Dubai set to be starting point in a big year for Caballo De Mar

Caballo De Mar is set to kick off 2026 with a trip to Meydan on Dubai World Cup night, as George Scott sets out the route to Royal Ascot with his staying star.

The ever-improving four-year-old provided the Eve Lodge handler with a memorable first Group One success when landing the Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp and the ambition is now the Gold Cup, with a run in the Middle East on March 28 seen as a perfect spot on the way to the Royal meeting in June.

Scott said: “He’s going to go to Dubai World Cup night for the Gold Cup there, as I think it will do him good and set him up well for the domestic season.

“He is going to need to prove himself again, but he’s very, very tough and he stays very well.

“He’ll go straight to Dubai, the ground in Saudi will be too fast and it’s too early really to start him in mid-February, so he’ll probably have a couple of racecourse gallops then head to Dubai.”

Caballo De Mar’s rise through the ranks was one of the success stories of 2025, winning a Southwell handicap off a mark of 75 in March before another five victories followed, including the German St Leger and his top-level triumph in the French capital.

And as well as a trip to Dubai, a further visit to France for the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier could also enter the equation in the first half of the new season.

Scott added: “He is a very hard horse to get fit and I think it will be a good stepping-stone to go to Dubai and then maybe to France and then I would love to end up running in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, I really would.

“Trawlerman got beat in Dubai and still had a brilliant season and I’m not saying we’re going happy to get beat, but it’s a process that can work well and the race comes at the right time of the year.”