Buick and Scott combine with Al Aali

Al Aali got the Qatar Goodwood Festival under way in ideal fashion for George Scott and William Buick by winning the Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap for owners Victorious Forever.

The four-year-old got back to winning ways at Newmarket last time out, his first strike on British turf having previously spent time in both Dubai and France.

He was the 11-2 joint-favourite to follow up on the Sussex Downs and duly did so with a game three-quarters of a length victory with 16 rivals behind him.

“He’s a horse that came to us and it’s taken a little bit of time to get to know him, but when we got an inside draw it really seemed to suit him,” said Scott.

“William just crept away and kept improving his position and it was a good watch, it’s normally a disaster so that’s great!

“We were very grateful because we’ve had a couple of mishaps in the last few days so it was nice that this all went our way.

“He’s a horse that Sheikh Nasser (of Victorious Forever) actually picked himself at the Arc sale last year, we thought we’d slightly overpaid (€500,000) but he’s gone and taken a big step forward.”