Piz Badile, far side, beats Sea The Casper © Photo Healy Racing
Piz Badile returned from a layoff to justify favouritism in the Listed Diamond Stakes over an extended mile and a-quarter in Dundalk.
He went off 2/1 on Polytrack debut as he held a mark of 110 and was formerly runner-up in an Irish Derby.
Gavin Ryan had him tracking the leaders and pushed his mount along to lead two furlongs out. The pair were strongly pressed by British-raider Sea The Casper in the final furlong, but stayed on best to regain the lead close home.
They flashed past the post a neck up on Sea The Casper (5/2) with San Andreas a further two lengths behind in third at 6/1.
Trainer Donnacha O'Brien said: "To be fair to him, he battles hard. He pricked his ears there from the two-furlong marker and got a little idle in front.
"He has run into some tip-top Group One horses along the way. It is nice to get another win into him and we can build from here."
When asked if he would go on to next year with him, he replied: "Yes, I think that's the plan with him. We'll have to speak to Alan (Cooper, racing manager) and Maria (Niarchos-Gouaze) and see where we go. There are plenty of big-money targets to look at, so we have options.
"I rode some nice horses to win this race. It is a nice time of year and it is a nice distance for some of those horses that will go on to mile and a-half races later in the year."
