Firepower handicap victory up there with Coronation Cup win says William Muir

Not all winners are equal, some just mean more. Pyledriver gave William Muir the biggest winner of his career when landing the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom this year, but a seven-furlong handicap at the same venue on a bank holiday Monday meant almost as much to the trainer.

The significance was not in the Stanley Wootton Handicap, but rather the road travelled to get there with Firepower, who, after over two years and eight races, finally returned to winning ways.

Since that debut win at Salisbury in May 2019 the son of Starspangledbanner has been gelded, had a wind op and switched from Clive Cox to Muir and Chris Grassick.

“I'm absolutely buzzing. This is one of my biggest achievements,” said an emotional Muir after Martin Dwyer guided the four-year-old to a length-and-a-half success.

“It's taken me time to get him to chill out and he’s now got here. After his last run [at Newbury] I thought we were getting there, and everyone who’s been riding him at home has done a fantastic job on him.

“He has an immense amount of ability and they’ve got him to be so chilled out now. It was just about getting his mind right. We’ve done loads to get into his mind and I get very emotional about it.

“I must be the biggest idiot out there because all we were doing running him over five was buzzing him up, so we went straight to seven [furlongs].

"He’ll beat anything we’ve got at home but we decided to let him use his stride. We were in both the seven-furlong races and I thought let’s go for the better one as he’s the best horse in both races – let’s go for the money.

“This means a hell of a lot, probably up there with the Coronation. The Coronation’s just in front but this really does mean that much to me; I bloody mean it. Pyledriver’s dead easy to train; this has taken every bit of thought I’ve picked up since I started in 1990.

Pyledriver: 'we’ve thrown the rulebook out the window and gone back to scratch'Credit: David Davies (Getty Images)

“It’s taken all my experience to get him where he is today, so it means a lot, and hopefully he’ll continue to show how good he is now. It makes you so proud.

“He’ll be out in the field tomorrow. If I get home early enough he’ll be out in the field tonight with Stepper Point. We’ve found a routine he loves and we’ve got into his mind now.”

Muir, meanwhile, has plans to get Pyledriver back on the track this season and added: “He’s moving brilliantly and he’s 100 per cent sound. He’ll have one more week trotting, then we’ll recheck, get him back on the road for two weeks and check again, and then he’ll be back cantering.

"He’s in great shape but we’ve thrown the rulebook out the window and gone back to scratch. He’s too good a horse to wreck his mind; I want him right. Not just for next season, I want him right for this season, we want to go to Hong Kong.”

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Champion's advice to himself

Double champion jockey Oisin Murphy may have won the opening 7f maiden on Beautiful Surprise, but the main thought running through his head was, 'Don't fall off!'

The Hugo Palmer-trained debutante, who was 9-4 favourite, did not handle the quirky undulations and cambers of Epsom.

"It's not much fun," was Murphy's evaluation of the experience. "She jumped the road and pulling up I knew she'd do it again, and you just want to stay on board. She didn't handle the track at all, she was very disorganised."

In the circumstances Beautiful Surprise did well to win by a head from Shabano and Murphy added: "Hugo likes her and she's trained well.

"I think she'll progress and seven furlongs is fine for the moment. It was a good spot for her on paper and I'm pleased she went and did the job. I didn't want to get too serious with her first time out. You want them to enjoy it if they can and I liked her attitude."

Murphy completed a double when the Hughie Morrison-trained 7-4 favourite Curtiz pulled clear in the final furlong of the 1m½f handicap to win by five lengths.

However, if his double-day started eventfully it finished in even more dramatic fashion as his mount in the closing 7f handicap, Canagat, bolted on the way to the start, with Murphy unable to get his feet in the irons.

The pair made it to the bottom of the hill intact before Canagat dumped his rider and set off back up the hill. He was eventually caught and withdrawn, while Murphy confirmed he was none the worse for an incident not dissimilar to the one from which Olivier Peslier bailed out en route to the Oaks start.

Murphy's nearest pursuer in the title race, William Buick, won the five-runner affair on Flame Of Freedom after a photo-finish, reducing the gap to 18 with his 100th winner of the season.

The Main man

For 18-year-old Henry Main, nephew of trainer Heather Main, and son and godson of owners Charles and Claire Main and Louisa Talbot, victory on Captain Haddock in the Amateurs’ Derby was special.

“It’s a bit of a dream, doing it on this course. My parents own the horse with my godmother and my aunt is the trainer, so it’s a real family affair. It feels great. It kind of felt like I was dreaming, I love the horse to bits – one of the best feelings I’ve ever had. It’s a bit of a fairytale.

"The local pub’s not open tonight, so I’m sure we’ll have dinner with my aunt and uncle and my parents – and we’ll dig into the champagne.”

Look out for Main over jumps. He added: “My next goal is to have my first ride over jumps. I’ve had 60 rides pony racing and got the bug there and that’s where it all started.”

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