A’ALI LANDS THE KNOCKOUT BLOW
Trainer Simon Crisford recorded his second success as a trainer at Royal Ascot and his first victory of this year’s meeting following the well-backed A’Ali’s (5/1 from 8/1) win in the £100,000 G2 Norfolk Stakes, the first race on day three of the Royal Meeting.
Ridden by Frankie Dettori, notching his 63rd success overall at the Royal Meeting and third of the week, A’ali tracked the pace in mid-division in the early stages of the five-furlong contest and ran on strongly to score by a neck, holding off the Richard Fahey-trained Ventura Rebel (16/1) in second.
A’Ali is owned by Shaikh Duaij Al Khalifa of Bahrain, a close friend of Godolphin’s owner Sheikh Mohammed – the two-year-old son of Society Rock was his first runner at Royal Ascot.
Second on his debut over five furlongs at Ripon in a novice event, A’Ali took the step up to G2 company in his stride this afternoon.
A delighted Newmarket-based Crisford, Godolphin’s former racing manager, was successful with Ostilio at last year’s Royal Meeting and he was thrilled to return to the winner’s enclosure at the Berkshire venue.
He said: “I used to think having winners at Royal Ascot was like picking apples off a tree! However, since I’ve started training on my own it hasn’t been quite as simple as that, but it means everything.
“Frankie is obviously the go-to jockey when you really need somebody – he was available and he gave A’Ali a super ride.
“When I saw them cantering to the start, I thought A’Ali was very fresh. He put up huge speed figures when he ran at Ripon and the bounce factor was in my mind. I was worried that he had put in such a big effort there that it would count against him.
“A’Ali travelled well enough, picked up nicely and has a good turn of foot. We’ve always known he was a very good horse and that is why we ran him in a Group Two despite being beaten on his first start.
“A’Ali is a top-notch horse. All the guys who do figures and analyse races using sectional times were screaming about this horse from the rooftop.
“I wouldn’t have run him today, unless he galloped out well after the winning line at Ripon. He galloped out super strong there and then I knew the right target was this Group Two and not a novice event at Wolverhampton.
“It is great to be in the winner’s enclosure at Royal Ascot and I am surrounded by some really strong supporters of mine over the years including Sheikh Mohammed. His great friend Shaikh Duaij owns this horse and is from the Royal Family of Bahrain. They have all been so supportive and it counts for a lot.
“Shaikh Duaij is steeped in racing history. His uncle used to own horses like Jellaby in the 1970s. He has always been a huge enthusiast and this is his first runner at the Royal Meeting, which is brilliant. This horse can now sit in that tidy packet of horses which Shaikh Duaij’s uncle used to have – he is a good colt.
“I think A’Ali will get six furlongs. He is out of a Motivator mare [Motion Lass] so we could look at stepping him up in trip. The doors are open for everything with him. He will be campaigned as a two-year-old. He’s small, he’s neat, he’s tidy and he’ll have a proper two-year-old campaign.”
A’ALI AND FRANKIE A MATCH MADE IN NORFOLK
Bookmakers were given a warning of possible carnage when Frankie Dettori won the opening race at Royal Ascot today, the G2 Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs.
Dettori has a full book of rides on the card, and, at a course where in September 1996 he won all seven races, something similar would be enough to empty bookmakers’ accounts.
His third winner at this year’s Royal Meeting, and his 63rd at Royal Ascot, came on the Simon Crisford-trained A’Ali (5/1), who was bought by the Stroud Coleman Bloodstock agency for £135,000 in April at a breeze-up sale held at Doncaster.
The son of late stallion Society Rock was beaten on his first start at Ripon earlier this month, but made no mistake today, beating Ventura Rebel (16/1) and Dubai Station (14/1) by a neck and two and three-quarters of a length. Sunday Sovereign was the 13/8 favourite – he finished eighth of the 14 runners.
Dettori said: “I spent half of my 30 years in racing with Simon [when Crisford was racing manager to Godolphin and Dettori first jockey] – we’ve both gone our own ways and he’s now training. This brings back some great memories and I’m really delighted. We’re all family.
“I had an unbelievable ride and the horse travelled like a winner all the way. He pulled out and quickened, and it certainly made my life easy.
“A’Ali was travelling so good. He did everything so professionally, though he did idle a bit in front.
“I suspect Simon will back him up in the five-furlong race at Goodwood [Molecomb Stakes], as he has so much speed.
“The ground is riding good to soft.”
2.30pm Norfolk Stakes (Group 2), 5f
1 A’Ali (Shaikh Duaij Al Khalifa) Simon Crisford 2-9-01 Frankie Dettori 5/1
2 Ventura Rebel (Abdullah Menahi) Richard Fahey 2-9-01 Paul Hanagan 16/1
3 Dubai Station (Ahmad Alshaikh & Co) Karl Burke 2-9-01 Jamie Spencer 14/1
13/8 fav Sunday Sovereign (8th)
14 ran
Time: 1m 1.9s
Distances: nk, 2¾
Tote Win: £6.85 Places: £2.25, £3.60, £5.10 Exacta: £87.30
Breeding: b c Society Rock (IRE) – Motion Lass (GB) (Motivator (GB))
Breeder: Tally-Ho Stud
Simon Crisford – 2nd Royal Ascot winner
Frankie Dettori – 63rd Royal Ascot winner
FAHEY’S VENTURE NEARLY PAYS OFF
Ventura Rebel pleased his trainer, Richard Fahey, by finishing second by a neck to winner A’Ali in the G2 £100,000 Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs.
Ridden by Paul Hanagan, the Pastoral Pursuits colt was a 16/1 shot and finished two and three-quarter lengths ahead of third-placed Dubai Station.
Yorkshire-based Fahey said: “He ran a blinder. No excuses, they were a long way clear of the rest and we’re very pleased. He’ll probably progress; he’s going the right way and he’s got a good mind.
“The soft option here was the Windsor Castle Stakes, but I thought we’d nearly win this – I got it wrong.”
Dubai Station, a 14/1 chance, was trained by Karl Burke, also Yorkshire-based, and ridden by Jamie Spencer.
Burke said: “We knew coming here that he probably needed the extra furlong, to be honest, but [owner] Ahmad Alshaikh wanted to come here. The Coventry was always the toughest of the two-year-old races; that was his trip, six furlongs, so we decided between the Norfolk and the Windsor Castle. We were probably headed for the Windsor Castle but Ahmad said he’d rather come for this race. In a way it’s worked out really well. He’s won on soft ground but he probably wants it a little bit better; today was probably quicker than he won on.
“Jamie gave him a great ride. He rides this course so well like that and it suited Dubai Station, we were always going to ride him to finish. If he’d been on his head early on I don’t think he would have finished so well. We’re very happy, and we’ll aim him at the Gimcrack Stakes [at York] which the owner won last year with a horse trained by Kevin Ryan. He’ll hopefully have one run between then and now. I think a good, flat galloping track will be perfect for him
“I think it was a very good performance and the first two must be very quick horses, but knowing that we are going to be better over six furlongs makes us full of confidence.”
SO NEAR, YET SO FAR FOR PAUL HANAGAN IN THE OPENING NORFOLK STAKES
Ventura Blue outran his 16/1 odds in the Norfolk Stakes (G2) to finish a game neck second.
The Richard Fahey-trained son of Pastoral Pursuits ran through the field and went away from the pack to challenge the winner A’Ali, but the Simon Crisford-trained runner had already skipped clear under leading Royal Ascot jockey Frankie Dettori.
Ventura Blue’s jockey Paul Hanagan said: “He’s run a great race. It is frustrating when you get beat when it is that close, but you’ve got to be delighted. He has done nothing wrong, we have come far clear of the rest so it is a fantastic effort. The ground is a little bit tacky.”
The third-placed Dubai Station (14/1), also trained in Yorkshire by Karl Burke, came from the back of the pack to mount his challenge and finished two and three-quarter lengths behind the winner.
His rider Jamie Spencer said: “He’s run well, I was probably disadvantaged with where we were drawn [three], it was difficult to challenge. The ground is a bit dead.”