William Haggas' Group One star Addeybb has been given the task at retaining his Group One Champion Stakes title at Ascot in Ascot, with the gelding hoping for soft ground on the day.
The seven year old over a year ago went over to Australia for the first time in his career and at the back end of March 2020 became a black type winner for the first time when taking the Ranvet Stakes on his first start down under.
The big target whilst Addeybb was over there was to race in the Group One Queen Elizabeth Stakes and on April 11th, with the rain bringing his favoured soft ground, he went on to take the contest with ease.
Coming back over to the UK, he made his seasonal debut in the Group One Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot and he finished a decent second to the stand alone winner Lord North.
Haggas explained that he needed a run before heading to Ascot and was seen earlier this month when taking the Listed Doonside Cup, blowing away the cobwebs.It looked a perfect prep run and with Magical, who beat him last year in the Group One race since winning another Group One, the form of the 2019 Champion Stakes looked superb.
Addeybb then went into the Champion Stakes looking to reverse some form and with the rain coming the gelding was an emphatic winner of the race, going on to land the third Group One of his career, seeing off a field full of top quality rivals.
This year he has been seen twice back down under, finishing a narrow second in the Group One Ranvet Stakes behind the smart Verry Elleegant.
Can Addeybb land his fifth Grade One in the Coral Eclipse on Saturday?!
— The Winners Enclosure (@TWEnclosure) June 30, 2021
He has been smashed into 4/1 from 8/1 to take the Sandown feature
Credit - @AtTheRaces pic.twitter.com/iUxEeEw9u8
The two met again last time out in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes and he managed to reverse the form under a superb ride by Tom Marquand.
Having conquered Australia for a second time he returned to England and after a break was sent to Sandown for the Group One Coral Eclipse, finishing second behind the superstar St Mark's Basilica.
He is now all systems go for the Champion Stakes, with a prep run likely before the event.
(Credit ATR) The Newmarket trainer said: “It was great to win the Champion Stakes last year, fantastic. Addeybb was really on his game that day, too. If we can get him like that again that would be great.
“Right now he is in a field, but he will have a run before the Champion Stakes. He was a little bit rusty in the Eclipse and the ground wasn’t really slow enough for him, but I thought he ran well and he kept going up the hill as usual.
“I am sure we will meet St Mark’s Basilica again at Ascot. It’s called the Champion Stakes for a reason. It’s where the good ones go.”
He added: “Qipco British Champions Day is a huge and momentous occasion. It’s the culmination of a long season in Britain. Everyone wants to win there.
“The purists may think it is too late, but it’s fantastic racing and it’s not always heavy (ground).”