Donnacha O'Brien eyes Epsom with Ballysax winner

Rookie trainer Donnacha O'Brien is planning an Epsom Derby bid with Piz Badile which today narrowly defeated his brother Joseph O'Brien's Buckaroo in winning Leopardstown's Group 3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes.

A debut winner at Killarney last July, Piz Badile finished second in the Eyrefield Stakes last October and today, under jockey Gavin Ryan, showed further improvement when overhauling Buckaroo in the last strides, to score a short-head success.

Donnacha O'Brien, a dual Champion Jockey who won the 2018 renewal on Nelson, is in his third season with a trainers' license and commented “he's always been a beautiful horse and he's matured well over the winter. It was a lovely performance and it's nice to see him able to quicken like that because I know he stays well.

“He's going to be better when he goes a mile-and-a-half but I think the fact that he can quicken means he's got a bit of class.

“The plan has been here, Derrinstown (Stud Derby Trial, in May) and then Epsom. Obviously everything has to go right back here the next day but that's been the plan for a while and that's what we'll stick to.

“He'll be fine on any ground, I'd have no problems with soft ground and no problems with good ground. He's very versatile.”

Piz Badile is a mountain in Switzerland whose summit ridge is on the border of the Italian region of Lombardy.

Quotes from Gary Carson