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Muir Maps Out Pyledriver Campaign

The G1 Coronation Cup and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. are among the targets that trainer William Muir has set out for Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) for the first half of the year. The 4-year-old-who last year won the G2 King Edward VI S. at Royal Ascot and the G2 Great Voltigeur S. before finishing third in the G1 St Leger-will start out in the G2 Jockey Club S. at Newmarket before aiming for the Coronation, the G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot and the King George.

“If he wins all those, we'll decide where we go after that,” Muir said. “He's been cantering since early January and doing two steady canters for the last four to six weeks. He still moves like a ballet dancer.”

Muir said the bay stayed in his Lambourn stable over the winter.

“He had a fantastic break,” he said. “His break was an exercise on the horse walker in the morning, and then he went out in the field for four hours every afternoon. He then went into small paddock on his own in the afternoons–which was lovely, when there were no others out–and he loved it, acting like a stallion in a stallion paddock. He thrived and put on about 55-60 kilos.

“He was still a boy last year. Now he's turning into a man. He's got his strength very nearly. This year, and next year, should be when he's at his peak. I'm looking forward to it now.”

Pyledriver was last seen finishing seventh of 10 over the heavy going in the G1 Champion S. on Oct. 17.

“I wasn't disappointed with his last run,” Muir said. “He was still a big baby and still finished seventh in the Champion S. and finished in front of Mishriff, and the way we rode him on the day nothing came from behind. We decided to ride him the same, but I feel being forward on the day was a big advantage. From that day on, he was on his holidays. We lost nothing in defeat. He did everything great for us. Personally I feel the Leger, in which he ran a fantastic race, left its mark. It took more out of him than we realised.”

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Godolphin Colt Earns Kentucky Derby Points

5th-Kempton, £38,000, Cond, 3-3, 3yo, 8f (AWT), 1:38.12, st/sl.
HIGHLAND AVENUE (IRE) (c, 3, Dubawi {Ire}–Lumiere {GB} {Hwt. 2yo Filly-Eng & G1SW-Eng, $329,674}, by Shamardal), a Jan. 30 last-out winner over course and distance, employed patient tactics in rear for the most part of a contest carrying points towards a Kentucky Derby invitation. Making eyecatching headway along the far-side rail in the straight, the 4-9 lock gained an edge approaching the eighth pole and was ridden out in the latter stages to deny 200-1 chance Sergeant Tibbs (GB) (Bobby's Kitten) by 1 3/4 lengths. Highland Avenue therefore earns 20 points towards the Kentucky Derby. Kin to a 2-year-old filly by Galileo {Ire}) and a yearling filly by Sea the Stars (Ire), he is the first of three foals and lone performer out of G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Lumiere (GB) (Shamardal), herself a full-sister to GI E.P. Taylor S. victric Sheikha Reika (Fr). Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, $39,342.
O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby.

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Thunder Moon On Track For Guineas

Entries were revealed on Wednesday for the G1 Qipco 2000 Guineas and G1 Qipco 1000 Guineas, with 72 colts signed on for the 2000 Guineas on May 1 and 63 fillies for the 1000 the following day.

Aidan O'Brien has saddled 10 winners of the first Classic of the season and has 12 entries for the 2000 Guineas, including 2-year-old champion St Mark's Basilica (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) and G2 Vintage S. scorer Battleground (War Front). O'Brien's son Joseph, likewise, has Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez's G1 Goffs Vincent O'Brien National S. winner Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) signed on, and he said of the bay, a last-out third in the G1 Dewhurst S., “Thunder Moon has wintered well and we are pleased with where we are. There is plenty of water still to go under the bridge yet but it is exciting to have a live contender for the 2000 Guineas. We were very pleased with the run in the Dewhurst considering the ground on the day. He was posted on a tougher part of the track as there was bias towards the stands rails but we were pleased with him. He is obviously a pretty quick horse on what he has done so far but he shapes as though a mile will be within compass so I don't see the trip being a problem. I do feel that he will be better on quicker ground as well. It is nice to have had a run at the track previously and that experience there won't do him any harm. We have the option of running him beforehand but we will decide nearer the time and see how the horse is before making that decision.”

O'Brien added of his champion 2-year-old filly Pretty Gorgeous (Fr) (Lawman {Fr}), who is among the early favourites for the 1000 Guineas, “She is obviously a course and distance winner so we know she gets the trip well. I was very pleased with the performance in the Fillies' Mile. It was a brave performance as she had a bit of an interrupted preparation going into the race.

“She is an exciting filly. Her pedigree suggests she will be open to stay further than a mile as well which gives her plenty of options. Like with Thunder Moon, she has wintered well and I'm pleased with where we are. She was consistently solid last season and hopefully we can keep it that way. She was fine on both soft and good ground so she is versatile ground-wise. A decision on whether she has a prep run will depend on how she is training and how we feel closer to the time.”

Richard Hannon, meanwhile, said of the G2 Vintage S. winner Chindit (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who is engaged for the 2000 Guineas, “I'm very pleased with him and he has done very well. He did just a bit more than a canter a few days ago, him [fellow Guineas entrants] Fancy Man (Ire) and Etonian (Ire) all worked and it was a lovely start.

“Regarding his Newmarket run [ninth in the Dewhurst], the times say that the ground was heavy and it looked it. Chindit will go wherever there is decent ground. If it turns up at Newbury that is where he will go first [for the G3 Greenham S.]. He had done all his winning on flat tracks at Doncaster and Ascot before Newmarket and I'm not sure he loved the track. He has always been a neat horse with a good action. He is a good horse with a lot of speed. I think he would get the mile in a Guineas and would be suited by that trip as he is a very straightforward, simple horse.”

Trainer Andrew Balding provided an update on G1 Cheveley Park S. scorer Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), who recently returned from winter holiday.

“We are very much looking at the Guineas but that is still a long way off,” he said. “She has had a good holiday but she still looks a bit wintery in her coat so we will see what happens over the next month as we all know what fillies can do in the spring. I really was impressed in the Cheveley Park as it was only her third run and she was entitled to improve again. She has done well physically but we haven't really started serious work yet. Her pedigree offers mixed messages regarding the trip and that is about all I can go on at this stage. I'd be hopeful she would get it though as she relaxes pretty well but there is nothing we can do to find out until we try it. I think the plan if all goes well is to go to the Fred Darling first as a prep as I would like her to go over seven before going over a mile.”

Trainer Jane Chapple-Hyam said 1000 Guineas contender Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), who won last year's G3 Oh So Sharp S., will have a prep for the Classic.

“I'm thrilled with the way she has come back from her winter break at Ben and Lucy's Sangster's in Manton,” Chapple-Hyam said. “She has put on a nice 77 pounds and she has matured into a filly that should be competitive for the Guineas. The plan will be to start her off in the [G3] Nell Gwyn [S.] and then two weeks later head for the Guineas. It was a quick turnaround between her two runs in her maiden and the Oh So Sharp last season so we know she can do it. I think she is a serious filly that is potentially top drawer. She has wintered well and developed nicely. She has got all the right attributes. She has done it on different ground types and I think if it is real good ground you will really see her scoot along. She is not complicated as she doesn't have to lead or have cover or come with a late run. If you look at her last run she hit the rising ground going away so I don't see the mile being a problem at all.”

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Believing In Ballylinch

Although his first crop is just four this year, Make Believe (GB) has made an impressive start at stud with his flagbearer, Mishriff (Ire), backing up his Classic-winning year with a recent win in the Saudi Cup. With the flat season due to start in a few weeks, racing pundits are already guessing at what possible route the winner of the world's richest race might take this year. For Make Believe, the breeding season has started in a strong vein and the team at Ballylinch Stud, where the sire stands, have every reason to look forward to the year ahead.

“This would be the strongest book that he covers,” said John O'Connor, manager of the Co. Kilkenny stud. “There have been some more calls since the Saudi Cup, but the basis was already laid for it. Very pleasingly, both the dams of Mishriff and Believe In Love (Ire) are coming back to him.”

Believe In Love, who is in training with Roger Varian, was a progressive filly last year and rounded off her 2020 campaign with five wins from nine runs including the G3 Prix Belle de Nuit at Saint-Cloud. Among Make Believe's other notable winners from his first crop are Rose Of Kildare (Ire), Tammani (GB) and German champion 2-year-old filly Ocean Fantasy (Fr).

“That was an exceptional crop and he's backing it up with some very nice 2-year-olds from last year, including one trained by John Gosden called Third Kingdom (GB),” said O'Connor.

Mishriff's win in the Saudi Cup was a remarkable feat and the poignancy of the win for his owner Prince Faisal has not been lost on anyone. “I think it was an exceptional performance for both horse and trainer to go to a race of this caliber in Saudi without a prep while training through the winter,” O'Connor said. “He was taking on top-caliber performers from the States on the surface that they would be more accustomed to and they had the advantage of a prep run and training in warmer climates.”

O'Connor continued, “Prince Faisal has been developing that Rafha (GB) family for a number of years. He bred both Kodiac (GB) and Invincible Spirit (GB) from that family. Make Believe is one of his favorite racehorses. So it was highly appropriate that Prince Faisal should breed his first really top-class horse too.”

There are early signs that Make Believe works well with mares from the Acclamation sire line as well as the Sadler's Wells line.

“It's still early days for working out nicks, but it does seem fairly obvious that he can go well with the Sadler's Wells line,” said O'Connor. “Tammani is out of a Sadler's Wells mare and Rose of Kildare is a granddaughter of Galileo (Ire).”

Eager to build on these successes, O'Connor has made strides himself with mare purchases to bolster Make Believe's future crops. “We recognized early on that Mishriff was a very high- class horse. We tried to take a leaf out of Prince Faisal's book and so we have a mare from the Rafha family, which we got from Hill 'n' Dale. She's a group-winning Galileo mare and she's currently in foal to Make Believe.”

With support like this Make Believe, could reach the level of global success that is frequently achieved by his stablemate Lope De Vega (Ire).

“Our model really follows that line where we do syndicate the horses and with all the horses that we stand here, the original racing owner has stayed involved,” said O'Connor. “I think that's extremely important because the person who has raceday success with the horse is going to have a vested interest in them doing well as a stallion.”

The newest recruit at Ballylinch, Waldgeist (GB), shares similar connections with Lope De Vega and has his first foals this year with those already on the ground receiving rave reviews.

“The reports are excellent,” said O'Connor. “He's been very well supported. As you know, he was raced like Lope De Vega by Gestut Ammerland who combined with Newsells Park to breed Waldgeist, and they're both supporting him well. They've both got some very nice foals by him. We've got some really nice foals on the ground here, at Ballylinch, including one of our own out of a mare called Fort Del Oro (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who was a champion sprint filly for us; her colt I would call exceptional.”

Aside from the aforementioned stallions, the Ballylinch roster also includes New Bay (GB), who was a leading first-season sire in 2020, and Fascinating Rock (Ire), who recently sired his first stakes winner in America, Earls Rock (Ire), who was bred by his racing owner Newtown Anner Stud.

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