Pyledriver team eye Group One prize in Germany after Derby defeat

Pyledriver could try for Group One glory in Germany, once he has had time to recover from his unfortunate passage in the Investec Derby at Epsom.

Trainer William Muir has the Preis von Europa at Cologne in mind for his stable star, whose hopes of Classic success were dashed soon after the start on Saturday.

“Once he got knocked over that was our race gone,” said Muir. “It happened when they cross from one side of the track to the other. He ended up being the meat in sandwich and was spat out the back. That was our race over.

“He did very well to stay on the way he did. He’s come out of it very well, but he didn’t really have a race.

“It was one of those things. That’s racing, that’s what happened, and you have to be philosophical and go forward.

“He didn’t get injured – and that’s the main thing, the luckiest thing.”

Muir is sticking to his original plan to give Pyledriver a break, after taking him from last month’s Group Two King Edward VII Stakes – in which he gave the Lambourn trainer his first Royal Ascot success – on to the Derby.

“I said I was going to give him a little bit of time, and I am,” he said.

“Once I’ve done that, and he’s freshened up, he’ll probably go for a Group One in Germany, the Preis von Europa. We ran Enforcer in that years ago (2006), and he was third.

“The horse is fine. He had a canter round on Tuesday. He’s 100 per cent, no problems whatsoever. We’ll look to go to Cologne, unless something pops up elsewhere.

“I’m convinced after Saturday if he hadn’t got hampered, he’d have finished very much closer – but we wouldn’t have beaten the winner.”