Al Suhail third in G3 Solario Stakes

Al Suhail acquitted himself well on his first appearance at G3 level with close third in the seven-furlong Solario Stakes at Sandown Park, UK, on Saturday, 31 August.

The two-year-old Dubawi colt, stepping up in class for Charlie Appleby following a decisive victory in a Yarmouth novice race, was held up in last of the six runners by William Buick as stable-companion Full Verse raced into a clear lead.

Al Suhail was still last as Full Verse started to fade under Brett Doyle passing the two-furlong pole, but quickened smartly down the outside of the field to go second and press Positive entering the final furlong.

Kameko relegated Al Suhail to third with just over half a furlong to race, with the Godolphin runner staying on all the way to the line to go down by just over a length in total.

Positive, a five-length runner-up to Pinatubo in the G2 Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, held on to beat Kameko by a nose in 1m 27.88s on good to firm ground.

Charlie Appleby said: “It was a pleasing run from Al Suhail today because he has done it all the right way round. He settled well and was better in the preliminaries compared to Yarmouth, so he is learning all the time.

“We can take a lot of positives out of his performance and we know that he is hopefully going to get better as he goes further. The winner has paid a nice compliment to Pinatubo as well, so we can’t be too disheartened.”