Ulysses got off and running as a sire as PIZ BADILE rallied to make a winning debut at Killarney for Flaxman Stables, Donnacha O’Brien and Gavin Ryan. An imposing physical specimen, the Flaxman homebred showed he has the attitude to match his looks as he knuckled down to reassert towards the line. Ulysses himself only ran once as a juvenile, finishing 6th at Newbury towards the end of October, before progressing into a Group 1 performer throughout his 3yo season. As a 4yo Ulysses won the Gr. 1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes and the Gr. 1 Juddmonte International Stakes, as well as placing in the Gr. 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Gr. 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Piz Badile holds an entry in the Gr. 1 National Stakes and is well thought of by his trainer, who said: “We always thought he was one of our best ones, he’s a beautiful big horse and did well to win as he was green and raw and was against a few rivals with experience. Hopefully he is a smart horse for the future. He is massive and wouldn’t have run this year, only he was working that well. Whatever he does this year is going to be a bonus and will be a real horse next year. It’s an all-10-furlong type of pedigree – Ulysses won the Juddmonte and the mare was 10 furlongs. That’s what he’ll probably end up getting. He is the only Ulysses horse I have and I think he is smart anyway.”