Pyledriver (GB)

Dual Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}--La Pyle {Fr}, by Le Havre {Ire}) will stand under the Coolmore National Hunt banner in 2024, Coolmore announced on Friday. Retired earlier this year before being acquired by Coolmore, the 6-year-old won both the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. and the G1 Coronation Cup. A fee will be announced later. "Pyledriver is the best horse I've ever had anything to do with and gave us so many fantastic days," said co-trainer William Muir. "From day one he never...

You've heard for a while that Saturday's edition of the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. is a special one. "Race for the ages" has been bandied about and for good reason given the accumulation of top-class mile-and-a-half horses set for the Ascot joust. What had for so long been starved of a meaningful intergenerational clash and threatened to become a bygone curio has suddenly been dusted off and revived due largely to the presence of the Derby winner. Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) is no...

Eleven high-quality runners will make up one of the greatest renewals of the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Qipco S. in recent memory on Saturday, with Desert Crown (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) the biggest missing name among them. Saeed Suhail's troubled 2022 Derby hero's leg infection means that the keenly-anticipated clash of the last two Blue Riband winners in the Ascot monument is cruelly denied, while the three other withdrawals disappointingly include the sole French challenger Simca Mille (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), whose chance was put paid to by...

As many as six horses from Aidan O'Brien's yard, including dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), will line up in the G1 King George and Queen Elizabeth S. at Ascot on July 29. Riding a two-race winning streak after taking Epsom's Blue Riband last month and the Irish equivalent for the Coolmore partners, Auguste Rodin beat stable-mate Adelaide River (Ire) (Australia {GB}) in the latter. He will aim to emulate former Coolmore kingpin Galileo (Ire) with a victory in the King George after winning two Derbys. "He's on...

Royal Ascot's G2 Hardwicke S. was missing Hukum (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), but it still had Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}--La Pyle (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}) and the hero of last year's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. copied that Shadwell contemporary in overcoming his own lengthy lengthy lay-off on Saturday. Understandably over-racing in the hands of P J McDonald behind the front-running West Wind Blows (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Changingoftheguard (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) throughout the early stages, the 7-2 shot who had also won the G2...

Multiple Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) will make his long-awaited return in the G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot in June, according to Chris Grassick, who trains with William Muir. A winner of the 2021 G1 Coronation Cup and 2022 G1 King George and Queen Elizabeth S., the 6-year-old entire races for the La Pyle Partnership. Various setbacks have kept Pyledriver away from the races after his King George victory last July. Grassick said, "He's cantering back and William has done the entry for the Hardwicke, so...

Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), a winner of the 2022 G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S., has sustained a setback to his left foreleg, according to co-trainer William Muir. The bay's racing future hinges on the results of some scans. He was pointing to the G3 Winter Derby, and then was targetting the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan, a race he finished fourth in last term. "When he pulled up after a piece of work he was a tiny bit off on his near-fore," said Muir, who...

Group 1 winners Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) and Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) are two of the 16 nominations for the Feb. 25 £100,000 G3 BetUK Winter Derby at Lingfield. Last seen winning the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S., the William Muir and Chris Grassick-trained 6-year-old has been on the bench since that victory. He claimed the 2021 Listed Churchill S. over 10 furlongs at that track, defeating fellow Winter Derby entry Harrovian (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}). John and Thady Gosden's Lord North was runner-up in the...

Dual Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) has returned to full work and will take another crack at the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March, according to co-trainer William Muir, who trains with Chris Grassick. The 5-year-old entire took the G1 Coronation Cup last year, and was fourth in the Sheema Classic this March. Second in defence of his Coronation Cup back at Epsom in June, he was last seen taking the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth S. by 2 3/4 lengths at Ascot on July...

Dual Group 1 winner Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) has emerged from his G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. victory in good order and will point towards the G1 Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 2, according to co-trainer William Muir. After running second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup in December, the bay did not make an impact in Riyadh, and was an unlucky fourth in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March. Wheeled back attempting a title defence of his G1 Coronation...

The heat was on in Saturday's G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth QIPCO S. at Ascot, a "Win And You're In" for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf at Keeneland in November, and there was no hiding place as Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) proved ruthless to prevail for the William Muir and Chris Grassick stable and jockey P J McDonald. Sent off at 18-1 with a below-par second in the June 3 G1 Coronation Cup last time tempering enthusiasm, last year's winner of that Epsom prize was always...

All six contenders stood their ground for Saturday's G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Qipco S. at Ascot as final declarations were confirmed Thursday morning. Juddmonte's G1 Irish Derby hero Westover (GB) (Frankel {GB} and G1 Oaks runner-up Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), set to make her first start in the Watership Down silks, will take on their elders with the advantage of a sizeable weight allowance afforded the Classic generation in the £1.25 million 12-furlong test. They have drawn gates six and three, respectively. Prince Faisal's...