Trainer William Haggas still firming up summer plans for Addeybb
Connections are considering a tilt at the 10-furlong Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot – the gelding was second to Lord North last year.
The alternative, says Haggas, is to put the Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum-owned horse “in a field for two weeks” ahead of Sandown’s Coral-Eclipse in early July.
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Hide AdHowever the trainer is unsure whether Tom Marquand’s mount will contest York’s flagship Juddmonte International at the Ebor Festival in August.


“He’s won at Haydock and Ayr going left-handed but his best form is in Australia, and Ascot, going the other way,” the Yorkshire-born trainer told The Yorkshire Post.
“It’s taken a fair while to work it out, but it is crucial. Lester (Piggott) has always said most horses prefer to go one way over the other – I’m not going to disagree with that.”
Yet, while Haggas is a Derby and Oaks-winning trainer, the pride is palpable when he talks about Addeybb who won two Group One races in Australia last year before landing the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot last October.
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Hide AdBack in Austalia this spring, Addeybb was beaten by Verry Ellegant, the pride of Australia, before reversing the form in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes under an inspired Marquand who the trainer continues to rate very highly.


“He’s just a very good horse and they (Australia) embrace it,” explained Haggas. “They call him the Best of British and British bulldog – and that’s what he is. He went out there as the joint highest-rated Flat hiorse in the world.
“They love it. There’s a real festival atmosphere – there’s a radio station devoted to the racing. It’s so different. Fortunately he got up in the Queen Elizabeth and it gace us all a great lift. It was terrific.”
Meanwhile Haggas is due to enter Alenquer, a surprise winner of Sandown’s Classic Trial, in York’s Dante Stakes. he expects it to be a demanding Derby trial.
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Hide Ad“We’re not in the Derby, but if he happens to run well, we will look into it,” he added.
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