Trainer William Haggas still firming up summer plans for Addeybb

WILLIAM Haggas will decide a summer target this week for his globetrotting Group One winner Addeybb following his big race exploits in Australia.
By Tom Richmond
Published 11th May 2021, 05:55 BST
Updated 11th May 2021, 11:23 BST

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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However the trainer is unsure whether Tom Marquand’s mount will contest York’s flagship Juddmonte International at the Ebor Festival in August.

This was Tom marquand and Addeybb winning a second successive Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in Australia.This was Tom marquand and Addeybb winning a second successive Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in Australia.
This was Tom marquand and Addeybb winning a second successive Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in Australia.

“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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Back 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.

Tom Marquand celebrates his fourth Group One on Addeybb as connections turn their attention to potential summer targets,Tom Marquand celebrates his fourth Group One on Addeybb as connections turn their attention to potential summer targets,
Tom Marquand celebrates his fourth Group One on Addeybb as connections turn their attention to potential summer targets,

“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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“We’re not in the Derby, but if he happens to run well, we will look into it,” he added.

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Related topics:William HaggasAddeybbAustraliaTom Marquand

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