this might work
create a shortcut
when presented with 'type the Location of the item', enter -
C:WINDOWS\system32\cmd.exe /c start "Ultima Online" /high "C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\Ultima Online Classic\client.exe"
when presented with 'type a name for this shortcut', enter (a descriptive name such as) -
Ultima Online (high priority, patch checking skipped)
when the shortcut is created, edit the shortcut you just created, and modify the 'Start in' field to be your installed UO CC path -
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Electronic Arts\Ultima Online Classic"
priority is probably needed to be set only on the 'client.exe' file?
loading the 'client.exe' file directly will skip the patch updating.
this will be a problem once a publish forces the patch to be a requirement.
not sure about setting priority on both 'UO.exe' and 'client.exe'.
meh.