26 “First Class” horses steal the spotlight at the “Dubai World Cup” evening

The lists of horses participating in the Dubai World Cup evening, which begins tomorrow at the Meydan Track in its 30th edition, with a total prize pool of $30.5 million, are filled with the names of 26 horses from the champions of the first category (Group 1) races, and their golden records include 44 victories at the level of this highest-ranked category in the world, most notably “Kalandagan,” the highest-ranked horse in the world, and the Japanese “Forever Young,” the most prominent candidate to win. In the ninth inning, “The President.”

The presence of this strong forum of accomplished horses confirms the position enjoyed by the “Dubai World Cup” evenings on the global horse racing map, and its annual success since the launch of its first edition in 1996 in attracting the elite of horses on the international scene.

The opening half

The opening half of the 30th evening, the “Dubai Kahaila Classic” race dedicated to purebred Arabian horses in the first category, attracts six horses that have 13 titles in their records at the “Group 1” race level, led by the “First Class” horse, which alone has five victories in this category, and aspires to its third title in the “Dubai Kahaila Classic” after being crowned in 2022. And 2025.

The horse “Murad” also stands out with the “Yas Racing” logo with three victories in the first category, along with “Mubaid” with the “Al Reef Stables” logo, the owner of two titles, compared to a single title for “Falah”, “Fizhar” and “Jostar”.

«Dubai Gold Cup»

The third round (Dubai Gold Cup), designated for purebred hybrid horses of the second category (Group 2) for a distance of 3,200 meters on grass, also attracted two champions who had previously achieved four victories in the first category races, three of which were in the name of the representative of Australia, the horse “Riffa”, the last of which was last September when he was crowned with the title of “Irish St. Leger”, along with the representative of Bahrain, the horse “Caballo de Mar”, who achieved his only title in the “Group 1” races, in Last October, he won the Qatar Prix race at the French Longchamp racetrack.

British racing stars

The “Al Quoz Sprint” race for purebred crossbred horses in the first category over a distance of 1,200 meters on grass, with a total prize pool of $1.5 million, attracted three horses that had previously won in “Group 1” races, led by the two speed stars in the British racing seasons, the English horse “Khadem” owned by “Mrs. Vetriani,” and the Qatari representative “Lazat” with the “Wathanan Racing” team logo, as each of them owns Two victories in this category, including crowning them with the title of the “Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes” for the 2024 and 2025 editions, which heralds a strong confrontation between them in the evening of Dubai 2026.

The race also includes the Japanese horse “Logal”, which headed to Dubai and has five victories to its credit, including a victory in the first category (Group 1) races, achieved in the summer of 2024 at the “Nakayama” track.

Breeders Cup Champion

The sixth race, “Dubai Golden Shaheen,” designated for purebred hybrid horses (Group 1) for a distance of 1,200 meters of sand, with a total prize pool of two million dollars, will feature a strong competition that brings together five horses with achievements in the first category races, in a scene led by the “Breeders’ Cup Sprint” champion, the American horse “Bintornato,” who will face the challenge of the champions of the last two editions, the Emirati horse “Dark Sevron,” who was crowned last year. Along with Tuz, the 2024 champion.

The half also includes two other stars in the first category races, with the return of the runner-up of the last edition, the British horse “Nakatomi”, which holds a title in the “Group 1” races by being crowned in the summer of 2024 in the “Alfred J.

The prestige of “Factor Cheval”

The seventh round, “Dubai Turf,” designated for purebred hybrid horses “Group 1,” for a distance of 1,800 meters on grass, with a total prize pool of five million dollars, will witness the participation of two horses crowned with the first category titles, led by the champion of the 2024 edition, the horse “Factor Cheval,” owned by “Team Four LLC – Gary Barber,” who achieved his only title during the “Dubai World Cup Evening.”

In the 2026 edition, he faces a major challenge from prominent competitors, led by the representative of “Godolphin”, the horse “Ombudsman”, who is coming to Dubai and has two victories in the “Group 1” races that he achieved last summer in Britain, through the “Prince of Wales Stakes” and “Juddmont Stakes” races.

Ranked first in the world

The world’s number one ranked horse in 2025, the horse “Kalandagan” with the “Aga Khan” logo, raises the challenge flag in the eighth round of the “Dubai Shaima Classic”, which is reserved for purebred hybrid horses for the first category, with a total prize pool of six million dollars.

Kalandagan, who has four victories in Group 1 races, including the Japan Cup, enters the competition in his second participation in Dubai after coming in runner-up last year, amidst a strong struggle with the elite grass-distance horses over a distance of 2410 metres, led by the two Irish horses, Ethical Diamond, who won the Breeders’ Cup Turf title last November, and Giavelloto, who holds the Hong Kong Cup title. 2024.

“Forever Young” to embrace glory

The champion of the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Saudi Cup, the Japanese horse Forever Young, tops the list of the most prominent candidates for the title, especially with his four victories in the first category races.

“Forever Young” faces the challenge against four other horses with distinguished records in this category, led by the Qatari “Heat Show” with the slogan “Wathnan Racing”, which achieved its first title in the first category in Dubai last year.

The main race list also includes three horses, each of which has one victory in the first category races, two of which were achieved on the “Meydan” track, namely the Saudi “Walk of Stars” and the British “Imperial Emperor”, who won the “Al Maktoum Challenge” titles in the 2024 and 2025 editions, along with the Russian representative “Tab Leader”, champion of the “President of the Russian Federation Award” on the “Kazan” track.