ALI Baba (Fearless Vision – Ahwhofah by Royal Minister) continued on his mission to the 2000 Guineas with another impressive victory in a Restricted Stakes event on Saturday.

The race provided the final opportunity to assess the progress of the three-year-old bay colt, and Ali Baba responded well by taking the 1,300-metre event with an impressive run, scoring comfortably by three-and-three-quarter lengths in a fast time of 1:18:3 minutes behind splits of 23:0, 46:0 and 1:11:1 minutes.

Capably guided by the in-form Robert Halledeen, Ali Baba challenged stable companion Dripping In Gold (Shamaree Muir) for the lead turning for home, before he drew away in the final furlong to register his third win from as many starts this season.

Top two-year-old filly of last year, Come Dance With Me (Dane Nelson), who was making her season debut, finished third behind Ali Baba and Dripping Gold in the six-horse field.

Trainer of Ali Baba, Wayne DaCosta, said he was pleased with the progress of his charge.

“Ali Baba was working very well coming into the race so we expected a good performance from him. The race

was a bit close to the 2000 Guineas

(April 6) as the programme didn’t suit him well, so we had to take this race as our

last prep race. We would have liked if the race was three or four weeks before, but it was not so, and we hope that it will work out for us. Let’s see how he comes out of the race,” DaCosta told the Complete Racing Guide.