With just two and a half lengths covering the field of seven starters in the $4million, Group 1 Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick, it was the defending champion Addeybb (IRE) who found when it mattered most.
The 6yo son of Pivotal loves a fight and he had to dig deep again again when challenged by old foe Verry Elleegant.
In danger of being overrun in the final 200 metres Addeybb (IRE) kept pulling out more for Tom Marquand to defeat a gallant Verry Elleegant (Zed) by a half-length with another fighting performance coming from third placed Dalasan (Dalakhani) who was a short-neck back in third.
“Last year was incredible but it was a shame for Addeybb (IRE) to come down here and win a race of this magnitude with no crowd,” Marquand said.
“I rode my first Group One winner down here without a crowd and now it’s like doing it all over again. The atmosphere here is just incredible. What a phenomenal effort from William Haggas to bring him back down here.
He’s always a pretty average workhorse. Until this year I have only ever sat on him once at home. William was always pretty keen to just go and sit on him at the races where he gives you confidence.”
“At home he is pretty underwhelming (in his trackwork) and to be honest it put doubts in my mind. But he’s a monster when he gets on track, he just changes, and how tough he was there, genuinely, at the 300m I got into a state of it didn’t matter what was around me it was just him galloping. He’s incredible.
“I was completely unaware of which horses were where. All I could feel what that they were all pushing to the line, but if ever there is a horse to have at the 200m in a scrap it is him. It’s the closest I have been to tears in a very long time. Genuinely this is what makes up for what we do. It’s been tough being away home for a few month, but I’d do it ten times over for a moment like that.”
Isabella Paul, stable representative for William Haggas, said Addeybb (IRE) had given the stable some memorable highs.
“I just feel like the luckiest person in the world currently, I’m just going to enjoy it. Both horses (Favourite Moon also winning the Manion Cup) have been amazing,” Paul said.
“Tom got him into a great position, he obviously jumped a little bit slow. We trust Tom, he’s the best. Tom’s just such a phenomenal jockey, you just trust him to get into the right position.”
Addeybb (IRE) advances his record to 12 wins, four seconds and two thirds from 22 starts with earnings of $6,218,596.
One of 32 Group 1 winners by Cheveley Park Stud recently pensioned stalwart Pivotal, Addeybb (IRE) is the best of seven winners from 10 to race out of the Kingmambo mare Bush Cat who is a half-sister to the stakes-winners Busha and Rip ‘N’ Run out of the stakes-winning Danzig mare Arbusha.
