Calandagan Shines For Gleneagles With Champion Stakes Heroics

Calandagan (4g Gleneagles - Calayana, by Sinndar) demonstrated his brilliant talent with a decisive victory in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The Aga Khan homebred was picking up his third Group 1 success after victories in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud earlier in the season.

Francis Henri Graffard’s four-year-old was settled towards the back of the field but made smooth headway from two furlongs out under Mickael Barzalona. He claimed the lead with a furlong to run and struck by a comfortable two-and-a-quarter-lengths.

Graffard said of the son of Gleneagles: “He’s a fantastic horse, his work coming into this race was incredible and he loves this track.

“Mickael knows him very well and when he got him into stride in the straight, he was so good to watch. Ombudsman was trying to challenge him but he couldn’t get past my very good horse.

“We were dropping back in distance today and I think he has been showing he is very efficient over further at a mile and a half this year. I kept him fresh and haven’t been greedy with him and he’s paying us back now, he’s a real star. We all love horse racing and it was a beautiful race to watch.

“Last year we were on the inner course, he had an inside draw and it was very tactical and everything went against us. I was very upset with myself and the instructions I gave the jockey last year, but we know him well now and he’s shown there he is a fantastic horse.

“I was very stressed before the race as I was unsure what the tactics should be, but it worked out well and it’s easy when you have a champion.”