Fair way to profit as French flop proves unlikely hit for three golf pals

What do you do if your expensive jumping filly turns out to be no good? Send her to stud and breed a potential Group 1 horse.

That is the stroke of luck enjoyed by golfing buddies Roger Devlin and brothers Guy and Hugh Leach, who have ended up with a potential Vertem Futurity Trophy contender on their hands.

Their two-year-old Pyledriver staked his claim for Pattern races when making it two wins from three starts in the Listed event at Haydock on Sprint Cup day.

Watch Pyledriver win at Haydock

Trainer William Muir recounted: "They bought a filly from France to go jumping, she had won a couple of small races over there. She was called La Pyle and went to Philip Hobbs but she was no good over jumps.

"They lived near Kevin Mercer and he said, 'Send her to the stud and we’ll breed with her'. So they sent her to his Usk Valley Stud and they went to Harbour Watch to get her started.

"The horse went to the sales as a foal, probably only to see how much he’d make, but they put a £5,000 reserve on and nobody went near him."

William Muir: has high hopes for Pyledriver next seasonCredit: Alan Crowhurst

The first sign their luck might be changing came when they started getting flooded with offers for La Pyle.

"You’re talking offers of £150,000-odd and it was because the brother had gone and won a Group 1 and another came out and did well and got sold to go to Hong Kong," Muir said, who is delighted their decision to stand firm has been rewarded by the promising Pyledriver.

"The owners are a great bunch of lads and it’s great for them as they thought they’d done their money. Pyledriver will probably have one more run this year and that will do him because his future’s in front of him. He's a big horse and I don’t want to overdo him. He might go for the Vertem but he is in the Royal Lodge or I could give him longer and go for the Autumn Stakes

"He’ll be a really nice middle-distance horse next year. He could be anything. He’s very exciting."

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