Addeybb became the first northern hemisphere-trained winner of the Gr.1 $2 million Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Randwick with a dominant two-and-three-quarter lengths victory.
And just as Addeybb rallied to win the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes at his previous start in Sydney, he dug deep again Tom Marquand to draw right away from over Verry Elleegant over the final 200m with Japanese visitor Danon Premium a neck away third.
“I think a lot of people are underestimating how much this means to me,’’ Marquand said.
“I’m very young and hopefully have quite a long time ahead of me in the saddle, but to come down here and win a Queen Elizabeth Stakes on an English horse, for someone (Haggas) who has given me a lot of support, and at a time that has been tough for English racing, it could not mean any more.
“Addeybb is such 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 and you don’t even have to ask him. An honour to ride a horse like that.”
Marquand felt Addeybb was always travelling like the winner, even when Danon Premium challenged strongly early in the home straight.
“Addeybb is a horse that goes through wet ‘grand’, 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,’’ Marquand explained.
“He goes straight over the top of it and today travelling around there was never a moment where I thought I was not going to pick up.
“I guess it just depends on how much the Japanese horse found, and everyone else, but he was far superior there.”
Trainer William Haggas said he is hoping to arrange for the son of Pivotal to return to England for the northern hemisphere summer.
“My intention has always been to bring Addeybb home and that remains,’’ Haggas said via video link.
“But I wouldn’t rule him out returning to your part of the world one day.
“We have looked after him for a long time now, spaced his races to suit him and I think he has benefitted from that.
“I do want to run him in the Champion Stakes in our autumn, your spring, and then who knows we might well come down to Sydney again next year.”