Dubai World Cup: Pyledriver's rags-to-riches tale can have a fairy-tale ending

William Muir is hopeful that last year’s Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver can produce another excellent performance at the top level when he takes his chance in the Group 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic on Saturday.

The five-year-old has gained fans around the world for his rags-to-riches success story, winning multiple Group contests for his breeders Roger Devlin and Guy and Hugh Leach, who retained the son of Harbour Watch after he failed to find a buyer at 10,000 guineas as a foal. Pyledriver disappointed on his most recent start when down the field at last month’s Saudi Cup meeting, but Muir has been pleased with what he’s seen from the son of Harbour Watch since touching down in Dubai.

He said: “Pyledriver travelled over well and he’s been training well over here. His last run was disappointing for all of us as we’d gone to Saudi with big hopes as he was in great shape, but we’ve put a line through it as we were drawn on the wide outside that day and we just could not get in and get himself sorted.

“He contacted Frankie for me and spoke to him, they’re good pals so he sorted everything out. I think he’s disappointed though, as you look forward to these days.”