Dettori waiting game for Muir as he primes yard ace Pyledriver for King George

William Muir's phone could be red hot if beaten Oaks favourite Emily Upjohn runs in next month's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Her presence in the Qipco-sponsored championship on July 23 would mean Frankie Dettori riding her over Pyledriver, the star of Muir and Chris Grassick's Lambourn stable.

He is the usual mount of Martin Dwyer, who is on the sidelines with a knee injury, so Dettori was aboard for Pyledriver's Dubai Sheema Classic fourth and Coronation Cup second recently.

"It was a great run," Muir said of that Epsom outing. "It was a Group 1 and the horse we beat in third [High Definition] only just got beat in the Tattersalls Gold Cup the time before.

"You can say we should have done this or done that, but I think he's run another great race and he hadn't run since March.

"It's not a fitness thing because he wouldn't have blown a candle out after Epsom, but he's as hard as a bullet now. I think Epsom has just put him right. We went to Newmarket last year for the Jockey Club and I told everyone that it wasn't the be-all and end-all, the Coronation Cup was and he won that.

"He's a horse I feel you need to put an edge on and we did that at Lingfield before he ran well in Hong Kong, and you'll see a better horse at Ascot."

Emily Upjohn (red) was just beaten in the OaksCredit: Edward Whitaker

Derby hero Desert Crown heads the King George betting at 5-4, while Emily Upjohn, who was second in the Oaks after a slow start, is 5-1.

Pyledriver is a 20-1 shot and Muir added: "If Frankie's not riding Emily Upjohn, he'll ride. I've heard she might go there and then I've heard she won't, so I don't know, but I'm not kidding myself because if we get to the Arc, which is a big target, Frankie is going to ride something else.

"We'll have to get someone else then, but we've not really thought about who and won't be short of offers. He's a wonderful horse and there are a load of wonderful jockeys out there."

Pyledriver runs in the colours of La Pyle Partnership, whose Country Pyle – the five-year-old's half-sister – thrilled Muir by winning at Goodwood on Friday.

"She's pretty good and I know people have never upgraded what she's done, but she was so weak last year," he said.

William Muir with his stable star PyledriverCredit: Edward Whitaker

"She should never have gone to Newmarket for her last run of the season as she'd lost her strength and we'd come back in trip, which was stupid. She was working the place down in the spring and I wanted to go a mile and a half, but Lewis [Edmunds] rode her in a piece of work and said we should go a mile and a quarter.

"The owners couldn't go to Salisbury for a race I wanted to go for, but could go to Newbury, so we went there and she ran a great race over a ten, but I said we'd go straight up to a mile and six.

"She's a stayer and will be a good one. She beat a Godolphin horse [Thundersquall] on Friday who looked magnificent. You'd die to have a horse like him in your stable. He was wonderful to look at, while David Menuisier's filly [Candy Shack] had some good form and we gave her 19lb, which is a lot.

He added: "My filly hasn't stopped improving and will continue to."

King George card and betting

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