As the 75th renewal of the King George VI & Elizabeth Stakes approaches, William Muir relieved the sensational victory by Pyledriver in 2022.
The son of Harbour Watch was a remarkable colt, landing eight of his 20 races. He was sent off favourite in just one of those, and six of them returned double figure starting prices.
His three-year-old campaign saw him win the King Edward VII and Great Voltigeur Stakes, prior to his St Leger third. His breakthrough Group 1 saw him land the 2021 Coronation Cup, gamely beating Al Aasy by a neck.
Despite his past glories, he was heavily underestimated in the market for the 2022 King George. Nevertheless, he added a third victory at Ascot as he comfortably defeated a strong field.
Looking back, William Muir said, via At the Races: “Funnily enough I was only watching it the other day. I don’t think he got the credit he deserved you know, he was very impressive. People can say what they like, but he beat a field of well-touted horses. It was a proper King George, you had the German horse who had won the Arc. The favourite was Westover who had won the Irish Derby, Mishriff had won all over and Emily Upjohn
“The two that went off in front set it up perfectly for him really. He was a very talented horse. The times he gave us in Hong Kong and Dubai were amazing. He should have won in Dubai. It’s well documented Frankie came back in and apologised and said he should have won.”
Hardwicke triumph ‘the hardest thing I’ve ever done’ – William Muir
The agonising Sheema Classic saw matters made worse, as he developed a pore on the back of his knee. Its tendency to occasionally flare up was partly why we didn’t see him after the King George until next season.
Regardless, he was expertly nurtured back to land the Hardwicke first time up in 2023. Muir said: “I lived with that horse every day. Bringing him back to win the Hardwicke first time out was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
“When he came back to win the Hardwicke he’d only had two gallops. I told everyone he couldn’t win as he hadn’t done enough work, just a lot of steady stuff and swimming. But it just shows you how much talent he had.”
Despite his heroic efforts on the level, Pyledriver was retired to become a National Hunt stallion. “That was a sad day, said Muir. “You’re always looking for the next one.”