A'ali and Colin Keane winning the Holden Plant Rentals Sapphire Stakes © Photo Healy Racing
Unlike the previous Group 2 won by Aloha Star at 33/1, the Group 2 Holden Plant Rentals did unfold along the lines predicted by the betting market.
A’ali (Evens fav) came through strongly in the final furlong to collar Make A Challenge (6/4) and the British raider went on to score by a length.
The winner had raced more towards the stands’ side along with one other, with the other five runners towards the far side.
The runner-up, who lost little in defeat to a very talented rival, came through to head his group at the furlong pole but A’ali, winning at Group 2 level for the fourth time in only eight career starts, finished with a flourish with the pair racing wide apart.
The winner, a son of Society Rock, is trained in Newmarket by Simon and Ed Crisford.
Successful rider Colin Keane said: “He’s a very speedy horse.
“I thought at one stage that I was in trouble. It wasn’t by design that I was away from the main group and it would have been better to get a tow into the race but I felt I was on a fresh strip of ground.
“He’s very straightforward and feels like a Group 1 horse.”
Paddy Power quote A'ali at 8/1 (from 10/1) for the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.
Additional reporting by Alan Magee
