Dubai World Cup undercard: See who won graded stakes

Off form for the bulk of the 2025-26 Dubai Racing Carnival, Sultan Ali's Dark Saffron was put right into play from a wide draw in defence of his title in Saturday's Dubai Golden Shaheen, sponsored by Nakheel, and outsprinted reigning Breeders' Cup Sprint champion Bentornato to give jockey Connor Beasley and trainer Ahmad Bin Harmash a rolling Group 1 double. The pair earlier teamed to win the Al Quoz Sprint with Native Approach.

Defeated by a combined 50 lengths after taking his seasonal debut in November, Dark Saffron perked back up with a runner-up effort to El Nasseeb in theMahab Al Shimaal (G3) on Super Saturday and was back to his very best just after sunset on Saturday.

First to break the line from barrier 11, Dark Saffron argued the pace outside of 2024 winner Tuz and inside of Khanjar as Bentornato was forced to take his medicine just in behind Tuz. In front passing the 2 1/2-furlong marker, Dark Saffron found more for pressure and was always holding the American raider in the run to the line. Cats By Five ran on for third, while Tuz dropped away to finish fourth.

Dark Saffron joins the likes of Caller One and Mind Your Biscuits as back-to-back winners of the Dubai Golden Shaheen, which serves as a win and you're in qualifier for this year's Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland.

“Obviously he won this race last year and he come back and run really well, it was a bit of a workout first time he ran this season,” Beasley said. “Then he had a bit of an incident in the stalls and banged his head and sort of lost his way. I think he lost a bit of confidence for his next three or four runs, but his last run we felt he was coming back to himself.”

“I think the post position cost us the race,” said Bentornato's trainer Jose D'Angelo. “It's the first time that we've seen him running in behind the speed. We have plenty of races and of course, the ultimate goal is the Breeders' Cup again. We'll give him time as always and be ready for that.”

Calandagan wins Sheema Classic in measured fashion

When your horse has already gone around the world once to prove himself the best, the pressure of reproducing that seems to mount for the humans around him with each new challenge. 

Four months on from becoming the first foreign-trained winner of the Japan Cup in 20 years, Calandagan put Princess Zahra Aga Khan and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard through two and a half minutes of what must have seemed agony, as Mickael Barzalona spotted the leader West Wind Blows a lead in excess of 10 lengths at a pace which meant there was little chance of the runaway stopping. 

Yet such is his confidence in Calandagan that Barzalona only gradually moved forward around the home turn, and still had four lengths to make up at the two-furlong mark. 

When he finally said go, the result went from suspense to a formality in a matter of strides as the five-year-old homebred stamped his abundant class on the race, running out an easy three-quarters of a length winner from the gallant West Wind Blows. 

Asked how much she enjoyed watching the race unfold, Princess Zahra said: “No, not a bit of it!

“It was terrifying. They went slow but Mickael has been riding him like that for two years ago so we weren’t terrified until the final turn. Now we’re not any more.

“He has an amazing stride and he also has an amazing motor and a will to win. You can always tell with him, the last few strides, he puts his entire soul into it. It’s amazing to watch.”

Asked about future targets, Princess Zahra added: “I think we might go home for a while, because the rest of us are exhausted, let alone the horse. 

“I think we might take a bit of a breather and then stay in Europe at the start of the summer, then we’ll see. 

“Ultimately if we end up going back to Japan at the end of the year - I mean it’s a very long way off - all the races he’s run in already are options. Francis and the team and I have to discuss it.”

At the start of last season Calandagan continued a run of heartbreaking seconds but Graffard never lost faith in his horse, and has now masterminded a sequence of five straight Group 1 victories. 

He admitted to suffering ahead of the Japan Cup and once again he appeared to momentarily age before the race, aware of the disappointment that would come with anything other than victory.

“That was really hard,” said Graffard. “It became such a tactical race and it's difficult because there’s a lot of pressure that comes with running a horse like this.

“The difference now is that Mickael knows him so well.”

While owner and trainer went on a Meydan rollercoaster, the man in the saddle maintained laser-focus to deliver a millimeter-perfect steer on a horse he only inherited when becoming first jockey to the Aga Khan Studs at the start of 2025. 

“He’s an incredible horse, he's got his own attitude,” said Barzalona. “I know him very well now and he always gives plenty in the end, I just need to trust him. 

“That's all that jockeys dream about, to find this kind of incredible horse and I'm very glad and very grateful for the opportunity to be part of this team as well.”

Reflecting on the run of the race, Barzalona added: “I thought my main dangers were Giavellotto and the Mullins horse (Ethical Diamond) which was behind me. 

“And when I thought I was going much better than Giavellotto, it was my turn to go. I didn’t expect West Wind Blows to give me that hard a race.”

Confidence breeds confidence, and the partnership between Calandagan and Barzalona has now forged an unshakable belief in their ability to take on any opposition and any situation. 

The rest of the world will have a hard time dislodging his crown as the season unfolds.

Banishing takes center stage in Godolphin Mile

The royal blue colours of Godolphin may not have been seen in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, but Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's operation played a pivotal part in its outcome when Godolphin-bred Banishing took the prize for the United States and Saudi Arabia.

The American Grade 2 winner relished the stamina-sapping test, charging home under UAE champion jockey-elect Silvestre de Sousa for Kentucky handler David Jacobson to deny leading local horseman Bhupat Seemar.

Dubai World Cup-winning trainer Seemar finished second, third and fourth with Commissioner King, Mendelssohn Bay and Diamond Dealer, but the Zabeel Stables conditioner not claim his first Godolphin Mile. Instead, Banishing became the seventh American winner of the one-mile dirt race. 

Saudi owner Sharaf Mohammed Al Hariri has made a habit of buying into American horses to target Middle East riches. His blue, silver and white colours were carried to victory in the Saudi Cup (G1) two years ago by Senor Buscador, who then ran third in the Dubai World Cup (G1) behind Laurel River.

The same colours were worn by De Sousa aboard Banishing, who finished eighth last time out in the Saudi Cup. Breaking away only fairly, the six-year-old relished a sizzling tempo set by Commissioner King, who scorched the Meydan dirt with a 21.4-second split between the seven-furlong and five-furlong marks.

De Sousa remained in touch with the leader while also riding a patient race, but Banishing made ground strongly under the Brazilian jockey as he began to stoke him up on the turn.

While Commissioner King still had three lengths up his sleeve past the three-sixteenths, that lead had been reduced to two lengths at the furlong mark and was negligible at the sixteenth pole as Banishing, full of momentum, raced on by. He pulled clear for a 2 1/4-length success.

Jacobson was not at Meydan but said from his Kentucky base: "I'm very excited, he ran a super race. I knew he was doing good, he looked great and my assistant (Marino Carlos) has done a great job with him. It's terrific, what can I say? It's indescribable.

"I wasn't sure about the trip. I knew Commissioner King had a lot of speed and was going to the lead. I was hoping we'd stalk, just like it worked out. Looked like he was getting in a little trouble there, but the jockey rode him perfect. Took him out, got him in the clear and Banishing ran one of his top races."

De Sousa said: "My horse was coming back in trip and it suits him, he’s a proper miler. There was a lot of pace in the race and I just held the horse where he wanted to be. He took the turn a bit wrong, with the wrong leg, but he responded well under pressure.

"I was happy to follow him (Commissioner King) and also to have Mendelssohn Bay on my inside. I just took the safe option but the horse wasn’t helping me, he was lugging to the outside when he came into the straight."

Ombudsman wins Dubai Turf for Godolphin

Ombudsman provided another famous success in the blue silks of Godolphin at the 30th Dubai World Cup meeting as he showed his undoubted quality in the Group 1 Dubai Turf.

Trainer John Gosden, now a joint license holder with son Thady, had secured three consecutive victories in this 1800m showdown with Lord North between 2021 and 2023 and this time around he decided to unleash one of the very best performers from last year's European flat season.

William Buick was content to settle the winner of last year's Prince Of Wales's (G1) and International Stakes (G1) towards the outside and in the middle of the small field as Japanese challenger Gaia Force set the pace.

Ombudsman was unleashed with a furlong and a half left and was quickly in full control, finishing just under two lengths ahead of Quddwah and Andreas Vesalius. Representing HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's racing operation, it was a moment not lost on the rest of the happy connections.

William Buick said, "Congratulations Dubai. We have some beautiful racing, it's a pleasure to be part of and Ombudsman showed there, first run of the year, what he can do. It was how we hoped it would happen, very smooth and, look, he's going to have a very exciting year ahead.

"It's an honour for me to ride for Godolphin and His Highness. Dubai World Cup night is the biggest night in horse racing so to represent His Highness on his best horses and to have winners is a dream come true."

John Gosden said: "It's a great sense of relief. It's not easy coming out of a winter in England, bringing a horse in ready to run. I think he'll come on for the race, he was probably coming in here at 90 percent but it was enough to get the job done. I thought William was wise, he said I'll give the ground away, go wide, lose the ground there but I want a clear run in the straight. Absolutely thrilled with him.

"I was here for the first one (World Cup), Allen Paulson flying in Cigar, Bill Mott, Jerry Bailey. It's been a great run through and some credit to put this on. It's quite thrilling to be here tonight.

"We'll see how he get on the rest of the year, he'll got to Royal Ascot now for the Prince Of Wales's and from there we'll know where we go."

Ed Crisford said of Quddwah, "This sort of style of racing he really enjoys, being tucked in and not an end-to-end gallop. He had a dream run up the rail, finished well and Ombudsman is obviously a fantastic horse as he showed last year. 

"He's a nice horse that can be winning some good races. I think he can win a Group 1, he's been knocking on the door. He just needs the right sort of track and the right style of racing and I think he can do it."

Native Approach runs on late to win Al Quoz Sprint

Native Approach sprang something of a surprise, albeit a hugely popular one for the UAE-based combination of trainer Ahmad bin Harmash and Connor Beasley, in running down Japan-based challenger Lugal inside the final furlong to win the Al Quoz Sprint (G1). 

Native Approach was rated 97 before his previous start but a win over several of today’s rivals in the G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint saw him re-rated at 109, and the ex-Godolphin inmate took another step forward here in dispatching a high-quality international field. 

For Beasley the link up with Bin Harmash has been a huge boost to his career and Native Approach follows on from Dark Saffron’s Golden Shaheen (G1) victory in 2025.

Beasley said of his association with Bin Harmash: “This is the eighth season. I came over as a second jockey to him and everything fell into place, right place, right time. 

“He’s been a big supporter and put plenty of trust in me. It just shows, when a team clicks, it goes through to the horses too.”

Drawn nearest the standside rail Beasley was denied any cover and forced to do his own thing with a horse he freely admitted is “not easy”.

Beasley said: “He’s a bundle of speed, when I first sat on him at the start of the season I said to the boss that he feels like a sprinter. He puts his heart on his sleeve every morning, he’s not easy.

“When I won on him on Super Saturday, I got a little bit of a tow into the race. Today, there was nothing able to take me so it was one of them, the more you fight with them, the more energy you’ll lose. 

“So I just got him in a nice rhythm, I let him slip away from the 400 meters (two furlongs) and once the Japanese horse came to me, he was very determined.”

Hamdan Al Mansoori, racing manager for owner Hamdan Harmash, said: “This is the best day! Ahmad is very good at picking out the right races for his horses. 

“After he arrived he was running over longer but he always showed a lot of speed so then he dropped him back to six furlongs.

“Ahmad loves to sit with the jockeys and the owners and make a plan after the race. He came from Godolphin and is an experienced traveller, but we will see (about future targets).”

Lugal emerged from the pack two furlongs from home and looked to have established a race-winning break on his pursuers, but in conditions undoubtedly made more testing by this week’s rain, Beasley timed his finishing effort to a nicety. 

Jockey Katsuma Sameshima reflected: “It was a great start and I thought we won!"

Japan’s wait for a first win in the Al Quoz goes on, while Native Approach follows on from Danyah in 2023, the last time the prize stayed at home.

Fairy Glen beats the boys in Dubai Gold Cup

Simon and Ed Crisford's smart mare Fairy Glen maintained her stellar start to 2026 by landing a dramatic Dubai Gold Cup (G2).

For much of the two miles it looked as if Silvestre De Sousa might have delivered a masterstroke on Sunway, establishing a lead of around 25 lengths from an initially dawdling pace until a combination of loneliness and tiredness became obvious turning for home.

Caballo De Mar, who had sat second, made the first bid for home but Mickael Barzalona angled Fairy Glen up the inside and she passed the line half a length in front of that rival for her biggest victory to date.

The daughter of Farhh, bred by Godolphin and owned by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, had been among the Crisford stable's contingent in Dubai this year and arrived off a victory in the Balanchine (G2) over just 1 1/8 miles last time.

Ed Crisford said, "It's fantastic. We ran her in the Balanchine here, which was a bit short for her but since that race she's really blossomed, done really well. She got invited to this race, she's never run over two miles before, we were a little bit sceptical about if she'd stay the extra two furlongs - she's won over a mile and six back in England - but I thought Mickael rode her really well, a sensible race and she finished very well.

"She goes on this sort of ground, she's run at Bath in heavy ground in the UK so she's well used to these conditions. I'm really pleased for His Highness Sheikh Hamdan to have a winner on the night."

Simon Crisford said, "I think we were stretching our luck going up to two miles but the way the race set up, it worked really well for the closers. She’s got a nice turn of foot, and she showed it tonight. She’s very honest, very brave, a good filly.

"She’s a dual Group 2 winner and she’ll probably go back and run next in the Middleton (a Group 2 over 2100m at York). 

Barzalona said: "We tried to relax as quick as we could but actually they went a nice gallop and she was pretty happy. When they pressed the pace mid-bend I thought I had plenty in hand, I didn't know for how long so I waited a bit and when I asked her to pick up she picked up nicely."

Of runner-up Caballo del Mar, trainer George Scott said: "He got a great ride and just got beat by a filly who is in great form. He’s a horse that stays so well, he’s a (Ascot) Gold Cup horse, and we’ll probably go to the Sagaro or something like that. Everything will be about the Gold Cup and we’ll work back from that. But he’s run a great race and he’s proven himself at this level.

"He’s a very, very decent staying horse. She (Fairy Glen) came at him quite quick and if he’d managed to get her in a fight, it might have been different."