IT was a doldrum day with Salisbury stuck between the high pressures of Epsom and Ascot to provide really interesting fare, and the most interesting fact to emerge from the meeting was a post chat with trainer Willie Muir who revealed his Coronation Cup winner Pyledriver will bypass Royal Ascot.

He had nominated the Hardwicke Stakes as the four-year-old's next objective but admitted he has changed his mind in favour of the King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth next month which will feature a clash with Adajar.

"It's 90 per cent certain he won't go there," he said, welcoming Anjella into the winner's enclosure after the six furlong handicap, and as a firm racing buff, he hopes the all-aged Ascot feature will not be reduced to the three runner farce as it was last year.

"I thought Adajar was a really good Derby winner but it will not just be him. There are others and it will be a hard race to win," he acknowledged, well aware of the potential challenge from Aiden O'Brien.

But for every Pyledriver, there are considerably more Anjella's who ran out a length and a half winner, delighting Muir as the filly is owned by long standing friends in Frank and Gary Hope. "You always try to get the best out of every horse you can. You know they have got ability and this will only give her confidence."

The unraced Papacito was the pick of the paddock in the seven furlong maiden and proved to be the best in the race, though Andrea Atzeni feared he had little chance after starting slowly and then confronted by a wall of horses.

"He didn't ping the gate, he was a bit sluggish," he said. "It was a question of getting him into position and riding a race. I had the rail to help him but two out, I didn't think he would win but once he saw daylight, he ran on well and finished off nicely." 

Atzini fleetingly looked set to land a double when the top weight Morrooj gave chase to Ascraeus in the one mile handicap but could not claw back the deficit in time to be beaten a short head. For trainer Laura Mongan, it was a reward for patience as the filly had run six times for her after leaving Andrew Balding's yard without troubling the judge.

"She's been quite keen in her races," explained jockey David Probert. "She has come on mentally and physically over the last six months and I think she will improve a lot from this performance." 

George Boughey enjoys a remarkable 45 per cent strike rate with his juveniles and following his game front running win at Windsor, Cashew was installed a firm favourite for the opener. Fast away from the stalls, the two-year-old led for much of the six furlong trip but once the tracking Pat Dobbs saw a gap on the rails, he drove Groom through it to readily score by three and a half lengths.

Though it was his third time on the racecourse, the Richard Hannon colt still displays signs of inexperience which naturally leads to Dobbs to believe there is more to come.

The feature race, the 10 furlong race for fillies, became a Godolphin battle, and though Anghaam had first run, top weight Talbeyah gamely collard him inside the final furlong to prevail by half a length.