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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."