Calandagan

French ace Calandagan (Gleneagles), G1 Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel (Galileo), globetrotter Rebel's Romance (Dubawi) and star filly Kalpana (Study Of Man) headline the confirmations for Saturday's G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Worth a record £1.5m in 2025, the King George is Britain's richest all-aged contest and the most valuable race ever run at Ascot. Francis-Henri Graffard is chasing back-to-back victories following Goliath's surprise win in 2024. This year the trainer will be represented by Calandagan, who gained a deserved Group 1 success in the...

Field Of Gold (Kingman) and Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) have joined Forever Young (Real Steel) at the top of the LONGINES World's Best Racehorse Rankings for 2025, after producing blockbuster performances to win at Royal Ascot. Juddmonte's Field Of Gold won the G1 St James's Palace Stakes by three and a half lengths, while stablemate Ombudsman ran out a decisive winner of the G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, by two lengths from last year's G1 Champion Stakes winner Anmaat (Awtaad) [123]. Both horses are now rated 127, matching the figure...

Francis Graffard is considering the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes as an option for Daryz (Sea The Stars), who retained his unbeaten record when winning Sunday's G2 Prix Eugene Adam. Nemone Routh, racing manager for Daryz's owner-breeder The Aga Khan Studs, said, "We're slightly scratching our heads with Daryz and we would need to sit down with Princess Zahra as well as there are several options we can take with the horse. "I know Francis is quite interested in the idea of bringing him to the Juddmonte International and he's obviously...

On the day that Kevin Prendergast was remembered at the Curragh in the naming of the International Stakes, and a day after Peter Easterby was laid to rest, another great of the training ranks was lost with the passing of Barry Hills. Then came the news from America that D Wayne Lukas had too departed. To read the tributes paid to these men, who did so much to enrich the colour of this storied sport, is something of a treat in itself - their parting gift, if you like -...

Cock Of The North at Ballydoyle in the present moment, Lambourn heads to Sunday's G1 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at The Curragh looking to emulate his sire Australia in completing the notable double. A most unlikely Blue Riband hero at this stage last term, the ever-improving colt now sits pretty having mastered the ultimate test. Providing a blueprint of how to perform in a Derby three weeks ago, he is likely to be even better suited by this more conventional galloping track and has few if any weaknesses. With...

"Always the bridesmaid, never the bride" is perhaps an apt way of describing the racing career of Calandagan thus far, even if he does have a Royal Ascot victory to show for his efforts, having been a runaway winner of last year's G2 King Edward VII Stakes. Since then, the son of Gleneagles has been campaigned exclusively at the top level and it's been a case of close but no cigar, with four consecutive runner-up finishes in the Juddmonte International, Champion Stakes, Dubai Sheema Classic and Coronation Cup. Beaten just...

Godolphin's G1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes hero Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) has been awarded a mark of 130 by Timeform for his efforts at Royal Ascot on Wednesday. He is now the highest-rated older horse in Europe, with Jan Brueghel (Galileo) and Goliath (Adlerflug) both at a mark of 128. Almaqam (Lope De Vega) is rated 126, as is White Birch (Ulysses). The Aga Khan's Calandagan (Gleneagles) is rated 127. Timeform handicapper Rory King said, "Ombudsman might have lost his unbeaten record in the Brigadier Gerard but that still represented...

Friday, Epsom Downs, post time: 16:00, BETFRED OAKS-G1, £573,150, 3yo, f, 12f 6yT Field: Desert Flower (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Elwateen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Giselle (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Go Go Boots (GB) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}), Minnie Hauk (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), Qilin Queen (Ire) (Pinatubo {Ire}), Revoir (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Wemightakedlongway (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Whirl (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). TDN Verdict: Desert Flower has possibly stronger credentials than stablemate Ruling Court for getting the Newmarket-Epsom Classic double done and she has proven time and again that she...

Now that the line-ups have been confirmed for the Derby and Oaks, the wait has become one of merely hours for connections and fans of the protagonists alike. An intense period of final planning and preparation, of intermittent reverie. With the current century a quarter of the way though its course, there is little sign that the Epsom Classics have lost any of their draw for the big operations and the lists assembled for Friday and Saturday's Betfred-sponsored tests are testament to that. Since 2000, overseas interests--mainly Irish--have held sway...

Saturday, Epsom Downs, post time: 15:30, BETFRED DERBY-G1, £1,604,000, 3yo, c/f, 12f 6yT Field: Al Wasl Storm (Ire) (Affinisea {Ire}), Damysus (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Delacroix (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), Green Storm (Ire) (Circus Maximus {Ire}), Lambourn (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Lazy Griff (Ger) (Protectionist {Ger}), Midak (Fr) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), New Ground (GB) (New Bay {GB}), Nightime Dancer (Ire) (Ghaiyyath {Ire}), Nightwalker (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Pride Of Arras (Ire) (New Bay {GB}), Rogue Impact (GB) (Study Of Man {Ire}), Ruling Court (Justify), Sea Scout (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Stanhope Gardens (Ire) (Ghaiyyath...

Following Saturday's confirmation stage, Godolphin's 1,000 Guineas heroine Desert Flower (Night Of Thunder) is one of nine possible runners in Friday's Betfred Oaks at Epsom. Unbeaten in five career starts, culminating with a comfortable defeat of Flight and Simmering in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, Desert Flower is the sponsor's 7/4 favourite to complete a Classic double at Epsom, a feat last achieved by the Aidan O'Brien-trained Love five years ago. O'Brien is responsible for three of the remaining nine contenders in Giselle (Frankel), the wide-margin winner of the Listed...

Japanese Derby winner Danon Decile (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) announced himself on the world stage with a perfectly-timed slingshot manoeuvre to run out an impressive winner of the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic for trainer Shogo Yasuda and jockey Keita Tosaki. The race is a 'Win and You're In' for the GI Breeders' Cup Turf for the first time this year. A mid-race move from William Buick saw defending champion Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) take over the sedate early pace set by what had been billed as the leading Japanese...