Willie Muir eyes conquering the world with Pyledriver

Willie Muir will plot a course that could include a trip to the Breeders’ Cup with impressive King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Pyledriver.

On Sunday, the Lambourn handler, who trains in partnership with Chris Grassick, confirmed that the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp on October 2 will be the five-year-old’s next target, with the Japan Cup and the Hong Kong Vase also under consideration.

“The Breeders’ Cup is after the Arc, so basically the Arc is next on the agenda and once you’ve won that race, you have a free entry to the Japan Cup, same as the Breeders’ Cup, same as Hong Kong,” said Muir.

“We can’t do them all. It is impossible to do everything.”

Martin Dwyer, who has partnered Pyledriver in all but four of the entire’s 18 career starts, is currently recuperating following surgery to repair a torn ACL and hinted that a trip to Keeneland could be on the cards after the Arc.

Muir said: “The three owners and me, and definitely Martin – even though he is not riding, he is a big part of this horse’s journey – will decide where we go after the Arc. The Breeders’ Cup is possible.

“We will have a meeting and discuss which way we go, but the Arc is next.”

Pyledriver’s 18-1 success, beating five rivals by upwards of two and three-quarter lengths in the mile-and-a-half midsummer Ascot highlight, was run in a time of just under two and a half minutes.

He was 18 lengths clear of Irish Derby winner Westover and 25 lengths in front of unlucky Oaks runner-up Emily Upjohn, who represented the Classic generation.

Muir, who has been training since 1991, feels the victory under jockey PJ McDonald may be decried in some quarters, because Pyledriver is not stabled in a bigger yard.

“He is grand, really good this morning,” Muir reported. “He has come out of the race well, he is very happy. I was out with him about 5am this morning and he is fine.

“Others might have a hangover, but I don’t drink. A few of the boys who came in this morning were nursing!”

He added: “The horse absolutely deserves it, but it doesn’t make a jot of difference.

“If this horse would have been trained by Aidan (O’Brien) or by John Gosden, he would be a superstar.

“It is no good saying ‘it is one for the small man’, and then go and say ‘this horse didn’t perform or that horse didn’t perform, because he didn’t do that or he missed the break’.

“Before the race, they said, ‘Westover was a fantastic winner of the Irish Derby and was an unlucky loser in the English Derby… Emily Upjohn is the best we’ve ever seen – she bolted up at Sandown and won at York and she was unlucky at Epsom, if she had not have stumbled she’d have won the Oaks… Mishriff got the jockey sacked because he should have won the Eclipse last time… the German horse won his Group Two really well and won last year’s Arc… Broome won the Hardwicke last time out’ – not any giving a mention to Pyledriver!

“Then, after the race, (they say) ‘none of them have performed’.

“But you can’t take anything away from him – it was a real fast time.”

Though the going ahead of the Group One contest was officially described as good to firm, Muir felt the ground rode easier and was fulsome in his praise for clerk of the course Chris Stickels for producing a surface he described as “perfect”.

Muir also countered those who felt last season’s Arc winner, Germany’s Torquator Tasso, who chased home Pyledriver, did not have his optimum conditions.

“I walked the course and fair play to Chris Stickels. That course was in magnificent condition,” said Muir. “That was good ground. That was not good to firm (good in places), that was beautiful, beautiful ground. Perfect ground.

“But they all forget, four runs ago, when I was going to Hong Kong, they said, ‘Pyledriver is much better on soft ground’.

“Now we have gone and won, we are longer in the betting for the Arc than the horse who finished second, because they say the German horse will appreciate soft ground! I think people just don’t know what they are on about.”

Pyledriver is as big as 16-1 with William Hill for the Arc, with Torquator Tasso generally half those odds to repeat last season’s victory.

Connections of Torquator Tasso are “looking forward” to locking horns again with Ascot conqueror Pyledriver when he bids to defend his Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe crown.

The German star made a bold bid to emulate compatriots Danedream and Novellist in finishing two and three-quarter lengths behind Pyledriver in the midsummer all-aged showpiece on Saturday.

Despite encountering quicker ground on his British debut than he had when landing the Arc, the Torquator Tasso camp were offering no excuses for defeat in the mile-and-a-half Group One contest.

The five-year-old arrived safely back in Mulheim, where trainer Marcel Weiss is based, on Sunday afternoon.

He will now be aimed at the Grosser Preis von Baden, a race he won last year en route to his shock 80-1 victory at ParisLongchamp.

“He was very well and had no problems with the journey,” said part-owner Peter-Michael Endres. “It was no problem for him.

“Our thought now is to bring him to Baden-Baden for his next race (in September) and then to the Arc. It will be a similar route to last year. The only change was that he went to Ascot and that was the right decision.”

Following his fine effort in defeat, where he had last year’s runaway Juddmonte International winner Mishriff eight lengths behind in third, Torquator Tasso was cut to 8-1 (from 25s) with William Hill to land a second Arc.

Desert Crown, who missed the race and will also bypass the International at York following a setback, still heads the market for October 2 feature with most firms.

Endres said connections of the Adlerflug colt were “delighted” to have taken their chance at Ascot, and insisted Torquator Tasso showed his ground versatility.

“I think he can go on this (quicker) ground – as we have seen,” said Endres. “On softer ground, some of the other horses are not as good on it as he is.”

He added: “The hospitality at Ascot was marvellous. It was a very good journey. We like to win, but to gain second place and also how he has done it, we are very happy about that.”

While Irish Derby winner Westover and Oaks runner-up Emily Upjohn may have had their excuses, Endres said anyone questioning the worth of the form should think again.

“When he won the Arc, people thought the horses he beat were not as good as they thought before,” added Endres. “Now you think nearly the best three-year-olds had problems against older horses – and he is one of the best. So, we are looking forward to going back to the Arc.”

Irish Derby champion Westover is set to be freshened up for an autumn campaign following his lacklustre display in the King George.

Badly hampered when eventually finishing third in the Cazoo Derby at Epsom, the Ralph Beckett-trained son of Frankel made no mistake at the Curragh late last month, landing the mile-and-a-half Classic by an impressive seven lengths in the hands of Colin Keane.

That faultless display, combined with the defection of Desert Crown, saw the Juddmonte-owned colt sent off the 13-8 favourite for the first real 12-furlong clash of the generations. But having been far too keen in the early stages of the race, he faded out of contention tamely once the six-runner field turned for home.

“I think it just wasn’t our day,” said Barry Mahon, general manager for Juddmonte.

“As we had said prior to the race, we were a little nervous coming into it on the back of being to Epsom and the Curragh and it was a tight enough timescale with such a horse.

“He got a bit warm in the prelims and a little excited and then in the parade ring he got in behind Emily Upjohn, which wasn’t ideal.

“Then the race just didn’t pan out in our favour. There wasn’t a lot of pace and Westover was a little bit keen so we got left in front. It just wasn’t ideal and wasn’t our day.

“He’ll have a good rest now, I spoke to Ralph this morning and the horse has come out of it fine. He has a couple of little overreaches on his hind leg where maybe in the first furlong or two when he crossed over to the rail something caught him from behind, but all just superficial.”

With Westover now spending some time recuperating from three runs in Group One company in the space of seven weeks, there is plenty of options open for an autumn campaign.

One possibility could see him step up in trip for the St Leger, a race for which he is the general 4-1 favourite.

“That’s definitely on the agenda,” Mahon continued. “And also all the other middle-distance races such as the Prix Niel and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and whatever else, but the horse is going to tell us where and when.

“We’ll give him a good rest now and freshen him up for the autumn. We probably won’t even talk about a race for probably a month until we’ve seen how he is and then we’ll start working towards something at that stage.

“He’s trained great all season and one of his biggest attributes has been his calm, relaxed nature and we saw on Saturday that we’d probably just pushed him far enough and he was beginning to get warm beforehand, he just needs a rest now and we’ll regroup for the autumn.”

Meanwhile, Connections of Coronation Stakes winner Inspiral will look to an autumn campaign after choosing to bypass the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Last season’s May Hill and Fillies’ Mile winner made a belated three-year-old debut, providing father and son training partnership John and Thady Gosden the highlight of an otherwise disappointing Royal Ascot, powering to a second Group One success in the Coronation.

The daughter of Frankel was subsequently beaten at odds of 1-7 by Prosperous Voyage in the Falmouth at Newmarket’s July Festival meeting.

Initial tentative plans were made for Inspiral to contest the Prix Jacques le Marois, a Group One contest over a mile at Deauville on August 14.

However, Chris Richardson, managing director of Cheveley Park Stud, who own the filly, has hinted she may instead be saved for an autumn campaign.

Richardson said: “We haven’t got anything to say at this point in time with regards to the filly. We are just giving her a bit of a freshen up now.

“As we discounted Goodwood, I haven’t really spoken (to John and Thady Gosden) about targets. Obviously, those autumn mile and mile-and-a-quarter races we will look at in due course, as long as she is in good form.

“I haven’t really haven’t had too many dealings with her (since the Falmouth). She came out of the race fine and everything was checked over, but apart from that it is freshening her up, as I understand.”

Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes produced a bittersweet result for Martin Dwyer.

Pyledriver’s regular jockey played a pivotal role in the five-year-old’s deeply impressive victory, despite being sidelined with a knee injury.

The Liverpool-born rider, who won the 2006 Derby aboard Sir Percy, tore his ACL after an iron leather broke on the gallops riding out for trainer Brian Meehan in April.

Stable jockey to joint-trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick, Dwyer is still instrumental in the Lambourn operation even though he is ruled out for the rest of the season following surgery.

“It was tough to watch, because obviously I’m watching it at home with a swollen knee thinking it should be me,” said Dwyer.

“But I’m delighted for the team. It was a great result and I’m pleased for everybody, but it does make it tough. That’s racing, isn’t it?

“I’ve been though it before. I’ve missed a Breeders’ Cup winner through injury and you just have to deal with it.”

Frankie Dettori deputised aboard Pyledriver in the entire’s previous two outings, when a luckless length fourth in the Dubai Sheema Classic before finishing runner-up in defence of his Coronation Cup crown at Epsom.

With Dettori claimed to renew his partnership with Oaks second Emily Upjohn, PJ McDonald, who had partnered Pyledriver just once before – winning on his third start – came in for the ride at Ascot.

Dwyer, who had ridden Pyledriver on 14 of his previous 16 starts, gave McDonald some valuable insight, which proved crucial as he strode clear to defeat Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso by two and three-quarter lengths.

“It was great for everybody and was it great to see the horse perform like he did and PJ gave him a great ride,” added the Racing TV pundit.

“We had a good chat in the morning – we talked for about half an hour – and went through the race, as he was asking me what I would do.

“He could not have planned it any better, as it all worked out like we thought it would.

“We said that Ryan (Moore) would be keen to make the running again (on Broome), so let him – leave him room if he wanted to go past in the early stages, as it would be good for Pyledriver to have something to follow.

“We said that Colin Keane (on Westover) would have to make a decision on what he would do from stall six and he decided to go forward from there and ended up lighting his horse up and running too free.

“The writing was on the wall from a long way out for his horse. And it just panned out perfectly for Pyledriver.”

Though the race was bereft of Derby winner Desert Crown, who suffered a setback, Dwyer feels that Irish Derby winner Westover and Emily Upjohn gave the Classic generation strong representation, despite both being keen and failing to deliver their best.

“For three-year-olds to win a King George, they have to be really top level, which sounds stupid with (Westover) a Derby winner and (Emily Upjohn) an Oaks second. They are very good three-year-olds, but they were not quite good enough, were they?” said Dwyer.

As a result, the 47-year-old rider feels Pyledriver will not receive the credit he deserves, despite the midsummer all-aged mile-and-a-half showpiece appearing to be a renewal that was well up to scratch.

“He has beaten an Arc winner and Misriff is a proper horse who won the Juddmonte International by miles last year,” added Dwyer.

“He has finished ahead of Mishriff in the past and Pyledriver has been performing and running in the top races for a couple of years now. Horses like him are not going to be winning every race they run in, because they don’t do that unless they are Frankel or Sea The Stars. They come along every so often.

“He has been running with credit in some of the top races and is a genuine Group One performer.”

The devout Everton fan is now setting his sights on a return to the saddle with regular visits to Oaksey House, the rehabilitation and fitness centre in Lambourn, and is looking forward to getting back on Pyledriver should the opportunity arise.

“I’m going in the right direction but it is just slowly. The surgeon told me from the day of the operation it is going to take six months to get back and I’m only just over two months from surgery,” said Dwyer.

“I am where I should be. I’m doing all the right things and listening to the experts at Oaksey House.

“I’m still on crutches, but I’m getting close to weight-bearing and hopefully in another month I will be walking properly and the progression will be a bit quicker.

“I am out for the season, but I aim to get back at the end of the year.

“It would be great to get back on him, whether it is Breeders’ Cup or whatever – that has got to be my target. I am working towards it, but I’m not even at halfway yet.”