Ethical Diamond Arrives in Dubai Ready to Defend Breeders' Cup Turf Form

Ethical Diamond touched down in Dubai carrying the weight of a Breeders' Cup Turf title and the expectations that come with it, with trainer Willie Mullins confirming the six-year-old son of Awtaad has settled smoothly ahead of Saturday's Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan.

"He's flown over very well," Mullins said. "It's still a busy time over here and I've kept the same team that travelled with him last time. So Sean Cleary-Farrell has gone over, and everyone seems very happy with how he's settled in."

The gelding's first visit to Dubai comes less than five months after his career-defining performance at Del Mar, where he flew wide and late around the field to lead home a world-class field in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Turf on November 1, 2025. That 2,400-metre victory did more than add a championship trophy to his resume: it announced Willie Mullins as a global flat-racing force and introduced rising star jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle to an audience that had never seen him before.

The trajectory that produced that win is remarkable in its speed. Twelve months before Del Mar, Ethical Diamond had finished fourth in a handicap hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival. The switch back to the flat unlocked a different horse entirely. Last August, he won the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes, a 2,400-metre handicap at Royal Ascot, and followed it with victory in the Ebor over 2,800 metres at York. Stepping up to face Group 1 regulars including Rebel's Romance at Del Mar was yet another level, and Ethical Diamond cleared it.

Mullins has been candid about the preparation challenge. Managing Ethical Diamond's buildup to Dubai while simultaneously readying a large string of jumps horses for major European spring targets is no small logistical feat. He gave the horse a deliberate rest after the Breeders' Cup, a decision that leaves Ethical Diamond with the longest gap between runs of any horse in the Sheema Classic field.

"I had always wanted to give him a break after America," Mullins said. "It's the start of a long year for him but we've tried to get him as fit as we can at home. I don't think he'll do a lot this week. We've hopefully sent him over there as fit as a flea."

Mullins has also acknowledged that this campaign marks a shift in the horse's identity. "We are always trying to buy dual-purpose horses but I think after last year he's gone from a dual-purpose horse to just a flat horse," he said.

The US$6 million Sheema Classic draws a competitive field over the same 2,400-metre turf trip that Ethical Diamond has already mastered twice at the highest level. Probable entrants include Calandagan, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard; Charlie Appleby's pair of By The Book and Royal Power; West Wind Blows from the Simon and Ed Crisford yard; and Marco Botti's Giavellotto. Rebel's Romance, one of the horses Ethical Diamond beat the world's best to face at Del Mar, is a notable absentee.

Browne McMonagle, who rode Ethical Diamond to that Breeders' Cup glory, has since relocated to Hong Kong and added a further international win aboard the Joseph O'Brien-trained Sons And Lovers in Saudi Arabia on February 14. The sources do not confirm who rides Ethical Diamond in Saturday's race.

What is confirmed is that the horse who was a Cheltenham handicap hurdle runner-up just over a year ago arrives at one of world racing's biggest stages as a bona fide contender, not a surprise.