By Tom Frary
Anyone who doubted what a class act Calandagan (Gleneagles) is following some excusable defeats got an emphatic reply on Sunday in the feature G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Relishing the genuine pace and lively surface, the Aga Khan Studs representative brushed aside last year's Arc runner-up Aventure (Sea The Stars) in scintillating style to record a deserved first top-level win.
“He's such a consistent horse who always runs his race and we were a bit upset when people started talking about cheekpieces and blinkers after his last run,” racing manager Nemone Routh said of the winner, who was narrowly denied in the G1 Coronation Cup earlier this month. “He might have needed that race, as he hadn't run for a few months and he's better on this good ground. This was a proper field and he really, really deserved this win.”
Beaten by Jan Brueghel at Epsom, Calandagan is on course for a barnstorming rematch with that Ballydoyle peer provided conditions are similar to those on Sunday. “We thought if he ran well today the King George would be the plan if we have good firm ground,” Routh added. “This is a confidence booster–he's run so many good races in defeat in different countries on different ground and it was nice to give him a race at home.”
Winning for the first time since last year's G2 King Edward VII Stakes, Calandagan was able to draft perfectly here under Mickael Barzalona as Aventure's more-than-capable pace-setter Junko (Intello) asked the big question. As it turned out, the Wertheimers' star filly never got to the front with the winner coming over the top with his ruthless acceleration at the 300-metre marker.
As he had shown in the G1 Juddmonte International, Calandagan is capable of figures like very few others when able to stretch on a slick surface and from three out here he produced sectionals of 11.61, 10.76 and 11.29 resulting in a blistering 33.67 finale. Aventure, blown away by such audacious finishing speed, was ultimately beaten 3 1/2 lengths despite the race being run perfectly to suit with Junko six lengths back from the winner in third. For whatever reason, last year's King George hero Goliath (Adlerflug) faded tamely to be last.
Calandagan will head to Ascot, where he was so impressive on fast ground at the 2024 Royal meeting, with the upper hand if the current heatwave continues and it will be up to Jan Brueghel to prove he can outstay him on that kind of surface. “Well, he's not ungenuine,” Francis-Henri Graffard said. “The race went really well for him and I thought he was travelling much more into the rhythm of the race this time. I thought he was really impressive.”
“After Epsom, my first conclusion was that he needed the run probably against that horse on that ground that day. I thought he came on a lot for that and I think he's gaining experience with his jockey knowing him better also,” he added. “He's never run a bad race and he's either been beaten by a champion or circumstances. Today everything went his way and we saw how good he could be.”
“I will obviously discuss the King George with connections, but he is entitled to go to Ascot, it is a place he has won before and I would like to take him there 100 per-cent.”
CALANDAGAN WINS THE GRAND PRIX DE SAINT-CLOUD! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/3lkNSVN8xr
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 29, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Calandagan's dam is the G3 Prix Minerve runner-up Calayana (Sinndar), a relative of Danehill's G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains-winning sire Clodovil and the G3 Gordon Richards Stakes winner Colombian (Azamour). Her 3-year-old filly Calamandra (New Bay) was fourth in the recent Listed Prix de Thiberville, while she also has a 2-year-old filly by Zarak named Calasita and a yearling filly by Palace Pier.
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