Frankie Dettori and Simon Crisford reunited as A'Ali strikes in the opener

Reunions are always emotional affairs – especially when they end with victory in a Group 2 worth £57,000 to the winner.

Frankie Dettori and Simon Crisford were quite a team in their Godolphin days, plundering top prizes aplenty here and elsewhere with the likes of Dubai Millennium, Fantastic Light and numerous other stars.

The colours were beige and brown this time, rather than the famous blue, but the old friends were back together and they may have another possible top-notcher on their hands in A'Ali.

Simon Crisford moves across Newmarket into prestigious Gainsborough Stables

Crisford, Godolphin's longtime racing manager but now a trainer in his own right, thinks so much of the colt that he plunged him into the Norfolk Stakes even though the juvenile had finished only second on his debut at Ripon a fortnight earlier.

No maiden had won this race since 1990 but the laws of nature don't seem to apply to Dettori on this course and the freelance, who was Godolphin's rider for so many years, got the job done well as the 5-1 shot was always in control and held Ventura Rebel off by a neck.

"This is extra special," admitted Crisford, who broke his duck at this meeting with Ostilio in the Britannia Stakes last year. "I used to think that having Royal Ascot winners was like picking apples off a tree but since I've been a standalone trainer it hasn't been quite as simple as that!

Ostilio won the Britannia at Royal Ascot for Crisford last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I can't put into words how huge that was. Frankie is the go-to jockey when you really need somebody – he was available and gave the horse a super ride.

Dettori was just as delighted to ride a big winner for an old friend.

"I spent the best part of nearly 30 years working with him, we've both gone our separate ways and this brings back some great memories," he said. "I'm really delighted for Simon and the family, he's been great to me in all my career."

Not many Ripon losers become Royal Ascot winners 15 days later but Crisford always had plenty of faith in A'Ali.

"He's got a good turn of foot and we've always known he was a very good horse and that's why we ran him in a Group 2 having been beaten in a maiden," the trainer said. "He's a top-notcher."

Reflecting on the colt's previous near miss, he added: "All of the guys who do figures and analyse sectional times were screaming about this horse from the rooftops.

"He was a bit green when he hit the front but he galloped out super strong and I knew then to go in the Group 2, not in a novice at Wolverhampton."

Runner-up Ventura Rebel surrendered his unbeaten record but trainer Richard Fahey was far from despondent and said: "I'm immensely pleased with him.

"I've got no excuses and he was a long way clear of the rest. He's going the right way and has a good mind. I thought we'd win this but got it wrong. We'll get him home and decide where to go with him next."

Read The Briefing from 8.30am daily on racingpost.com and the Racing Post mobile app with all the day's latest going, weather, market moves and non-runner news