas. £70,950.
3–Japan (GB), 126, h, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Shastye (Ire), by Danehill. (1,300,000gns Ylg '17 TATOCT). O-Masaaki Matsushima, Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Newsells Park Stud (GB); T-Aidan O'Brien. £35,508.
Margins: NK, 7, 1HF. Odds: 8.00, 1.75, 3.33.
Also Ran: Albaflora (GB), Highland Chief (Ire), Mogul (GB). Scratched: Alpinista (GB). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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The final Classic of the year, first run in 1776 and part of the QIPCO British Champions Series, has attracted a final field of 12. It features three challengers from the yard of serial Irish Champion Trainer, Aidan O'Brien, who is seeking a 39th British Classic success and has already landed this year's Investec Derby, Investec Oaks and QIPCO 1000 Guineas.

O'Brien's principal challenger, Santiago, the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner, will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, whose tally of 258 Group 1 triumphs includes six St Leger victories. By contrast, Muir is still searching for his first win at the highest level, having been training a similar amount of time as O'Brien, while Dwyer's last Group 1 victory in Britain was 14 years ago aboard Sir Percy in the 2006 Derby.

Dwyer, 45, said: “If I'm totally honest, for the last four or five years I thought my days of riding horses as good as Pyledriver were gone. To get another bite at the cherry is fantastic and hopefully I can make it count. They've all got me to beat. Touch wood, if things go well he will win.

“He's definitely up there among the best horses I've ridden. He's been a bit of a slow-burner but his progression has been unbelievable. William and his team have done a tremendous job.”

Pyledriver has been known by those closest to him as “Dave” from the day he was foaled and is owned by brothers Guy and Huw Leach, plus their long-time friend Roger Devlin. He changed hands for only 10,000gns as a yearling; something Muir puts down to his sire [Harbour Watch] becoming unfashionable. He sees parallels in his own Lambourn yard, where 26 horses reside.

“It's all fashion, nobody even looked at him – and he's gorgeous to look at with a great stride,” Muir said. “We're not a fashionable yard, everyone wants somebody younger. It's just one of those things. If this horse could go and win on Saturday it would be fantastic for the whole team and everyone around it.”

Pyledriver announced himself on the big stage when an emphatic winner of the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and put a luckless run in the Investec Derby behind him when a commanding winner of the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last month, when conceding 3lb to each of his seven rivals.

Dwyer said: “He surprised me a bit at Ascot with how easily he won but even there he was like a teenager and now he's become a man. He destroyed the field at York and has just flourished all year.

“It's a great story, this year more than ever because it's been difficult times. Over the past five to ten years all the good horses have seemed to be in the same hands. It's got harder and harder. He's shown you can have a horse for £10,000 and compete at the top level – the dream is alive. It's just what racing has needed at this time.”

Big-money offers for Pyledriver, exceeding seven figures, have been rejected. Muir said: “If the offers had been accepted I don't think he would have stayed in this country – places like Australia and Hong Kong wanted him really badly. If one person had owned him, you couldn't have said no to the kind of offers we got – it was life-changing money – but there's three of them, and they wanted to keep him.”

Pyledriver's stamina is untested beyond a mile and a half but Dwyer said: “He wasn't stopping at York. He hit the line strong and I don't think it [the trip] will be a problem. He's got gears and the speed for a mile and a quarter but as long as he relaxes, as he does, then I don't think it will be an issue.”

Muir accepts his pedigree gives mixed messages but says: “Do I think he will stay? Yes, as I think he has the right attitude. He's got such a relaxed way about him. I'm in a good place because the owners have said 'what's the worst thing that can happen? If we get beat we can come back in trip.' It's a horse race, he's in fantastic form and if he stays he will be very hard to beat.”

Pyledriver will stay in training next year and Muir says his final run of this season will be in the QIPCO Champion Stakes on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on October 17.

Santiago won the Irish Derby just eight days after landing the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot at the main expense of Berkshire Rocco. On his latest start, he finished third to Stradivarius in the Qatar Goodwood Cup when things did not go quite to plan.

O'Brien said: “Goodwood didn't work as we would have liked. We usually like to take our time on him but he hit the gates on Ryan [Moore] and he couldn't really get him back. He was sitting in that second position and Ryan felt he was probably in a gear too high all the way. Because of that he went from travelling very well to having to drop him and ask him to go and race very quick. He really didn't get his breath to go again.

“We had to give him a little bit of an easy time after it because obviously when things don't go smooth for a horse they usually have a harder race but he seems in good form again.”

O'Brien and Dettori have teamed up for St Leger glory once before, striking with front-running Scorpion in 2005. The prospect of Dwyer and Dettori fighting out the finish on the market leaders is quite something and Dwyer said: “We've been friends for many years and I've always looked up to him. Frankie's a superstar and riding better than ever. It's a joy to watch him and I've learnt lots from him over the years. His positioning is just unbelievable and he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. That's what wins big races.”

O'Brien also runs Dawn Patrol, who was third in the Irish Derby, and Mythical while his son, Joseph, will field the progressive Galileo Chrome, who has won each of his three starts this year. There is one other Irish challenger in the shape of the Andrew Slattery-trained Sunchart.

Owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum is enjoying a fabulous year but his silks have never been carried to victory in the St Leger. He bids to put that right with the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum, who won the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot on his return before following up in the Group 3 Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury.

Front-running Subjectivist lines up on the back of a 15-length romp in the Group 3 Ladbrokes March Stakes at Goodwood. He had previously finished third in the Group 3 John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes at the same venue, with English King behind in fourth. English King had previously been a landing fancy for the Investec Derby, at Epsom, where he finished a staying-on fifth, with Mohican Heights, absent since, back in twelfth. Ed Walker, the trainer of English King, has said his colt remains more likely to run in France on Sunday.

The field is completed by the Richard Spencer-trained Tyson Fury, who belied odds of 20/1 when winning a novice stakes on his debut over 1m4f at Doncaster in early July.

The post Pyledriver’s ‘Unbelievable’ Progression Has Value Purchase In Top Form For St. Leger appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Akmaam is the last known foal and the third winner from three runners out of the unraced Misty Night (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), whose dam Misty Heights (GB) (Fasliyev) captured the Listed Victor McCalmont S. and was runner-up in the G3 Derrinstown Stud 1000 Guineas Trial and G3 C. L. Weld Park S. She also produced the G1 Paddock S. winner Inara (SAf) (Trippi) and the GIII Dance Smartly H. winner Madeira Mist (Ire) (Grand Lodge), with the latter in turn responsible for the triple GI Canadian International-winning sire Joshua Tree (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) and Ballydoyle’s smart 3-year-old colt Arthur’s Kingdom (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) who was second in the G1 Criterium de Saint Cloud and the G2 King Edward VII S. The fourth dam is Magic of Life (Seattle Slew), winner of the G1 Coronation S. and responsible for the G2 Lowther S. and G3 Princess Margaret S. winner and stakes producer Enthused (Seeking the Gold).

1st-Ascot, £10,000, Novice, 9-5, 2yo, 7fT, 1:31.21, gd.
AKMAAM (FR), c, 2, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
     1st Dam: Misty Night (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)
     2nd Dam: Misty Heights (GB), by Fasliyev
     3rd Dam: Mountains of Mist (Ire), by Shirley Heights (GB)
Sales history: €120,000 Wlg ’18 ARQDE; 150,000gns Ylg ’19 TATOCT. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $8,592. O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Skymarc Farm Inc (FR); T-Brian Meehan. Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Wootton Bassett’s Akmaam a New Rising Star On Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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