Pyledriver (GB) | Horse Racing Free Tips

Options Open For Pyledriver

Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) might defend his G1 Coronation Cup crown later this spring. The 5-year-old has exited his fourth-place finish in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in good order, according to co-trainer William Muir, who holds the license with Chris Grassick. Owned by the La Pyle Partnership, the entire won the Listed Churchill S. at Lingfield last November and was a very good second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin on Dec. 12. In the G3 Neom Turf Cup on Feb. 26, Pyledriver could not overcome a wide draw and ran 11th.

“Obviously, whatever happened on Saturday, we were delighted we finished a length behind the winner [Shahryar (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}],” said Muir. “Frankie [Dettori] said, 'I'm so sorry, I should have won. If I'd have got the split I'd have won. I never got the split, I've had to check his momentum, take him out of his stride and asked him to quicken again–and he did quicken again'. He said, 'You were just unlucky in running and you have got a very, very good horse here'.

“In Saudi Arabia we were drawn 14 and had no chance.

“When that horse came down bedside us (Channel Cat), Martin (Dwyer) said, 'I'll look after him for the next one'.

“It was just one of those things and on Saturday he ran out of his skin. We thought he would be bang there and we were. We are delighted.”

Another crack at the Hong Kong Vase in December is also in play, as is the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 23.

Added Muir, “The owners, before we went to Dubai, said they would like to work back from Hong Kong, taking in the Arc and let's say the King George, with maybe something in between. But I said, 'If he comes back from Dubai and he is jumping and kicking, why don't we try to win the Coronation again?'.

“I went down to the stable yesterday morning. His legs were great, he ate most of his food, he looked fantastic and I spoke to the boys this morning. He is on the flight, he has put back on the six kilos he lost in the race, so it is fantastic.

“He was a horse who was always going to get better with age, because all his family does. They just improve and improve. When he gets home, I will sit down and get all the races mapped out with the owners.

“Frankie, when he jumped off, said, 'Run him in the King George, because that is your race. You know the track suits him, so run him in the King George'. The Coronation and the King George could happen. I was saying we could then miss one if we wanted to go back to Hong Kong.”

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Pyledriver Points to Sheema Classic

Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who finished 11th in the G3 Neom Turf Cup on the Saudi Cup undercard in Riyadh on Saturday, is in good order and remains in the mix for the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic on Dubai World Cup night on Mar. 26. Breaking widest of all from gate 14 on Saturday, the 5-year-old entire never appeared comfortable while trapped well off the fence for most of the race. He eventually tired and dropped back before being impeded by a rival that had fallen two furlongs from home.

“He was fine straight after the race, there was nothing wrong with him and he was in really good shape, we were just drawn in 14 and as soon as we'd gone 150 yards I said to the boys watching on TV 'we've got no chance',” said co-trainer William Muir, who shares the licence with Chris Grassick. “We got pushed out wide and that was where we were drawn so we have no complaints, but we were out wide and we were never into an even rhythm.

“It was not a nice race for us and then there was a bit of a bumping match and that horse [Channel Cat] came down which was sad, that bumped us too and then after that Martin [Dwyer] just looked after him.

“It was just one of those you have to put a line through, it's disappointing to go a long way to get a race like that but that happens–it's the luck of the draw.”

A winner of the G1 Coronation Cup last June, the bay added a Lingfield listed affair in November and then was a good second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase on Dec. 12.

“He's fine, he didn't really have a race and he only blew for about five minutes,” the trainer, who missed traveling to Riyadh due to a COVID positive, said. “He looked fantastic this morning, they took a video for me and he's 100% sound. If he comes home fine then he'll continue on to his road to Dubai and we'll go for the Sheema Classic.

“It was just one of the things, from me testing positive and not being able to go, I was disappointed about that, then things just didn't go to plan. It wasn't meant to be.”

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Mishriff on Track For Saudi Cup Title Defence

Prince Faisal's 2021 $20-million Saudi Cup hero Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) is in excellent form ahead of his defence of his crown in the 2022 edition, the first time the race has been accorded Group 1 status. The John and Thady Gosden runner took the G1 Sheema Classic at Meydan last March, and was third in Sandown's G1 Eclipse S. July. Second to Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. on July 24, he bounced back to win the G1 Juddmonte International S. a month later. In his final 2021 start, the 5-year-old was fourth in the G1 Champion S. at Ascot on Oct. 16.

“He's a year older and a little bigger, but he's been training well up to the race so far so let's hope it continues like that,” said co-trainer Thady Gosden. “It's more of a challenge being the middle of winter over here. We've been lucky to avoid the snow so far, but it has been cold and frosty. It's more straightforward in a warmer climate, but we're lucky it hasn't been too cold here.

“We'll get the Saudi hurdle out of the way and then there are two possible races on World Cup night, the Sheema Classic and the [G1 Dubai] World Cup itself and I'm sure Prince Faisal will know which he'd like to go for.

“Then we've got a long season here so there's a few bridges to cross before we start thinking of the Breeders' Cup.”

Another Gosden runner pointed to the Saudi Cup meeting at the end of February is dual Group 1 winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). The winner of the 2020 G1 Prince of Wales's S. has not been seen in action since he captured the G1 Dubai Turf at the end of March and is aiming for the Neom Cup on the Saudi Cup undercard.

“Lord North had a bit of an issue and because he's a horse of such calibre we've given him all the time he needs, but he's back training well now and hopefully he gets to the Neom,” said Gosden. “He's bouncing around the place and he's pretty determined to get out there. It looks a tough field and Pyledriver ran exceptionally well in Hong Kong, but he's back to his old self.”

The G1 Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who ran a heroic second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase in December, is also training with an eye toward a start in the Neom Cup. His trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick sent the 5-year-old entire out for a spin over the Kempton all-weather prior to leaving for Saudi Arabia.

“We took him to Kempton today to let him have a blow over the surface to cover a distance of ground,” Muir said. “It was just to literally get him away from home for something different and a change of scenery, to perk him up and keep him in good shape.

“The horse is in great shape. It wasn't one of those gallops you want to put a gun to his head and say 'go'. It was just to let us cover the distance.

“Martin [Dywer] rode him and when he got off he said, after riding in races there over the winter, it felt like he broke the track record.”

The La Pyle Partnership colourbearer was under consideration for the Saudi Cup itself, but connections ultimately opted for the Neom Cup on turf.

“We had a long conversation, the owners and myself, and we are aiming to go from here to the Sheema Classic in Dubai,” Muir explained. “We felt to drop him back to a mile-one on dirt and then go back up to a mile and four would be giving different signals. We know a mile and a quarter on turf is fine so we thought we'd do that and then go onto the next target.”

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Pyledriver in Good Order After Win, Hong Kong Still Plan

G1 Coronation Cup hero Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) exited his victory in the Listed Churchill S. in good order and his next target remains the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase on Dec. 12.

“He was fantastic on Sunday morning,” said trainer William Muir, who trains with Chris Grassick. “He moves so beautifully and he's like a dressage horse the way he trots away. He's got so much bounce–he's perfect.

“He lost a wee bit of weight but I thought he would. He was quite over his racing weight so I knew it would bring him down a little bit. He'll put a bit back on then he'll level off as to where we have to have him.

“He was 12 kilos above his racing weight for the Coronation Cup. And he was heavier when he went first time out to Newmarket and I said to everybody it wasn't my main objective and he went there at 480 kilos. On Saturday, he was 489.

“Hong Kong Vase is next. His plane goes on Dec. 3. He'll have to have a few days in quarantine when he gets there. He can walk round and do light exercise in the barn or in the quarantine area. Then we'll have three or four days before the race to do what we've got to do.”

The La Pyle Partnership runner opened his season with a good second in the G2 Jockey Club S. on May 1 prior to his June 4 Coronation Cup win. A small setback ruled out the 4-year-old for much of the summer.

“He's such a competitive horse,” Muir added. “You knew he'd run well but you thought if anything catches him out, it will be the race fitness at the end against race-fit horses, but it just showed he's still all there and he didn't get hurt before.

“That's the good thing. He never got hurt when he had this little setback, and it was small. I tried to emphasise to everybody it wasn't much but I don't want to make it a lot. If you'd have kept going you may have got way with it, or you may have ended up having a fairly big problem.”

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