With a swift turn of foot and brilliant ride by Tom Marquand, British runner Addeybb won the Group One Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Day 2 of The Championships at Randwick for trainer William Haggas.
The son of Pivotal battled for the lead then blew past the field winning by 2 3/4 lengths. Owned by Sheikh Ahmed al Maktoum, Addeybb paid $7.40 USD for the win at 5/2 odds carrying 130 pounds.
The only disappointment on the day for Haggas and connections was the understandable reduction to prizemoney — from $4 million to $2 million — due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Newmarket trainer Haggas planned the Australian trip following Addeybb’s Royal Ascot victory in the Listed Wolferton Stakes ahead of subsequent Mackinnon Stakes winner Magic Wand.
The son of Pivotal was runner-up in the G1 British Champions Stakes October 2019 before arriving in Australia and debuting with victory in the G1 Ranvet Stakes, his first win at the elite level.
“What a tough, straightforward, genuine horse,” jockey Tom Marquand told Racing.com.
“He just switches off, knows when to turn it on, and he just drops his head and runs for you and you don’t even have to ask him – it’s an honour to ride a horse like that.
“He is a horse that goes through wet ground as if it is not even there. That is just one of his main attributes and shows how tough he is because he just doesn’t care.”
Harry Eustace, stable representative for Haggas, visibly elated post-race added, “I hope [Haggas] is as excited as I am. A lot of time and effort goes into a win like this, from everyone back home, our trackwork rider and Tom (Marquand) who gave him an absolute peach — it’s just fantastic.”
A favorite on the day with the players at 9/2, Verry Elleegant gave a game effort battling for the lead to be outrun in the last 100 meters to place second. Carrying 126 pounds, the 5-year-old mare by Zed was ridden by Nash Rawiller and trained by Chris Waller.
Japanese-bred Danon Premium (Deep Impact) finished a neck behind in third after clearly resenting the conditions. Although the 5-year-old trained by Mitsumasa Naka was uncomfortable with the wet conditions jockey James Mc Donal kept him in the thick of the race.
M.J.W. Hawkes-trained 10-1 longshot Master Of Wine finished fourth under jockey Tim Clark ahead of the Jamie Richards-trained pair Te Akau Shark and Melody Belle.
Past The Wire Staff
Photo: Racing.com/Bradley Photos
