Addeybb Lands Back To Back Group Ones Down Under

In case you missed it, in the early hours of Saturday morning William Haggas' stable star Addeybb landed back to back Group Ones in Australia.

The six year old has been aimed at a spring stint down under for some time and after not quite being able to cut the mustard at Group One level in the UK he was hoping to make that breakthrough down under.

In October he was a very narrow second to Magical in the Champion Stakes at Ascot which was his first taste in the big time where being good enough to compete.

He had a break and went over to Australia for the first time in his career and at the back end of March 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 withe ease.

It has been a perfect distraction for William Haggas and jockey Tom Marquand who has been the rider on board the gelding for both his Group One wins.

(Credit At The Races) He said: “What a tough, straightforward, genuine horse. He just switches off, knows when to turn it on and he just drops his head and runs for you – you don’t even have to ask him.

“It’s an honour to ride a horse like that and for William Haggas and (owner) Sheikh Ahmed (al Maktoum) to keep me on him is just pretty mind-blowing.

“He goes through that ground as if it’s not even there – I guess that’s just one of his main attributes and shows how tough he is, because he just doesn’t care and runs straight over the top of it.

“Today travelling round, there was never a moment when I thought I wasn’t going to pick up – I guess it was just how much the Japanese horse found and everyone else.

“To come down here and win the Queen Elizabeth on an English horse for someone who has given me a lot of support, at a time that’s been tough for English racing, it could not mean more”