IN the true style of a man who has conquered both codes, Willie Mullins is jetting off to Dubai after claiming the leading trainers’ title at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival.

Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Ethical Diamond returns in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at 4.10pm, and faces a fierce rival in Calandagan, though that hasn’t been the most pressing concern for connections.

After first weighing up the concerns regarding the conflict in the Middle East, connections had to find a new rider after Ethical Diamond’s Del Mar partner Dylan Browne McMonagle was ruled out with a back injury.

With his Royal Ascot pilot Ryan Moore at the Curragh, and Ebor partner William Buick retained by Godolphin, Daniel Tudhope has been booked to ride the HOS Syndicate’s six-year-old for the first time.

In addition, recent heavy rainfall has resulted in ground described as good to soft, which isn’t ideal for a horse whose three straight wins have come on firm, or good to firm.

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All in all, it appears that Ethical Diamond’s Meydan outing will be a learning curve, as suggested by Patrick Mullins’ comments.

“It’s going to be a very different set of circumstances compared to Del Mar as it’s a small field and I’m not sure there’s much of a pace,” he said.

“Obviously the ground is going to be riding slower and it’s kind of an unknown. He’s definitely better on fast ground, but I suppose everyone is in the same boat. It will let us know where we’re measuring up for future races.”

Also in the six-horse line up is Marco Botti’s seasoned globetrotter Giavellotto, remarkably still an entire at seven years of age. James Doyle’s mount finished fifth in this race last year, his first start since winning the Hong Kong Vase, but benefits from a more recent run this time round, having finished an unlucky third in Qatar last month.

Calandagan is seeking to go one better this year, having finished a length and a quarter behind Danon Decile 12 months ago. He, too, has been off the track for a shorter period this time – he landed the Japan Cup at the end of November.