Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (Group 1)

CALANDAGAN returned to something like his best form when the five-year-old gelding went from last to first to win the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud for the second year in a row.

Officially the highest-rated horse in the world last year, the Gleneagles gelding - who clearly disliked conditions when very disappointing in the Coronation Cup at Epsom - was settled at the back, 12 lengths off the pace set by Lambourn, as Mickael Barzalona was happy to bide his time.

Barzalona made his move on the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained five-year-old two and a half furlongs out and the gelding began a run to stylishly pick off the field down the outside to win by a cosy neck from Cualificar and stablemate Sunly.

Graffard told Sky Sports Racing afterwards: “Delighted with that. I was upset with myself at Epsom and today he was sweating a little bit too much and I can see he was a little bit worried, so I was worried and then, at the end of the orders, I said to Mickael forget everything we said - just ride him for himself.

“It doesn’t matter if he’s beaten, we just need to get his confidence back, so just ride him for himself and trust in him and that’s what he did. But he’s such a good horse.

Acceleration

“He’s like a greyhound. If you put a rabbit in front of him, he’d try to catch it! As soon as he hit the front, like he did in Dubai, he just relaxed and like Mickael said his acceleration is so long and he can keep going, accelerating like that for so long. He’s an unbelievable horse.

“He’s got that will to win, that’s very important for these horses, especially at the top level. Mentally, I like them to enjoy themselves and I think it was really good for him and hopefully he comes back well, but I think mentally he will be very pleased with himself.”

Bookmaker reaction was positive, with bookmakers cutting Calandagan to a general 7/4 favourite to successfully defend his crown in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on July 25th.

Graffard added: “The plan was to go back to the King George and we are closer. It’s very hot today, so we will see how he comes out of it, but it’s the obvious race for him - he loves Ascot, he loves a mile and a half. Today’s a good day.”

Wonderful

Owner Princess Zahra Aga Khan was present and added: “It’s wonderful to see him back where he is. It’s wonderful to see him find himself again.

“He’s a horse who has his own running style. He doesn’t shoot out of the starting gate. He takes his time, but he’s so dominant he just wants to get in front. If there’s another horse in front of him, he’ll do anything he can.

“He’s a battle-hardened horse. He’s of an age where there was a worry it (Epsom) might have knocked his confidence, but he’s raced around the world and he’s had up days and down days, he’s not won, he’s won, so I personally wasn’t too worried.”

She added: “I think that not being able to run in the Arc made us think outside the box and I think he had a very good year and I’m agnostic about that decision. Personally I don’t have a preference.

“It’s not a classic, it’s a fantastic race but it’s not a classic. I think ultimately it was the right decision. Are we going to run Calandagan in the Arc in 2027? I don’t know.”

The Fabre runner Cualificar has been a beaten favourite in Prix Harcourt and the Grand Prix de Chantilly and was surprisingly sent off at 24/1 here and ran a much better race, running on under pressure to just be beaten a neck, while Juddmonte’s four-year Night Of Thunder filly Sunly also stayed on well. Lambourn faded to fifth of the eight, beaten six and a half lengths and it’s hard to see him winning another Group 1.