Calandagan Clears Dubai Hurdle With Strong Saint-Cloud Workout

The world's best racehorse cleared his first preparatory hurdle of 2026 on Sunday, working through sticky, testing ground at Saint-Cloud to keep his bid for the $6 million Dubai Sheema Classic alive. Whether Calandagan actually makes the trip to Meydan depends on a decision that connections expect to take by the end of this week, with ongoing conflict in the Middle East casting uncertainty over the entire European travel operation.

Nemone Routh, manager for the Aga Khan Studs in France, confirmed the son of Gleneagles came through the racecourse gallop in satisfactory shape despite conditions that do not suit him. "He's in good form and we were happy with him today," Routh told the Press Association. "The ground here at Saint-Cloud is sticky and testing which is not his preferred ground but he got through it and worked well."

The stakes for getting the decision right extend well beyond one race. Francis-Henri Graffard's four-year-old ended 2025 as the Longines World's Best Racehorse on a rating of 130, having begun that campaign as runner-up in the very Sheema Classic he is now targeting before reeling off four Group 1 victories. That sequence included dual Ascot triumphs, the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Champion Stakes, followed by a historic Japan Cup success in the Far East. Avenging last year's defeat at the hands of Danon Dacile is the motivation that makes the $6 million race the logical season opener for Calandagan's connections.

The backdrop, however, is anything but routine. Meydan's Super Saturday card ran against a backdrop of escalating military action in the region, and the 30th Dubai World Cup night remains scheduled for March 28. Safety concerns in the Gulf mean connections will make a late call on travel rather than commit early.

The Aga Khan operation is not navigating this blind. Graffard's other runner Rayevka, who finished fifth in the Group Three Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint on the Super Saturday card, remained in Dubai afterward with the stable's travelling head lad. That on-the-ground presence has become the team's eyes and ears as the decision on Calandagan approaches. "We have a Rayevka still there with our travelling head lad after running in the Super Saturday race and we are in contact daily," Routh explained.

The situation is without modern precedent for European connections weighing a Dubai assignment. With the gallop complete and Calandagan's condition confirmed, the remaining variable is one no training report can resolve.