IT is one thing getting a Group 1 winner down under, but for a sire standing in Europe, breeders need to see their stock performing well in the northern hemisphere.

One of the first Group 1 races of 2026 is the Jebel Hatta Stakes at Meydan, and it was won in fine style by the four-year-old Opera Ballo (Ghaiyyath). The nine-furlong feature on turf was part of a treble for William Buick, and Opera Ballo carried the colours of Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin. The Charlie Appleby-trained colt is slowly but surely paying back the €600,000 invested in him at Arqana as a yearling, and his sixth win in eight starts brings his bankroll to over €500,000.