Marquand and Addeybb set for Sydney return in 2021
The pair are aiming to replicate their two Group 1 victories earlier this year
Tom Marquand and Addeybb (Pivotal) will bid to repeat their Ranvet Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 1, 2000m) double in 2021 with both the jockey and Addeybb’s trainer William Haggas yesterday confirming to ANZ Bloodstock News they will return in the new year, despite Covid-19-related complications.
Marquand landed the first Group 1 of his career at Rosehill in March, which acted as a springboard for his most successful season yet, and is lining up a February return to Australian racetracks.
The former British champion apprentice has applied for a three-month visa and, if approved, he will have to endure a two-week hotel quarantine before again gracing Australian turf following his highly successful time earlier this year.
Marquand will ride in Australia until at least the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, which takes place at Randwick on Saturday, April 10.
“I’ve applied for my visa and exemptions and it’s all looking positive, but I’m not sure on the exact timing. My guess would be February, simply because of the duration of my visa,” Marquand told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“With Addeybb being a rough plan to go back, in theory my visa will have to last until the start of April. So obviously the three-month visa limits when I can go.
“I have to do two weeks quarantine in a hotel when I get there, so it’s all a bit messy compared to a normal year, but as long as it happens then that’s the main thing.”
Marquand, who described his venture to Australia as “the trip of a lifetime” on his return to Britain earlier this year, will be unable to replicate the two separate stints he did previously. One long trip is his preferred method this time around, which eradicates the need for a double dose of quarantine.
“If I did it in two trips, it would wipe out a month of my visa sat in a hotel which seems a bit pointless. So I will do it in one trip this year and see how I go.”
Addeybb, who added another Group 1 win to his 2020 tally with victory in the Champion Stakes (Gr 1, 1m2f) at Ascot last month, will likely attack the same two Sydney races again, with Haggas reluctant to change the winning formula.
A trip to Hong Kong, where Marquand is due to ride in next month’s International Jockeys Challenge at Happy Valley, was mooted for the 11-time winner as well as the Dubai World Cup Carnival in the new year, but Haggas is likely to keep the son of Pivotal (Polar Falcon) fresh for another shot at the Ranvet.
“I don’t want to go to Dubai. Well, I’d love to go to Dubai, but he’s shown a preference for cut in the ground and it doesn’t usually rain in Dubai, and ditto with Saudi Arabia,” Haggas told ANZ Bloodstock News.
“We’ve looked after him for the first six years of his life and we’ll keep just trying to find the right spot for him.
“There’s three or four months to go and lots of things can go wrong, but all things being equal then we’ll aim him for the same two races he ran in last year. I don’t see a reason to change that really.”
Reflecting on Addeybb’s achievements in March and April, Haggas added: “It was fantastic, absolutely great, but we were extremely fortunate, it very much went our way the whole time.
“Everything that we wanted to happen, happened. I said to my assistant at the time, Harry Eustace, that it would never happen again like that and I don’t suspect it will, but we’ll be trying.”
Marquand concurred with the dual British Classic-winning trainer, but joked his stay might not have been quite so rosey had Addeybb not recorded the two elite-level wins.
“It was huge because it came at a pretty weird time. I was over there when everyone at home was in lockdown and racing had stopped, but I was in lockdown there myself.
“I picked up quite a significant injury so I was sat by myself in a flat in the middle of Sydney for most of the time, riding twice a week.
“The two winners were major and it started off what ended up being an incredible year, but if Addeybb hadn’t have won it would’ve been a pretty miserable stay!”
While Australian supporters of Marquand can begin to get excited about his upcoming return, they will have to wait at least another year before his partner Hollie Doyle graces the turf down under, after Covid-19 restrictions put paid to the possibility of her making her Australian debut this summer.
Doyle has had a remarkable season in Britain, with her feats including a first Group 1 victory, breaking her own record for most wins by a female jockey in a calendar year and most recently being crowned the 2020 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year.
“This year it’s not going to happen,” Marquand said of Doyle riding in Australia. “On a normal year where there was no quarantine, it might have been something she would’ve considered.
“But because I’m very lucky and know what I’m going over to and for – obviously the trainers that supported me last year I hope they’re going to put me up again – whereas for Hollie it would be a bit of a fact-finding mission.
“No doubt she would fly over there, but to waste two weeks sat in a hotel to then only do a month or six weeks riding it’s probably not really worth it this year. But no doubt it will be something she’ll end up doing in the future.”
Despite the impact of Covid-19 on British racing, which was halted in March and did not resume until the beginning of June, Marquand managed to surpass his previous personal best for the number of British winners in a calendar year, with his 137th coming courtesy of the Queen’s filly Companionship (Galileo) at Chelmsford on Friday night.
Companionship is the first foal out of the top-class Sweet Idea (Snitzel), who won The Galaxy (Gr 1, 1100m) and several Group 2 races for Gai Waterhouse, before being sold to the Queen’s racing adviser John Warren five years ago.
Companionship is a two-year-old filly trained by Haggas, and Marquand believes she has a big future ahead of her.
“She obviously is a filly to really look forward to in the future. She ran massive on debut and finished off with great effect,” he said.
“I was really looking forward to riding her the other evening at Chelmsford and some people probably said she wasn’t as impressive as she should’ve been, but Chelmsford is a track that is very sharp and it probably didn’t play to her strengths.
“She improved for her first run nicely and no doubt she will take a big step forward for having the winter under her belt. It’s always nice to find a good one for Her Majesty and hopefully this filly can fulfill that promise.”
On riding for the Queen, Marquand added: “They are the most significant colours in British racing and it’s always something that gives you extra pleasure riding winners for.
“Her passion and input into racing has been nothing but exceptional her entire life and when you hear her talking about horses her knowledge is second to none.
“You can always know when they do win that she’s been watching which is a lovely feeling.”