Aablan was forced to put his head down and battle when taking the Group3 Solario Stakes at Sandown on Saturday.
It appeared to be Starlore's race to lose as the Juddmonte colt came with a confident bid down the outside under Ryan Moore with a furlong to run. Yet Aablan, who has been keen throughout for jockey James Doyle and was sitting in second behind pacesetter Inishfallen, battled hard and took advantage as Starlore's run petered out. The Godolphin colt found a little bit more under a driving finish to beat Inishfallen by a neck with the fast finishing Devil's Point taking third.
In a post race interview with ITV Racing, James Doyle said: "We thought he had a certain level of ability before his first race…it was a bit messy, not many runners, they went quite steady and I had to pop out with three to run so I wasn't able to teach him that much.
"Today was another learning curve...he did find a rhythm, it took a little time but once we got to the bend he was nicely under control and ultimately he gets through the line pretty well, so I was keen as we straightened up to let him go through his paces. He hasn't got an electric turn of foot but I knew this distance would be perfect with the stiff finish… further is going to be better for him."
A short priced winner over seven furlongs at Newmarket's July course on debut, Aablan is the first foal out of multiple Group 2 winner Promising Run. The Dubawi colt holds entries for the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes and the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.
