Tom Marquand relishing Royal Ascot and the return of Addeybb

The meeting, held behind closed doors last year, will have 12,000 spectators at the track every day, with the meeting a pilot event run in conjunction with the government.

The meeting has been expanded this year with seven races on each of the five days, with the action getting underway at 2.30pm everyday and culminating at 6.10pm. One of the potential superstars on show at the Royal Meeting is the William Haggas-trained Addeybb

The seven-year-old has become a legend for Marquand, propelling his career not just to Group One glory, but also to foreign trips to Australia. The Pivotal gelding first went to Australia in 2020 where Addeybb and Marquand teamed up to land two Group One events, the Ranvet Stakes at Rosehill and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.

Following their Australian adventure, Marquand and Addeybb teamed up to finish second in the 2020 renewal of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on good ground, before landing Listed honours at Ayr in September 2020. However, Addeybb once again showed his class when relishing testing conditions to win the QIPCO Champion Stakes at Ascot in October.

A second trip Down Under then beckoned which culminated with the dream duo capturing the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick for the second successive year.

Back on home soil, Marquand and Addeybb will now look to target a first win in the 10-furlong Group One Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, for which they are current 8/1 shots at 4.20pm on Wednesday. Quicker ground which is forecast at Ascot next term is a concern but the team will take solace from their second in the contest last term on fast ground. Their main rivals look to include Love, the Oaks winner from last year and Lord North who defeated Addeybb in the race last term.

Reflecting on another Australian adventure, Marquand said: "I went back to Australia late last year and there was obviously a lot more hoops to jump through in terms to get over there in terms of quarantine and it added to it. When Addeybb won the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes for the second time, it was very special that he was able to do it again and it definitely felt a bit different given everything that happened this year.

"I love going to Australia. It was such a great opportunity to go over there as it’s a prime time of year to go over there and not miss any big racing in Britain. I will probably look to keep heading out there for the foreseeable future.

"Addeybb is in good form and I think the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot is his first target. It all depends on ground with him as he would like soft ground, but hopefully Ascot get plenty of rain and we can run there.

"I’ve enjoyed my best days in the saddle with Addeybb. I won my first Group One winner on him at Royal Ascot last year, he has also won on Champions Day and has won two Group Ones in Australia, he has been the horse of a lifetime for me."

Prince of Wales’s Stakes betting from OLBG: Lord North 7/4; Love 9/4; Armory 3/1; Addeybb 8/1; Audarya, Japan 10/1; 16/1 Bar