Dettori on Piz Badile in Derby

Frankie Dettori, a two-time winner of the Cazoo Derby, has picked up the plum ride on Piz Badile, a 10-1 shot, in the Epsom Classic on June 4.

Dettori, who already has the ride on the favourite Emily Upjohn in the Oaks a day earlier, is looking to ride his 22nd domestic Classic winner and was snapped up by the Niarchos family, who own and bred the colt, while he was still available.

Piz Badile, named after a popular climbing mountain in the Alps along which the border between Switzerland and Italy runs, is trained by Donnacha O’brien, 23. The colt won the Ballysax Stakes by a short head from Buckaroo, who has since won a Listed race by four lengths.

“Frankie has a long association with the family,” explained Alan Cooper, the Niarchos family’s racing manager. “His last big winner for us was Alpine Star in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2020 when we all had to watch on television.

“The horse is in good form. I think Donnacha is very happy with him and the decision was made not to go to the Derrinstown [Derby Trial], which would have been the horse’s third trip to Leopardstown.

“I’m in regular contact with Donnacha and he’s delighted with his horse. They all need luck in running and we’ll go from there.”

Dettori said: “I got the call and he’s a very exciting horse. He has a good profile and he’s a lovely ride to have. I’m looking forward to sitting on him, maybe sometime next week.”

The jockey won the race for the first time in 2007 on Authorized for Peter Chapple-hyam and again in 2015 on Golden Horn for John Gosden.

Piz Badile will be his 27th ride in the race but he will have to keep riding for another nine years if he is to break Lester Piggott’s record 36 Derby rides.