Pyledriver

The Devil's Dyke stretches in pretty much a straight line for more than seven miles through parts of Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. The best part, according to this scribbler anyway, is the section roughly a mile and half long which cleaves Newmarket's July Course from the Rowley Mile, with a break in the dyke allowing the two courses to join briefly just beyond the ten-furlong mark on the latter. A Dutch author, Iman Jacob Wilkens, once claimed that Cambridge's Gog Magog Hills was the true location of the City of Troy,...

Dual Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who won over £2 million in prize-money and took his trainers William Muir and Chris Grassick to some of the top races around the world, has been retired.  Pyledriver suffered a setback ahead of an intended appearance at Kempton on Saturday leaving Muir with a straightforward decision to retire his horse of a lifetime. Winner of the 2021 Coronation Cup at Epsom and last year's King George at Ascot, the six-year-old had been preparing for a possible tilt at the Prix...

Fan favourite Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), not seen at the races since defeating Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) in the G1 King George & Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. at Ascot July 23, will not be ready for a tilt at the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland Race Course Nov. 5, co-trainer William Muir told At The Races Monday. "I think it will come too soon and there's no way I'm putting pressure on him at any stage," the conditioner told At The Races's Luke Harvey. "He's swimming...

Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) has been ruled out of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe after connections revealed the G1 King George winner picked up 'a minor injury'. Trained by William Muir and Chris Grassick, the 5-year-old entire proved too good for last season's Arc hero Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) in the King George, and while his injury is not reported to be a serious one, it is enough to scupper plans to run at ParisLongchamp. "He's had a slight setback and we're gutted," Muir said on...

Shadwell's Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) remains the world's top-rated racehorse according to the most recent edition of the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings which were published Thursday. The homebred colt, trained by William Haggas, has built on a perfect six-race 3-year-old campaign with a trio of additional victories on the trot this term, including the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury in May, the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot in June and a facile defeat of Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the G1 Qatar Sussex S....

All roads lead to the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in October for Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), with the 5-year-old's joint-trainer providing an upbeat bulletin on his stable star. William Muir has described the King George hero to be "jumping out of his skin" as he prepares for a tilt at the Arc and revealed Pyledriver could head straight to Paris without the benefit of a prep race. Despite being a previous winner of the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot, the G2 Great Voltigeur at...

An unusually quiet Sunday on the European circuit allows a pause before the meeting that should only ever be referred to as Glorious Goodwood, and also some reflection on a truly special result at Ascot on Saturday afternoon. William Muir, a baby-faced veteran of the training ranks who now shares his licence with Chris Grassick, assessed the greatest win of his 30-year training career as "a big, big moment", and he deserves to enjoy that moment for days and weeks to come.  By now, the story of Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour...

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Torquator Tasso (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) is among the six five-day confirmations for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. at Ascot on Saturday, along with Irish Derby hero Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and Oaks runner-up Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). The 5-year-old German raider was given the green light after a gallop on Monday morning at Mulheim, where he is trained by Marcel Weiss for owner Gestut Auenquelle. He bids to emulate compatriots Danedream (Ger) (Lomitas {GB}) and Novellist (Ger)...

Last year's G1 Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) is reported to be in fine fettle by his co-trainer William Muir ahead of Saturday's G3 Neom Turf Cup, and though a positive Covid test has ruled Muir out of traveling to Saudi Arabia, he has been keeping close tabs on his stable star via video feed and through communication with his team on the ground, which includes his son-in-law and jockey Martin Dwyer. The 5-year-old Pyledriver won the Listed Churchill S. at Lingfield on Nov. 13 in his...

Defending winner Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}) as well as Breeders' Cup winners Knicks Go (Paynter), Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Marche Lorraine (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) are among the entries for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup which takes place on Feb. 26 at Riyadh. Connections of the 5-year-old Mishriff recently confirmed he is on track for the race, and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Marche Lorraine is expected to conclude her racing career there. Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go and Dirt Mile victor Life Is Good are...

In the wake of Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire})'s second-place finish in Sunday's G1 Hong Kong Vase, co-trainer William Muir has said that the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic is on the soon-to-be 5-year-old's agenda, with a stop at the Saudi Cup meeting along the way a possibility. "Everything's on the table," Muir said. "He's definitely going to have a winter campaign and it's going to end up at the Sheema Classic before he comes home to have a little bit of a break. Let's keep our fingers crossed, we all...

by Alan Carasso The Longines Hong Kong International Races meeting Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse has had much to overcome over the last few years. In 2019, massive social unrest--including a cluster at the Chinese University of Hong Kong a stone's throw from the track--left some doubt as to whether the event would go forward at all. At the end of the day, not only did it proceed, but it was supported to the tune of record turnover of HK$1.71 billion. Twelve months ago, in the midst of a pandemic...