Pyledriver provides dream underdog tale

UNSOLD and unloved. Pyledriver was a foal that no one wanted in 2017. Even when he won on debut for trainer William Muir, he was 50-1. There was no fluke about that Salisbury success in July 2019.

There was no fluke about his Group Two wins in the Great Voltigeur at York and the King Edward VII Stakes either.

Underestimated yet again for Friday’s Group One Coronation Cup at 8-1, Pyledriver despite his unattractive breeding profile fended off favourite Al Aasy to win by the narrowest of margins.

Pyledriver, who cost 10,000 Guineas, beat horses with a price tag north of 1million Gns.

While it is nigh-on impossible to compete with global powerhouses such as Coolmore and Godolphin at the top table, occasionally there is a diamond in the rough.

For all his quirks, Pyledriver delivered for the little guy on Friday and showed why racing is always the sport for dreamers.

Muir won his first Group One in his 30-year training career. Jockey Martin Dwyer was out in the wilderness and the 45-year-old was emotional afterwards, saying: ‘It’s getting harder and harder as all the good horses are with the biggest trainers and I think that’s why people like seeing horses like him getting the rewards as they are the underdogs.’

Dwyer’s last Group One success was in the 2006 Derby on Sir Percy. It’s taken 15 years for him to taste that high-level success again.

In a time where Aidan O’Brien and Frankie Dettori keep breaking records, it’s even more impressive that Pyledriver keeps defying the odds now. Unsold and unloved? Not anymore.