Alibaba (AUS)
2 c Alabama Express – Rowsthorn, by Written Tycoon
O: Mr K M Keys, Mrs L A Keys, Mrs G F Miller, Mr G G Miller, Mr G March, Mr L W Warner, Mr D J Kelly, Ridgeport, Mr J A Mcleish, Mr M McNeil
B: Yulong Investments, Vic
T: Ken & Kasey Keys
S: 2025 Inglis Classic Yearling Sale V: Yulong P: Ken Keys Racing, $115,000
W: Sportsbet Blue Diamond Preview (C&G), Listed, 1000m, January 24, Caulfield
Ken and Kasey Keys’ juvenile Alibaba (Alabama Express) announced himself as a colt of considerable promise at Caulfield on Saturday, shedding his maiden tag in style when landing the Blue Diamond Preview (C&G) (Listed, 1000m).
Ridden by Craig Newitt, the son of Alabama Express (Redoute’s Choice) produced a strong finish to score by 0.4 lengths over Milsons Point (Blue Point), with Invicto (I Am Invincible) a further 0.2 lengths behind in third.
While the win carried obvious Group 1 implications, a start in the Blue Diamond Stakes remains undecided. Alibaba is not currently paid up for the $3 million feature, meaning connections would need to lodge a late entry, with an alternative Sydney option also on the table.
“We’ll wait and see how he pulls up; obviously with two-year-olds you can’t plan too far ahead; it’s one race at a time,” Kasey Keys said.
“There’s the option of heading up to Sydney for the Inglis Millennium in a fortnight. We’ll just keep our options open and let him tell us.”
Keys said the win was the culmination of steady improvement behind the scenes.
“He seems to have really settled down this prep and we’re really with him. Full credit to our team at home, he wasn’t the easiest to deal with early on,” she said.
Alibaba was having just his second career start, having finished a creditable third on debut in the Merson Cooper Stakes (Listed, 1000m) at Flemington on November 29.
“We’ve always known he’s had a motor; it was just a case of when he would put it together,” Keys said.
“That was the beauty of Craig coming down to trial on Monday, he could feel the gears he had under him, so he was full of confidence.”
Newitt was equally impressed with the colt’s professionalism on race day.
“He handled it like an absolute professional. That horse that played up was right beside him and he never batted an eyelid… He’s a proper colt,” he said.
“I reckon next time we ride him more conservative, and you’ll see the big booming finish he’s got.”
Bred by Yulong, Alibaba was a $115,000 buy for his trainers from his breeders at the 2025 Inglis Classic Sale.
He is out of the winning Written Tycoon (Iglesia) mare Rowsthorn and a brother to the stakes-placed Strideaway. Yulong will offer a yearling colt out of Rowsthorn by Lucky Vega (Lope De Vega) at Inglis Easter as Lot 52. The mare produced another colt by Lucky Vega last spring and was then covered again by Alabama Express.