Pyledriver 18/1 winner of King Edward VII Stakes under Martin Dwyer

There was no element of fluke either as the colt travelled powerfully to the front two out and lengthened clear of his rivals.

Arthur's Kingdom (9/2) came through to chase him home but was two lengths adrift at the line with Mohican Heights finishing well in third.

All eyes were on Mogul beforehand but the favourite failed to enhanced his Investec Derby claims, looking one-paced in fourth.

Betfair and Paddy Power make the winner a 16/1 chance for the Classic, the same price as Mogul who was pushed out from 13/2. Sky Bet introduced Pyledriver to their list at 14/1.

Sky Bet Head of Sports PR Michael Shinners said: "Pyledriver produced a real shock but there was certainly no fluke about it. We have now introduced him into the betting at 14/1 first show."

Dwyer, who won the Derby in 2006 with Sir Percy, said: “It’s great to be here. Obviously there’s no crowd and we haven’t got the atmosphere, but a Royal Ascot winner is still a Royal Ascot winner. It’s great to win on an improving horse.

“I was confident going into the race. I thought he’d improved from his Kempton run, there were only six runners and I thought we had the two Aidan O’Brien runners to beat. The ground was no trouble and he did it well.

“You never know if they’ll handle Epsom until they’ve been there, but we know this horse stays, we know he’s got a turn of foot and he’ll handle most grounds. The track will be a little bit of an unknown, but what he does do really well is switches off.

“The crowd plays its part, but normally afterwards, when you’re either fed up or over the moon because you’ve had winner. When you get on the horse, so much work goes into these races and you have to be so switched on and have your game head on.”

Comparing the winner to Sir Percy, he said: “This is a different type of a horse. Sir Percy was ready two-year-old, whereas this horse was still weak. He’s just getting there now and I don’t think he’s there yet.

“I thought I’d probably hit the front too soon, but when he felt the runner-up come to him he went again, which is a really good attribute.”

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