Calandagan reigned supreme at Ascot to give trainer Francis-Henri Graffard back-to-back victories in the Group 1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday.
Twelve months after his triumph over fellow gelding Goliath, Graffard returned to the Berkshire venue with the well-fancied Calandagan. Although narrowly defeated by the re-opposing Jan Brueghel in the Group 1 Coronation Cup at Epsom, Calandagan had since secured a breakthrough top-level victory with an emphatic three-and-a-half length success in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. With the undulating nature of Epsom potentially to blame for his earlier defeat, connections remained confident the four-year-old gelding could reverse the form on a more conventional flat track.
In a tactical affair, it was somewhat surprising to see Aidan O'Brien's Jan Brueghel set the early pace instead of the expected frontrunner Continuous. Barzalona, who had initially concealed his mount at the rear of proceedings, began to make incremental progress two furlongs from the finish. Taking his time to mount a challenge, Barzalona allowed Andrew Balding's Kalpana first run. However, once the race entered the final furlong, a French victory soon looked assured. Calandagan stayed on powerfully to score by a comfortable length over Kalpana, while Godolphin's globetrotting gelding Rebel's Romance finished third.
Barzalona told ITV Racing: "We know he is quality. Today the ground was quicker, and he is one of these top-class horses. I didn't expect Ryan to make the running. Once I saw Continuous was upsides Rebel's Romance, I was happy where I was because I knew William (Buick) was going to make his gap, or Oisin (Murphy) was going to go round, so I was just waiting for what was going to happen. When I saw Oisin making a move, I just followed.
"It's been a great season. It's a race you want to win. I was very young when I won the Derby, and he's very special."
Watch him get up in time!
— Breeders' Cup (@BreedersCup) July 26, 2025
Congrats to the #WinAndYoureIn King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, CALANDAGAN!
He is IN the @Longines #BreedersCup Turf!
Jockey: Mickael Barzalona
Trainer: Francis Henri Graffard/Frankreich
Owner: Aga Khan Studs Scea
Breeder: Haras… pic.twitter.com/CbcSkvmCJS
Graffard added: "I'm so pleased for this horse. It's a fantastic race. The tactics during the race – I was not expecting this. When I saw Continuous going very steady, it was all different again. When the filly kicked on for home, my horse was still travelling well. I was hoping he was going to catch her at the end, and he lengthened so strongly. He's a very good horse.
"I was not shouting, I was really patient. I wanted to see my horse getting into his rhythm – lengthening, and taking his very strong stride. When I saw him coming, that's when I started shouting and helping him a little bit up to the wire. He won nicely again today. He's won two Group 1s in a row now. He loads with no hood on, he's getting there. Mickael knows him very well, he has a lot of confidence in the horse. The ride he gave him gives him a lot of confidence, and we won, so we're happy.
"As a two-year-old he was very difficult in the morning. I had him first time out at Deauville, and he didn't want to load. Second start, he dropped the jockey on the way to the stalls, and we really struggled to teach him. I taught him to load with the starters for four days at Deauville, and they struggled to load him. I prefer to have a very good gelding than a bad colt."
