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Calandagan raring to go in King George repeat bid
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 21 Jul 2026
Connections of Calandagan are confident their superstar gelding is back to his brilliant best as he tries to add a second King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes to his glittering collection of international prizes.
Despite bagging a sixth Group One for his CV in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last time out, the five-year-old needed to put a rare disappointing run behind him.
After landing the Dubai Sheema Classic in Meydan in March, he was comprehensively outpointed on soft ground in the Coronation Cup at Epsom before getting back to winning ways in France earlier this month.
While that form is short of the level that saw him win the King George, thrash Ombudsman in the Champion Stakes and land the Japan Cup in a thriller in Tokyo, those closest to him at Francis-Henri Graffard’s Chantilly base remain confident.
He faces a stronger line up than last year at Ascot on Saturday, but connections believe he remains the one to beat with ground conditions in his favour and back at the scene of some of his greatest performances.
“He took his win at Saint-Cloud very much in his stride and we feel like he has improved from that run,” said Nemone Routh, director and French racing manager for the Aga Khan Studs on Sky Sports Racing.
“He worked well yesterday and the people who know him best – his rider and head man here – they were basically saying they feel he is exactly where he was this time last year.
“He is at the same weight, he has eaten well and we go into the weekend, while I wouldn’t say we’re confident (of winning), we are confident that the horse is in good form. Obviously it is a very tough field but he likes the track and he won it last year so we are hopeful of a very good run.”
Calandagan was the standout horse in the world in 2025 and had the campaign medals to prove it taking the battle from France to Ascot and on to the far east and the Japan Cup where he beat one of Saturday’s rivals Masquerade Ball by a head.
Routh admitted the Graffard team are wary of a “proper horse” with a lot of ability but the imponderable is whether he can take a long trip over to the UK in his stride and still produce his best.
She said: “We have done it the reverse way and it is a long one and quite the trip. Masquerade Ball is a proper horse and has had a little bit of experience travelling to Hong Kong. If he has travelled well he will be a real contender.
“Calandagan is showing us all the signs he is fit and well and he travels very easily as well so I don’t think that will be an issue. He has been to Ascot many times before and obviously loves the track. He will have his ground and is in great form.
“The opposition this year is very tough and Benvenuto Cellini as a three-year-old gets a very good weight pull at this time of year. It will be interesting to see how the generations match up but we know that our horse, when he is on form and when he gets his ground, he always runs his race.”
Routh also gave an update on Erdenali who was unlucky to lose his unbeaten record in a Group Three contest at Chantilly on Sunday.
“He was very unlucky. If he had had any racing room in the last furlong he would have got up to win,” said Routh. “I said to Mickael (Barzalona) afterwards do you feel like would have won with a clear one he said ‘absolutely’.
“He has come out of the race fine and we will stick to the plan to run him in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp. We think he is a Group One horse. We were running him on the weekend to have that confirmed and everything went wrong.”
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