Rest for the horse Kalandagan after winning the “Dubai Shaima Classic” title in the Dubai World Cup
Dubai, March 29 / WAM / The Kalandagan horse team confirmed that the Longines Dubai Shaima Classic champion will have a rest period following his victory yesterday in the Dubai World Cup evening, before determining his next participations during the season.
The decision to give the horse a rest period came after his strong performance in the first category “Dubai Shaima Classic” race, which has a prize of $6 million, where he, led by jockey Michael Barzalona, succeeded in overtaking the leader “West Wind Blues” in the final meters, despite being more than 10 lengths behind during the course of the race, to clinch the title by a margin of three-quarters of a length.
Princess Zahra Aga Khan, the owner of the horse, expressed her happiness with the win, noting that the team may return to Europe at the beginning of the summer after the rest period, with the possibility of considering returning to Japan at the end of the year, stressing that the horse has “amazing strides and a strong will to win” and gives its best in crucial moments.
This victory comes just four months after Kalandagan’s historic achievement, when he became the first horse trained outside Japan to win the Japan Cup in 20 years, thus continuing his streak of victories in the first category races, which reached five consecutive victories.
For his part, coach Francis-Henri Gravard confirmed that the race was tactically difficult, noting that the pressure was great given the expectations of victory, but he praised the experience of the rider Barzalona and his good knowledge of the horse.
In turn, jockey Michael Barzalona expressed his happiness with the victory, stressing that Calandagan has a distinctive personality and a strong ability to finish races, and that the mutual trust between them contributed to achieving the victory.
With this victory, Kalandagan strengthened his position as one of the most prominent international racing horses, with expectations that he will continue his brilliance during the current season.
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