Horse Racing stats man, Andy has contributed to OLBG for 18 years - An Ipswich fan and F1 fanatic, he also contributes EFL football and Motor Sport opinion.
2026 Dubai Sheema Classic Preview
Formerly known as the Dubai Turf Classic, the race was established in 1998 and two 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:
- Dubai Sheema Classic Past Winners
- Dubai Sheema Classic Trainer Statistics
- Dubai Sheema Classic Jockey Statistics
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.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Dubai Sheema Classic market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 10 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2018 when the race had an over-round of 112%. The race in 2022 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 124%, whilst on average over the last 10 renewals of the Dubai Sheema Classic, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 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 over the last 10 renewals:
- Equinox (2:25.65) in 2023
- Mishriff (2:26.65) in 2021
- Rebels Romance (2:26.72) in 2024
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 10 if you had followed the winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic next time out then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 9 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -4.52. Ahead of the 2026 Dubai Sheema Classic why not head over to the racing predictions for tips on other races today?
When looking over the past 10 renewals, a time of 2:25.65 was set by Equinox in 2023, which is the quickest time over that period, the runner was trained by Tetsuya Kimura and ridden by Christophe-Patrice Lemaire. The slowest winning time was set in 2017 when Jack Hobbs won in a time of 2:32.39, booked to ride was William Buick by the trainer John Gosden.
What the expert says...
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 year of the race, the horse which won along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from 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.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 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) |
| 2015 2:28.29 | Dolniya (FR) 4yo 8-8 (2 of 9) 7/1 | Christophe Soumillon A De Royer-Dupre (FR) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Dubai Sheema Classic have been based:
- GB: 6 winners with an additional 3 placings from 36 runners
- JPN: 3 winners with an additional 11 placings from 30 runners
- FR: 1 winner with an additional 4 placings from 9 runners
- IRE: 0 winners with an additional 1 placing from 9 runners
- HK: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
- USA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
- BHR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
- QA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
- UAE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 2 runners
- KSA: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
- TUR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
- GER: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
Dubai Sheema Classic Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Dubai Sheema Classic over the last 10 renewals is Charlie Appleby who has won the race three times with those three winners coming from Hawkbill (2018), Old Persian (2019) and Rebels Romance (2024). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Dubai Sheema Classic is John Gosden (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Dubai Sheema Classic trainer statistics over the last 10 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):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Appleby | 8-3-4 | +26.25 | +14.60 |
| John Gosden | 2-2-2 | +8.00 | +4.90 |
| Hideaki Fujiwara | 3-1-2 | +4.50 | +5.70 |
| Tetsuya Kimura | 3-1-2 | -1.00 | -0.40 |
| A De Royer-Dupre | 2-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.20 |
| Roger Varian | 2-1-1 | -0.20 | -0.52 |
| Shogo Yasuda | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.40 |
| A P O'Brien | 9-0-1 | -9.00 | -7.50 |
| Saeed bin Suroor | 6-0-0 | -6.00 | -6.00 |
| A Fabre | 4-0-2 | -4.00 | -2.43 |
Dubai Sheema Classic Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Dubai Sheema Classic over the last 10 renewals is William Buick who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Jack Hobbs (2017), Hawkbill (2018), Old Persian (2019) and Rebels Romance (2024).
Here are some of the top Dubai Sheema Classic jockey statistics over the last 10 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):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Buick | 8-4-5 | +31.25 | +18.10 |
| Christophe Soumillon | 6-1-3 | +2.00 | +8.50 |
| Christophe-Patrice Lemaire | 6-1-2 | -4.00 | -3.40 |
| Cristian Demuro | 5-1-3 | +2.50 | +5.80 |
| Andrea Atzeni | 4-1-1 | -2.20 | -2.52 |
| Keita Tosaki | 1-1-1 | +14.00 | +8.40 |
| David Egan | 1-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.40 |
| Ryan Moore | 8-0-1 | -8.00 | -6.75 |
| Joao Moreira | 5-0-2 | -5.00 | +1.10 |
| Mickael Barzalona | 5-0-2 | -5.00 | -3.62 |
2026 Dubai Sheema Classic Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 8, 1, 3, (3, 4), 1, 7, 2, 1, 12, 2
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones as you would expect them to do well. The trend information is based on the available information on the racing post in terms of previous runs etc.
- 10 / 10 (64%) - Within the first 6 of the market
- 10 / 10 (67%) - Held an OR of 116+
- 10 / 10 (67%) - No bigger than 25/1
- 10 / 10 (68%) - Not on GS/GD (Debut)
- 10 / 10 (68%) - Not on SFT/GS/FM (Last Win)
- 10 / 10 (73%) - Not in AUS/BHR/CAN/DEU/HKG/IND/IRL/ITA/USA (Last Win)
- 10 / 10 (76%) - Fewer than 2 races (90 Days)
- 10 / 10 (76%) - Furthest Won 1m2½f - 1m4½f
- 10 / 10 (77%) - Not in a G1-2/LST/Cl3/Cl6 (Debut)
- 10 / 10 (78%) - Achieved an RPR of 116+ (Non-Hcps)
- 10 / 10 (78%) - Beaten no more -3¾l (LTO)
- 10 / 10 (79%) - Achieved an RPR of 108+ (LTO)
- 10 / 10 (80%) - Had 3 - 11 wins (Non-Hcps)
- 10 / 10 (80%) - Fewer than 2 races (Season)
- 10 / 10 (82%) - Ran in 1 - 3 races (180 Days)
Remember to use the trends listed above along with the Meydan racing predictions to see if you can find the winner of the Dubai Sheema Classic. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, It is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Dubai Sheema Classic by adding a tip on the race here.
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Dubai Sheema Classic Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor which produced 5+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +39.05 is when runners had 1 season win.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners finished in 2nd last time out, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-22.
Here are the most recent winning draws along with the further placings in brackets:
- 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]
- 2021: Winner in 9 (7,8) [9 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Dubai Sheema Classic is Meydan, there has been a total number of 3 winners of this race who ran at Meydan last time out.
The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 9 winners from a total of 84 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 14 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Dubai Sheema Classic, that stallion Dubawi has produced 3 winners (2024,2019,2016).
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have been disappointed with multiple attempts but no wins in the Dubai Sheema Classic, that stallion is Galileo who has failed to produce a winner from 7 runners.
Looking at the winning odds over the last 10 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 10 renewals there have been 3 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2026 Dubai Sheema Classic why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today? All figures and trends above, such as the horse's previous runs are based on the information that is available on the racing post.
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 Races | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Al Quoz Sprint | Believing (IRE) 5yo - 3/1 | George Boughey William Buick |
| Dubai Gold Cup | Dubai Future (GB) 9yo - 17/2 | Saeed bin Suroor Silvestre De Sousa |
| Dubai Golden Shaheen | Dark Saffron (USA) 3yo - 40/1 | A bin Harmash Connor Beasley |
| Dubai Sheema Classic | Danon Decile (JPN) 4yo - 14/1 | Shogo Yasuda Keita Tosaki |
| Dubai Turf | Soul Rush (JPN) 7yo - 14/1 | Yasutoshi Ikee Cristian Demuro |
| Dubai World Cup | Hit Show (USA) 5yo - 66/1 | Brad H Cox Florent Geroux |
| Godolphin Mile | Raging Torrent (USA) 4yo - 3/1 | Doug O'Neill Frankie Dettori |
| UAE Derby | Admire Daytona (JPN) 3yo - 11/1 | Yukihiro Kato Christophe-Patrice Lemaire |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Dubai Sheema Classic Preview are at hand, Andy and Darren. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for International racing.
Darren Brett
Tipster Competition Manager
Andy Powell
Content Editor
