Calandagan towers over Sheema Classic field in 2026 debut
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The best horse in the Dubai World Cup, the odds-on favorite to capture the second-richest race in the world, is not the highest-rated horse running Saturday at Meydan.
Calandagan makes his 2026 bow in the Group 1, $6 million Sheema Classic, and since he hasn’t started yet in 2026, he doesn’t yet appear in the latest World’s Best Racehorse Rankings from the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. But during 2025, Calandagan was the highest-rated horse in the world, with two ratings, 130 and 129, higher than odds-on Dubai World Cup favorite Forever Young, who hit 128 and 127.
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Evaluating this 5-year-old gelding does not require an advanced degree in professional handicapping and race planning: Just look at his past performances. An Aga Khan Studs homebred by Gleneagles, the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Calandagan has raced 14 times, his record a sparkling 8-5-1.
He began his 2025 campaign with a second in the Sheema Classic and a second in the Coronation Cup at Epsom Downs, and since has won four straight Group 1s. Calandagan, a true 1 1/2-mile horse, dropped back to 1 1/4 miles to land the Champion Stakes in October at Ascot. And because geldings cannot run in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, France-based Graffard sent his charge on a long journey east, Calandagan on Nov. 30 becoming the first international shipper in 21 years to capture the Japan Cup. Much nearer the back of a 17-runner field than the front after turning into the long homestretch at Tokyo Racecourse, Calandagan rallied relentlessly on the far outside under regular rider Mickael Barazalona to beat favored Masquerade Ball by a head.
Calandagan does not tower over a vast swath of ground, a horse of modest stature who does not stand out in a crowd, but his consistently elite performance level, his handiness and ability to sustain a long, strong run, make him special.
While Calandagan will be expected to win the 1 1/2-mile Sheema, few expected Ethical Diamond to make a lasting mark on the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Now 6, Ethical Diamond never had run in a group stakes on the flat before the BC Turf and had made most of his starts over hurdles, but trainer Willie Mullins had the horse ready for the race of his life at Del Mar, where Ethical Diamond swooped last to first and denied Rebel’s Romance a third BC Turf win. But Rebel’s Romance never hit a level as high as Calandagan’s, and even repeating his Del Mar showing might not suffice.
Giavellotto made his first two Meydan starts, in 2023 and 2024, finishing unplaced in the two-mile Dubai Gold Cup. Fifth last year in the Sheema, Giavelotto never has turned in a single race as strong as Calandagan’s 2025 baseline or Ethical Diamond’s BC Turf, but he did win the 2024 Hong Kong Vase and finish second in the same race this past December. While Calandagan and Ethical Diamond run fresh, Giavellotto prepped for this with a creditable third Feb. 14 in a Doha Group 2.
Giavellotto figures to come forward from that start – but not enough to threaten Calandagan, the world’s highest-rated horse last season.
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