THE eyes of the racing world were centred on the action from Meydan at the weekend, and Irish-bred horses performed with distinction on that world stage. With major victories for Calandagan and Ombudsman on the Dubai turf, we can look forward to some outstanding battles ahead if and when these two meet.

With so much negativity at times concerning horseracing, there can be few more wonderful images that that of Princess Zahra Aga Khan, her daughter Sara, and French racing manager Nemone Routh standing – and jumping - at the trackside rail as they watch their beloved five-year-old stride to victory in the Group 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic.

It is intriguing to remember some of the names the gelded son of Gleneagles (Galileo) was called after he was runner-up four times in succession at Group 1 level, beaten a length and a quarter at most, to City Of Troy, Anmaat, Danon Decile and Jan Brueghel. Since then, he has won five top-level races in a row, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Champion Stakes, Japan Cup, and now in the UAE. His earnings exceed €10 million.

Best runner

By some way the best runner among six Group 1 winners for his sire, standing at Castlehyde Stud for €20,000, Calandagan was the second winner in a week for his dam, group-placed Calayana, herself a daughter of Sinndar (Grand Lodge). Calayana was runner-up to Group 1 winner God Given at three in the Group 3 Prix Minerve when trained by Alain de Royer-Dupré, winning over 11 furlongs at three and over 14 furlongs the following year.

At stud, Calayana has a perfect record, her first four foals all being winners. The first, Caliyza (Le Havre), has been sold in each of the past three years. Making €100,000 as a dual winner at three, she then sold for 155,000gns in 2024. Cleverly covered by Gleneagles last year, she sold to Ace Stud for a whopping 850,000gns from Overbury Stud. Calandagan is the second offspring of Calayana.

The third foal is another daughter, last year’s winner Calamandra (New Bay), and she was group-placed. Now, there is great excitement about the three-year-old filly Calasita (Zarak), a winner at the second time of asking, and on her first run this year, at Saint-Cloud. She will surely go in search of blacktype to further enhance her breeding prospects. A fifth foal in five years for Calayana is a two-year-old Palace Pier (Kingman) filly, and after failing to go in foal to Night Of Thunder, this week she had a colt foal by Siyouni (Pivotal).

Jean-Luc Lagardère

The world’s best horse is the first stakes winner in three generations of his family, though Canndal (Medicean), a son of his third dam Clodovina (Rock Of Gibraltar), was runner-up in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby.

Clodovina was acquired from Jean-Luc Lagardère 21 years ago as a yearling at Goffs for €60,000 by Georges Rimaud, though she was later sold on, as was Calandagan’s grandam, Clariyn (Acclamation).

The Aga Khan bought the remainder of the Lagarderé bloodstock and racing interests early in 2005.

Clodovina’s half-brother Clodovil (Danehill) won the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-French 2000 Guineas and is a three-time Group 1 sire, and another sibling was Colombian (Azamour), a Group 3 winner who placed in the Grade 1 Arlington Million. They are out of Clodora (Linamix) whose most important win was in the Group 2 (now Group 1) Prix de l’Opera. Another of Clodora’s daughters, Miss Galidora (Galileo), is dam of the Group 1 South African Derby winner Aragosta (Rafeef).

Fine day for two Darley stallions

TWO of the three Group 1 races on turf on Dubai World Cup night were won by progeny of current Darley stallions, Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) in the Dubai Turf and Native Approach (Too Darn Hot) in the Al Quoz Sprint. Both are five-year-olds, born the same year as Calandagan, but one has an important difference. Ombudsman is still a full horse.

Bred by James Hanly, Ombudsman is the first Group 1 winner of 2026 for Night Of Thunder (Dubawi) whose fee rose to €200,000 this year at Kildangan Stud. He sired five Group 1 winners in 2025 led by champion juvenile Gewan, Ombudsman and 1000 Guineas winner Desert Flower, and he was responsible for an astonishing 32 stakes winners in the year. Not surprisingly, he was champion sire. Hard to believe that Night Of Thunder stood two seasons at Dalham Hall for £15,000. Ombudsman is from his fifth crop, conceived when he returned to Ireland, at just €25,000..

Huge return

There was a huge return on investment for Hanly when he sold Ombudsman for 340,000gns as a yearling, as he got his dam Syndicate (Dansili) for 25,000gns as a winning juvenile from Juddmonte, and she won in his wife Charlotte’s silks. Her first foal, the filly American Belle (Starspangledbanner), sold for 38,000gns and won twice for James Fanshaw. Next was Ombudsman, followed by his unraced three-year-old full-sister Synchronicity (Night Of Thunder) who sold for 900,000gns.

Syndicate has a two-year-old daughter, Syndicale by Ten Sovereigns (No Nay Never), who appears to be retained, and she was covered last year by Night Of Thunder.

Syndicate has two stakes-winning full-brothers, including Runnymede (Dansili) whose 11 wins number an Italian Group 3 among them. Ombudsman’s third dam, Insinuate (Mr Prospector), gained her only win in a listed race at Ascot and is the best of seven winning offspring of Group 1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp winner All At Sea (Riverman).

Too Darn Hot

Night Of Thunder is sire of nine Group 1 winners in all, and his eighth northern hemisphere crop are this year’s two-year-olds. Too Darn Hot stands at Dalham Hall for £100,000, and his fourth European crop will race at two this year.

What a start Too Darn Hot has made at stud, with six Group 1 winners now after Native Approach, bred by Godolphin, won the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint. A listed winner with Charlie Appleby, Native Approach was part of a Group 1 double on Dubai World Cup night for trainer Ahmad bin Harmash.

First crop

From the first crop of Too Darn Hot, Native Approach has improved markedly since he was brought back to six furlongs, and has won both his starts over the trip. He was winning his first Group 1 in the Al Quoz Sprint, hanging on gamely to win by a neck and backing up his victory in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint over the same course and distance in February. He is a son of the stakes-winning Shamardal (Giant’s Causeway) mare Sperry who won half of her six starts.

Sperry is dam of a second group winner in Discovery Island (Dubawi), and he gained this at Meydan too. Sperry has a juvenile filly by Too Darn Hot in training with Charlie Appleby, and gave birth to a filly foal by the same stallion in early March. Sperry’s grandam Miss Gris (Hail The Pirates) was a champion at two and three in Italy, and completed a classic double when winning the Group 1 Premio Regina Elena (1000 Guineas) and Oaks d’Italia.

Too Darn Hot looks set for a memorable 2026, and has already clocked up five blacktype winners. They include Tropicus who won the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate in Australia, while his three-year-old son Title Role won the Listed Jumeirah 2000 Guineas.