Simon Crisford's A'Ali has lit up the two year old sprinting division this season with some superb victories and now he heads over to America to compete in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Sprint where he looks to assert his dominance on the division.
The two year old has had a brilliant season racing five times, winning three of them and placing on his debut but ever since is first run at Ripon he has took to five furlongs superbly holding a sheer amount of pace on both good and soft ground.
A'Ali has landed three Group Two contests which include the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, Darley Prix Robert Papin at Deauville and on his last start at Doncaster in the Flying Childers.
He has been training at Wolverhamptons all weather track in preparation for the Santa Anita track that has a very similar bend that he will have to overcome if going on to win the Group One contest.
(Credit At The Races) Assistant trainer Ed Crisford said: “He’s been an incredibly consistent colt over five furlongs.
“His only real disappointment was in the Prix Morny in which he was fifth. That was on testing ground over six furlongs, but he still ran all right.
“In the Morny he was up against horses like Earthlight and Golden Horde, who were first and second in the Middle Park Stakes. Over six furlongs, he just found it a bit too much on that ground.”
He continued: “He won the Norfolk, beating some proper horses, so we have had this race in the back of our minds and once he won the Flying Childers, we decided to get him ready for this race.
“There aren’t many five-furlong Group One races for two-year-olds, but if he were to win a Breeders’ Cup, it would really stamp him as the best five-furlong two-year-old there is around.
“He’s a compact horse and the Flying Childers was the obvious next race, and after dropping him back to five, he did it easily in the end.
“Santa Anita is a tight track and the draw will be key. He’s never raced round a bend, but we took him to Wolverhampton for a racecourse gallop, and got him to switch leads round that bend and he did it really well.”
Frankie Dettori will take the ride again on the juvenile which is a huge bonus with the Italian being on the son of Society Rock on all three of his wins during his career.