Tag Archive for: William Muir

Ascot ambition for Nottingham victor Maggie’s Way

/in /by

William Muir and Chris Grassick are dreaming of a trip to Royal Ascot with Maggie’s Way after watching her saunter to a bloodless victory at Nottingham on Tuesday.

Although arriving at Colwick Park a maiden, her half-length second at Kempton in October served as a good clue to her potential and she showed exactly what was lurking in the locker in the Follow @racingtv On Twitter Fillies’ Handicap.

Sent off 12-1 in the hands of James Doyle, she left the opposition trailing in her wake to record a two-length victory and connections are keen to aim the daughter of Cityscape at the Sandringham Stakes at next month’s showpiece meeting in Berkshire.

“The race at Kempton, we felt we were a bit unlucky there, she just got collared on the line. It’s often what happens there at Kempton – they just come over the top of you,” said co-trainer Chris Grassick.

“We’ve never lost faith with this filly over the winter, she has always shown us plenty and galloped well and has a great attitude.

“We came here feeling quite bullish but the price didn’t really reflect what we were all feeling, so it was nice that she was able to get the job done nicely there for us and it’s onwards and upwards.

“Maybe, if we can, we will have one more run before going to Ascot. We’re going to have a go at the Sandringham over the stiff mile.”

Ascot could also be on the agenda for Thunderbear (18-1), who provided Irish handler Jack Davison with his first UK success in the Bet At racingtv.com Handicap.

Thunderbear provides IIrish handler Jack Davison with a first UK winner
Thunderbear provides Irish handler Jack Davison with a first UK winner (PA)

“It was just the way it fell really, it suited us to bring this horse over with the other filly (Hotter Than Hades, unplaced in Nottinghamshire Oaks) and this race just happened to be on the programme,” said Davison.

“It suited him down to the ground and he doesn’t mind ease in the ground. It was quite straightforward and he’s a nice gelding for the future.

“It was my first UK winner but I plan on bringing some more over here. I’m absolutely buzzing, delighted.

“He’s a homebred so credit to my parents, he’s a pretty useful horse and there might be a nice handicap at Ascot for him, we’ll see. I would be pleased if he was a good Saturday horse, but I wouldn’t mind coming back for Royal Ascot if there is something suitable.”

There was further Irish success on the card when Johnny Murtagh’s Starnight (2-1) obliged for favourite backers in the concluding Visit racingtv.com Handicap, while in the opening EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes Amo Racing enjoyed another two-year-old triumph with the Dominic Ffrench Davis-trained Treasure Storm (11-8 favourite).

Treasure Storm takes the opening EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes at Nottingham
Treasure Storm takes the opening EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes at Nottingham (PA)

“It was a good ride from Kevin. These horses are prepared by Robson Aguiar in Ireland and when they come over here they know their job,” said Ffrench Davis.

“She just missed the break at Musselburgh first time and we think she might need another furlong, but she got the job done nicely there.

“She’s probably not one of the best, but she’s a nice filly and she got the job done today and hopefully she can progress. I don’t think she will be an Ascot filly. We have some lovely ones and she would be lower down the pecking order. But she did well today.”

Harry Eustace’s Belhaven (100-30) got back to winning ways in the British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Handicap, while James Fanshawe’s Maso Bastie (7-2) survived a stewards’ inquiry to take his record to two from three in the Racing TV Profits Returned To Racing Restricted Novice Stakes.

“Craig Witherford and the team at home have been doing a lot of work with him in the stalls,” said Fanshawe.

“He has won two out of three races he has run in but he’s quite quirky. He has an engine that we have to keep working round and when he was challenged today he battled back well.

“I think he will definitely get a mile and a half but we will see what mark he gets next week and go from there.”

Muir waiting on scan results following Pyledriver setback

/in /by

William Muir faces an anxious wait for the scan results which could determine the future of his stable star Pyledriver following a new setback.

The six-year-old was last seen galloping to King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes glory at Ascot last summer, having since missed out on a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe through injury.

The long road to recovery was set to lead to a trip to Meydan for another crack at the Dubai Sheema Classic, in which he finished an unlucky fourth in last year, but a fresh problem has curtailed that plan – as well as an intended prep race in the Winter Derby at Lingfield on February 25.

“When he pulled up after a piece of work he was a tiny bit off on his near-fore,” said Muir, who trains in partnership with Chris Grassick.

“He’s such a lovely individual who is never short or anything and we’ve just got to wait to get all the scans done and taken before we can say what we’re doing.

“I’ve spoke to the owners and I spoke to the vet and he said ‘I would forget the Winter Derby’.

“We would have been there no problem at all and the way he was going I know he hasn’t lost anything – he was in very good form.

“That is very disappointing, but we have to do what is right for the horse and we have to find out what it is.

“It’s minute, a lot of people would look at him and say he’s fine but I know him like the back of my hand and I know he was not right. When he pulled up yesterday the lad who rides him all the time said ‘Boss he just didn’t feel quite right’ and he just looks slightly off.”

With his Lingfield return off the table, Muir has also shelved plans for a return to Dubai on World Cup night and is now just hoping to receive positive news about a horse that he describes as a “special part of my life”.

“There’s no point, I’m not going to go straight there (Dubai),” continued Muir. “Those two races are gone and we basically have to see what the results tell us.

“If it is something we can cure and look after and get him 100 per cent where he’s not lost any ability then we will carry on. If we find it is something worse than that then we will have to deal with it and go on and make him a stallion somewhere.

Jockey PJ McDonald (right) celebrates on Pyledriver after winning the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot
Jockey PJ McDonald (right) celebrates on Pyledriver after winning the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot (John Walton/PA)

“To me there is a lot of countries in the world who would love a horse like this because he’s a lovely looking individual and he’s been a fantastic racehorse with a very high rating.

“That’s the furthest thought in my mind, but I’m trying to prepare myself for it because if that is the case, then that is the case. I’m hoping we get the results back in the next few days and it says this, this and this and we can manage it fine.

“The only thing though is that comes first is the horse – that is the reason we’ll wait. You have to do what is right for these animals.

“He has been one of the best things in my training career and a special part of my life, but it doesn’t matter if it was him or the horse running at Southwell on Tuesday night, you’ve always got to do what is right for the horses.”

Pyledriver tops St Leger dozen

/in /by

Pyledriver is among a field of 12 for the Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster.

William Muir’s stable star will try to complete his fairytale rise on Saturday, after victories in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Great Voltigeur at York.

The Lambourn trainer’s ace will face the might of Ballydoyle, with Aidan O’Brien three-handed as he aims to win the Leger for a seventh time. Irish Derby hero Santiago heads his team, completed by Dawn Patrol and Mythical.

Joseph O’Brien’s Galileo Chrome and Sunchart, trained by Andy Slattery, are the other Irish-based runners.

Ed Walker has declared English King, but the Lingfield Derby Trial victor is more likely to go to France for Sunday’s Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp.

Walker told Sky Sports Racing: “We’ve declared for the St Leger – but the plan for a long time has been to head to France, and we’re still very much leaning that way.

“We’re just very concerned about travel arrangements and the changing world of Covid. With numbers increasing here, the last thing in the world we want is for France to slap a two-week quarantine on people coming from England to France and then we can’t go – so we’re just covering all angles.

“We have to decide finally by 8.30am tomorrow, so it basically gives us an extra day to see how the water lies. If everything is equal we’ll be going to Paris on Sunday.

“Tom (Marquand) is booked to ride in the Leger, because I told Frankie (Dettori) a few weeks ago we were very unlikely to run in the Leger – and as far as I understand, Frankie is riding Santiago.

“Frankie is already (set to be) in France to ride Stradivarius, so I think we’ve got everything covered. It’s a huge day for Bjorn (Nielsen, owner) with Stradivarius back over a mile and a half in the Prix Foy on his way to the Arc.

“I think English King is as good as I’ve had him all year, to be honest. I know he’s got doubters now but I’m not one and I’m hoping this weekend he’ll prove them all wrong.”

Hukum (left) was a decisive winner of Newbury's Geoffrey Freer Stakes
Hukum (left) was a decisive winner of Newbury’s Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Alan Crowhurst/PA)

Hukum, winner of the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury, will bid to give his trainer Owen Burrows a first Classic triumph at Doncaster.

Berkshire Rocco, Mohican Heights, Subjectivist and Tyson Fury complete the dozen hopefuls.

The three withdrawals at the 48-hour final declaration stage were Max Vega, Tiger Moth and Believe In Love – due to run in the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster on Thursday afternoon.

Chindit is set to put his unbeaten record on the line at Doncaster
Chindit is set to put his unbeaten record on the line at Doncaster (Bill Selwyn/PA)

Richard Hannon’s unbeaten colt Chindit faces six opponents in the Group Two bet365 Champagne Stakes.

Among the Ascot Listed race winner’s rivals are the experienced pair of Broxi and Devious Company, as well as Owen Burrows’ Albasheer and Irish raider State Of Rest.

Two past winners of the Prix de la Foret – Limato and One Master – are among eight runners in the Group Two bet365 Park Stakes.

Wichita, runner-up in the 2000 Guineas, and Jersey Stakes scorer Molatham represent the Classic generation.

Pyledriver spot on for St Leger challenge

/in /by

William Muir is confident Pyledriver is at the top of his game for the Pertemps St Leger at Doncaster.

The Harbour Watch colt was a 40-1 shot when runner-up on his seasonal reappearance at Kempton in early June, but has made giant strides since and disputes favouritism with the Aidan O’Brien-trained Santiago for the season’s final Classic on Saturday.

Muir acknowledges success on Town Moor would be a huge achievement for his small team during a time when, more often than not, the top prizes go to the bigger yards.

He said: “There’s a great mood in the camp. We have seven staff riding out, three staff in the yard, the staff in the office and me. It’s a small team, and everyone is delighted.

“We have about 26 horses. We’re not a fashionable yard – everyone wants somebody younger and more fashionable. It’s just one of those things, but if this horse could go and win on Saturday it would be fantastic for the whole team and everyone around it.”

A surprise win in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot was followed by a luckless run in the Derby at Epsom, since when Pyledriver has given weight and a sound beating to his rivals in the Great Voltigeur at York last month.

Muir revealed the colt’s owners have received “life-changing” offers to sell over the course of the summer, but have so far resisted all potential buyers for a horse who did not even meet his reserve of £10,000 when sent to the sales as a foal.

William Muir with Pyledriver after his Royal Ascot triumph
William Muir with Pyledriver after his Royal Ascot triumph (Edward Whitaker/PA)

“Anybody can come into this game, go out with a relatively small amount of money and you can find these good horses. They’re hard to come by, but you can find them,” Muir added.

“The owners have turned down some big offers. If the offers had been accepted I don’t think he would have stayed in this country – places like Australia and Hong Kong wanted him really badly.

“If one person had owned him, you couldn’t have said no to the kind of offers we got – it was life-changing money – but there’s three of them, and they wanted to keep him.”

The Lambourn handler insists he could not be happier with his stable star as he completes preparations for a race that is part of the 2020 Qipco British Champions Series – and he is optimistic the son of unbeaten sprinter Harbour Watch will stay the distance of a mile and three-quarters.

“He’s in great order and has done all the work he needs to do. As long as he stays like this for the rest of the week, I couldn’t be taking him there in better shape,” said Muir.

“I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of person – my glass is always overflowing, to be fair.

“I think he will stay and I think we’ve got a great chance, but it is a horse race. I thought we had a great chance in the Derby, and it all went wrong, but you shake yourself down and go again.”

Whatever happens this weekend, Muir already has his eyes on some other major races – both this year and next.

“He’ll go for the Champion Stakes at Ascot after Saturday, as long as the hose is fine. That will be his last run of the year, because we’re not going abroad – it’s too difficult with the Covid,” Muir added.

“Next year is mapped out already in my mind. You could start off at Newmarket in the Jockey Club Stakes, then you’d go Coronation Cup at Epsom, Hardwicke at Royal Ascot, the King George – and at the back-end of the season, if we’re out of this Covid, we could go for the Arc.”

Pyledriver was one of 15 horses left in the St Leger at Monday’s confirmation stage.

As well as Santiago, Aidan O’Brien may be represented by Dawn Patrol, Mythical and Tiger Moth – while his son Joseph could saddle the progressive Galileo Chrome.

English King is among Pyledriver's potential rivals
English King is among Pyledriver’s potential rivals (Mark Cranham/PA)

Other leading hopes include the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum, Mark Johnston’s Subjectivist and Ed Walker’s English King.

The latter also has the option of running in the Grand Prix de Paris the following afternoon.

“He’s in great form and is all set to run somewhere this weekend,” said Walker.

“We’ll have a look at both races during the week, see what the ground is looking like and decide where we go.

“We’ll make a decision much closer to the time.”