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Aidan O’Brien hailed Paddington’s progress as ‘unusual’ and ‘a little bit different’ as the star three-year-old colt bids for further Group 1 glory in the Sussex Stakes on day two of the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
The son of Siyouni has gone from strength-to-strength since being beaten on his debut at Ascot last year and quickly established himself as the top miler of his generation, with comprehensive successes in the Group 1 Irish 2,000 Guineas and Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes.
Stepping up to ten furlongs proved no issue whatsoever when Paddington displayed a tenacious attitude alongside his class to see off Emily Upjohn in a thrilling Coral-Eclipse at Sandown last month.
Aidan O'Brien, who will be seeking a sixth Sussex Stakes victory, said: "I hold Paddington in very high regard. He is very natural, very quick and very straightforward. He is a little bit different, we think, and the way he has progressed from run to run is very unusual.
"Ryan [Moore] always thought he had lots of pace and coming back to a mile won't be a problem. We were delighted with him in the Eclipse, and we always had the Sussex Stakes as part of his programme.
"He has been putting on weight after every run. He was much heavier heading into the Eclipse than he was before Ascot, which is quite unusual. He thrives on work, and everyone involved with him is very happy.
"He has gone from strength to strength and Ryan is very impressed with him all the time. He is standing up to a lot of scrutiny and it is the ease with which he is doing it. He looks a serious horse at the moment.
"The Sussex Stakes is a very prestigious race that has stood the test of time. For a horse going to stud, it is very important with it being the first time the three-year-olds can take on the older milers."
Goodwood will provide Paddington with a first opportunity to take on his elders over the mile and O'Brien is keen for a competitive contest on the Sussex Downs in order to gauge Paddington's true potential.
"We always treat every horse with total respect, but we're also delighted when the races are as competitive as they can be because that is what we all want to see." said the master of Ballydoyle.
"That is what we need to gauge our horses and know where we are going next.
"The more competitive it is and the better the horses are that are in there, the better it is for us and everyone else, we think."
Paddington is a general 8/15 shot to record a sixth-straight success in the day two feature at Goodwood with bookmakers seeing Inspiral and Nostrum as his biggest dangers, although the participation of the latter-mentioned colt remains in the balance.