THERE WILL BE NO RENEWAL OF THE ADDEYBB / VERRY ELLEEGANT RIVALRY IN AUSTRALIA NEXT YEAR

By Graham Potter | Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Trainer William Haggas has confirmed that the dual Group 1 Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Addeybb will not be making the trip to Australia next year where he would have been in line to land an historic three-peat in the big race.

Speaking to Racing Post, Haggas was happy that Addeybb now appears to be in full recovery mode after a blood-clot and a serious infection had the trainer fearing the chestnut son of Pivotal might not race again.

Addeybb struggled coping with the infection, losing a significant amount of weight during that time and it was a scary time for Haggas.

"When I first went to see him, I thought he looked dreadful. To my eye he looked like he had lost 50 kilos in a week. When I spoke to his owner, I said there is a strong chance that he may not race again,” Haggas told Racing Post.

Happily, the situation has improved since then.

“He came home from the vets a few days ago and the bloods we've taken from him since indicate he's going the right way. He looks a lot brighter now. I think and hope we are over the worst,” said Haggas.

“Hopefully in the next fortnight we can turn him away in a paddock for a break, but we'll have to give Australia a miss this time.”

Three wins and one second place in four starts in Australia … all in Group 1 company … underlines the influence Addeybb brought to the game down over the last two seasons during which time his rivalry with the super Verry Elleegant seemed to raise the bar every time they clashed.

The score between Addeybb and Verry Elleegant stands at three-one in favour of Addeybb … who also has a win in the Ranvet Stakes to add to two wins in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes while, in their personal head to head contest, Verry Eleegant has a win in the Ranvet Stakes to her credit.

Addeybb and Verry Elleegant finished first and second in all four of these Group 1 races.

Clearly, Addeybb’s presence will certainly be missed in Australia because of the absolute quality he brought to proceedings, highlighted by that rousing series of battles with the now Melbourne Cup winner Verry Elleegant.

Their on-going rivalry would have been a joy to witness next year … but that possibility is no longer on the table.

Thankfully though, Addeybb appears to be on the mend, and that is the most important point of all.