Dubai Sheema Classic Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Dubai World Cup Night)

Contested over a distance of 1m4f is the Dubai Sheema Classic, which is scheduled to take place at Meydan during the Dubai World Cup Night. Below, we have detailed past winners along with both trainer and jockey records in the race, and see which trends have been set based on past winners of the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Dubai Sheema Classic Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Dubai World Cup Night)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2027 Dubai Sheema Classic Preview

Formerly known as the Dubai Turf Classic, the race was established in 1998 and later picked up its current name of Dubai Sheema Classic. It is scheduled to take place in March of each year at the Meydan racecourse during the Dubai World Cup Night.

The race is run over a trip of one and a half miles on turf, in which runners aged three or older from the southern hemisphere and runners aged four or older from the northern hemisphere are permitted to enter.

Dubai Sheema Classic Information:

To see which runners the OLBG racing tipsters are tipping throughout the card that includes this race, head over to the Meydan tips on the day of the race. Do they agree with the runners on the trend shortlist, or are they predicting other runners? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Races Covered at Dubai World Cup Night section for links to these.

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How competitive is the Dubai Sheema Classic market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2026, when the race had an over-round of 111%. The race in 2008 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 128%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Dubai Sheema Classic, the over-round has been 120%, which means the bookie expects to pay out ÂŁ100 for every ÂŁ120 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2027 Dubai Sheema Classic Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the Dubai Sheema Classic Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run Dubai Sheema Classic races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Equinox (2:25.65) in 2023
  2. Mishriff (2:26.65) in 2021
  3. Rebels Romance (2:26.72) in 2024

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic next time out, then you would have backed a total of 6 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -1.10. Ahead of the 2027 Dubai Sheema Classic, why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Equinox, trained by Tetsuya Kimura and ridden by Christophe-Patrice Lemaire, who set the fastest winning time in the Dubai Sheema Classic. That runner won the race in a time of 2:25.65 in 2023. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer John Gosden and jockey William Buick with Jack Hobbs who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 2:32.39 in the 2017 renewal.

What the expert says...
Eight of the ten winners (2015-25) came over to run in the UK next time out, four of those going to the Coronation Cup, two to the Prince of Wales's Stakes, with the others heading to the Eclipse & the Juddmonte International. The only one of those to win was Postponed in the 2016 Coronation Cup.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

Dubai Sheema Classic Past Winners

Here are the Dubai Sheema Classic past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the race year, the winning horse, and the horse's age & weight. Also detailed is the stall from which the horse came and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the Dubai Sheema Classic are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2026
2:27.88
Calandagan (IRE)
5yo 9-0 (2 of 6) 1/4F
Mickael Barzalona
F-H Graffard (FR)
2025
2:27.05
Danon Decile (JPN)
4yo 9-0 (3 of 9) 14/1
Keita Tosaki
Shogo Yasuda (JPN)
2024
2:26.72
Rebels Romance (IRE)
6yo 9-0 (11 of 12) 25/1
William Buick
Charlie Appleby (GB)
2023
2:25.65
Equinox (JPN)
4yo 8-13 (6 of 10) 1/1F
Christophe-Patrice Lemaire
Tetsuya Kimura (JPN)
2022
2:26.88
Shahryar (JPN)
4yo 8-13 (8 of 15) 13/2
Cristian Demuro
Hideaki Fujiwara (JPN)
2021
2:26.65
Mishriff (IRE)
4yo 8-13 (9 of 9) 4/1
David Egan
John Gosden (GB)
2019
2:27.17
Old Persian (GB)
4yo 8-13 (2 of 8) 5/4F
William Buick
Charlie Appleby (GB)
2018
2:29.45
Hawkbill (USA)
5yo 9-0 (7 of 10) 5/1
William Buick
Charlie Appleby (GB)
2017
2:32.39
Jack Hobbs (GB)
5yo 9-0 (2 of 7) 4/1
William Buick
John Gosden (GB)
2016
2:26.97
Postponed (IRE)
5yo 9-0 (7 of 9) 4/5F
Andrea Atzeni
Roger Varian (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Dubai Sheema Classic have been based:

  • GB: 8 winners with an additional 13 placings from 82 runners
  • JPN: 5 winners with an additional 13 placings from 38 runners
  • FR: 3 winners with an additional 5 placings from 18 runners
  • SAF: 1 winner with an additional 2 placings from 20 runners
  • IRE: 1 winner with an additional 2 placings from 19 runners
  • HK: 1 winner with an additional 2 placings from 9 runners
  • UAE: 1 winner with an additional 0 placings from 6 runners
  • USA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 15 runners
  • GER: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 7 runners
  • QA: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 4 runners
  • KSA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 4 runners
  • TUR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
  • BHR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
  • KUW: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
  • ARG: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
  • BRZ: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2026 Dubai Sheema Classic Replay


Dubai Sheema Classic Trainer Statistics

There are two leading trainers in the Dubai Sheema Classic over the last 20 renewals, with both Charlie Appleby and John Gosden, who have both won the race three times. Charlie Appleby winners have been with Hawkbill (2018), Old Persian (2019) and Rebels Romance (2024). John Gosden winners have been with Dar Re Mi (2010), Jack Hobbs (2017) and Mishriff (2021). One trainer has not had the best of times in the Dubai Sheema Classic; Saeed bin Suroor has sent a total of 18 runners to the race without recording a win.

Here are some of the top Dubai Sheema Classic trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Charlie Appleby10-3-4+24.25+12.60
John Gosden3-3-3+17.00+9.40
M F De Kock16-1-3-7.50-4.45
A P O'Brien14-1-3-10.25-9.13
Mahmood Al Zarooni5-1-2-2.00-0.30
Roger Varian4-1-2-2.20+2.98
A De Royer-Dupre3-1-1+5.00+2.20
Hideaki Fujiwara3-1-2+4.50+5.70
Tetsuya Kimura3-1-2-1.00-0.40
Sei Ishizaka2-1-2+3.00+2.04

Dubai Sheema Classic Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the Dubai Sheema Classic over the last 20 renewals is William Buick, who has won the race five times, with those five winners coming from Dar Re Mi (2010), Jack Hobbs (2017), Hawkbill (2018), Old Persian (2019) and Rebels Romance (2024). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Dubai Sheema Classic is Christophe-Patrice Lemaire (2 wins).

Here are some of the top Dubai Sheema Classic jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
William Buick10-5-6+39.25+21.60
Christophe-Patrice Lemaire8-2-3-2.25-2.75
Ryan Moore14-1-5-9.00-3.15
Frankie Dettori12-1-2-9.00-8.55
Christophe Soumillon10-1-4-2.00+5.90
Mickael Barzalona8-1-3-8.00-6.25
K Shea7-1-1+1.50-2.25
Olivier Peslier7-1-4-3.25+3.75
Cristian Demuro5-1-3+2.50+5.80
Andrea Atzeni5-1-2-3.20+1.98

Dubai Sheema Classic Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +28.30, is when runners finished in 1st last time out.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had a best in three result of 2nd, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-37.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2026: Winner in 2 (1) [6 Runners]
  • 2025: Winner in 3 (2,6) [9 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 11 (2,9) [12 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 6 (1,2) [10 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 8 (12,10) [15 Runners]

The courses that have produced the most winners of the Dubai Sheema Classic are Meydan and Nakayama; there have been a total of 3 winners from each of those courses.

The race is open to both sexes, with male runners having produced a total of 16 winners from a total of 197 runners, while female runners have produced 4 winners from a total of 32 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Dubai Sheema Classic:

  • Dubawi (3 Wins)
  • Deep Impact (2 Wins)
  • Singspiel (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic despite multiple attempts:

  • Galileo (0 Wins from 14 runners)
  • Frankel (0 Wins from 5 runners)
  • Sinndar (0 Wins from 5 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Rebels Romance in 2024, winning for Charlie Appleby at odds of 25/1 under the guidance of William Buick. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 5 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find a bet on the 2027 Dubai Sheema Classic. All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs, are based on the information that is available on the Racing Post.

Route to the Dubai Sheema Classic

Many trainers target races as preparation for the Dubai Sheema Classic. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2026 - Calandagan
Tokyo - 1st of 17 (31/5)
Japan Cup
2025 - Danon Decile
Nakayama - 1st of 18 (8/5)
American Jockey Club Cup
2024 - Rebels Romance
Doha - 1st of 11 (1/1)
H H The Amir Trophy
2023 - Equinox
Nakayama - 1st of 16 (23/10)
Arima Kinen
2022 - Shahryar
Tokyo - 3rd of 18 (37/10)
Japan Cup
2021 - Mishriff
Janadriyah - 1st of 14 (8/1)
Saudi Cup
2019 - Old Persian
Meydan - 1st of 10 (4/6)
Dubai City Of Gold Sponsored By Emirates SkyCargo
2018 - Hawkbill
Meydan - 1st of 13 (2/1)
Dubai City Of Gold Sponsored By Emirates SkyCargo
2017 - Jack Hobbs
Ascot - 3rd of 10 (7/1)
British Champion Stakes
2016 - Postponed
Meydan - 1st of 6 (11/10)
Dubai City Of Gold Sponsored By Skycargo

Article Contributor Information

We are fortunate to have an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to the creation and maintenance of this Dubai Sheema Classic Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse Racing Tips team, overseeing the tipsters and managing the tip settlement, while also creating and managing all the horse racing event previews for International racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Association provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing analyst with over 15 years of experience, delves into the intricacies of international horse racing, meticulously analyzing complex statistical data to uncover hidden trends. He spearheads the creation and management of OLBG's international horse racing trend blogs, providing valuable insights for bettors worldwide.

Races Covered at Dubai World Cup Night

Remember to head over to the Meydan predictions page to see which runner the racing tipsters are supporting in the Dubai Sheema Classic, and don't forget we also cover the following races at Dubai World Cup Night.

Dubai World Cup Night RacesLast WinnerInfo
Al Quoz SprintNative Approach (GB)
5yo - 28/1
A bin Harmash
Connor Beasley
Dubai Gold CupFairy Glen (FR)
5yo - 20/1
Simon & Ed Crisford
Mickael Barzalona
Dubai Golden ShaheenDark Saffron (USA)
4yo - 12/1
A bin Harmash
Connor Beasley
Dubai Sheema ClassicCalandagan (IRE)
5yo - 1/4
F-H Graffard
Mickael Barzalona
Dubai TurfOmbudsman (IRE)
5yo - 2/5
John & Thady Gosden
William Buick
Dubai World CupMagnitude (USA)
4yo - 15/2
Steven Asmussen
Jose L Ortiz
Godolphin MileBanishing (USA)
6yo - 6/1
David Jacobson
Silvestre De Sousa
UAE DerbyWonder Dean (JPN)
3yo - 5/1
Daisuke Takayanagi
Cristian Demuro

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