No better way to start Dubai World Cup week...

There is usually no reason to think you will be witnessing any stunning performances at Doncaster’s opening meeting of the Turf season in Britain, but last Saturday on Town Moor, there was a glorious exception.

The horse’s name is Addeybb, and he is expected to keep resurfacing with regularity in top mile races, in the first half of the season, at least.

With the ground officially ‘Soft, Heavy in places,’ the William Haggas-trained Addeybb came into the picture at half-way under a firm hold in the one-mile Heritage Handicap, with jockey James Doyle waiting as long as he dared before letting the four-year-old loose on his rivals.

When he did let him go, Addeybb bounded away, accelerating impressively out of the mud. He went to the line with plenty in hand despite the winning margin being a mere two and three quarter lengths. Yes, it was truly stunning. 

The G2 Sandown Mile late next month is first on the agenda for the gelding, but given the right conditions, there is no reason why he could not work his way to the top rungs of his division.

Addeybb, by Pivotal out of a Kingmambo mare, was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock Limited, and carries the well-known Yellow and Black colours of owner, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum.

It was a bright start to the Turf season in Britain, a far cry from Epsom, Royal Ascot and York, but symbolic in that the really good Flat horses are back in the limelight.

Appropriately, the Dubai World Cup is also only days away, with Godolphin full of hope that the big night will produce its share of winners in the ‘Royal Blue’ colours.

But before leaving the weekend, there were two other performances of note worth mentioning.

The James Cummings-trained three-year-old Kementari finished an honourable third to super mare Winx in the G1 George Ryder Stakes at Rosehill, which will have put the Lonhro colt spot on for the G1 Doncaster Mile at Randwick on Saturday, 7 April.

The other talking point was the historic last-stride victory of Fine Needle in Sunday’s G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen at Chukyo. The home-bred five-year-old son of Admire Moon became the first locally-trained G1 winner to carry the Godolphin blue colours in Japan.