Willie Mullins goes for an impossible double with Ethical Diamond

The number 1 steeplechase trainer in Great Britain will present the surprise Breeders' Cup Turf (G1) winner in the Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) at Meydan

Ethical Diamond winning the last Breeders' Cup Turf / BREEDERS' CUP

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Special for Turf Diario).— Accustomed to dominating the headlines in March from the heart of European racing, Willie Mullins once again left his mark on the Cheltenham Festival, where he secured 8 victories, including the two pinnacle events: the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. However, this time the legendary Irish trainer aims to go much further.

For the first time in more than a decade, Mullins targets a challenge as ambitious as it is unprecedented: completing a historic double between Cheltenham and Dubai, now seeking the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) with Ethical Diamond, the recent surprise winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1)... and a horse with a past on the jumps tracks of Cheltenham itself.

The feat has never been achieved. Not even the renowned Francois Doumen, who managed to combine Festivalsuccesses with Jim And Tonic's (Double Bed) victory in the 2001 Dubai Duty Free (G1), succeeded in linking both conquests in the same season. Mullins, instead, wants to break that mold.

His previous experience in Dubai was minimal: just one runner, Simenon (Marju), who finished last in the 2014 Dubai Gold Cup (G2). But Ethical Diamond has already proven to be a special case. At 6 years old, the son of Awtaad gave his trainer his first Breeders’ Cup success, and also boasts prestigious victories such as the Ebor Handicap at York and the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot.

From Dubai, the team conveys confidence. Travelling head T J Comerford spared no praise: “He’s great, eating everything and adapting perfectly since he arrived. He’s a very straightforward horse with a great temperament, and we are really very pleased.”

He added with a knowing smile: “I was at the Breeders’ Cup, it was an incredible day. With Mullins, you never know what might happen...”

The challenge is significant. Although illustrious names like Fantastic Light (Rahy), St Nicholas Abbey (Montjeu), and Rebel’s Romance (Dubawi) achieved the double between the Sheema Classic and the Breeders’ Cup Turf, none did so in the same cycle, just 5 months after their coronation in the United States. A statistical barrier that Ethical Diamond will now attempt to tear down.

With Calandagan (Gleneagles) among Ethical Diamond's rivals, the Dubai Sheema Classic is shaping up to be one of the great international clashes of the season. On one side, Mullins' revolutionary project, seeking to unite two worlds that rarely cross paths. On the other, the consolidated Aga Khan star, ready to confirm his global dominance.

In the middle, one certainty: if the Irishman achieves what he sets out to do, he will not just win a race. He will rewrite history.