Latest news with #Kalpana
UPI
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Calandigan wins King George, Glorious Goodwood to have more top racing
Calandagan wins the Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday, earning a "Win and You're In" bid to the Breeders' Cup Turf. Photo by Hattie Austin/ courtesy of Breeders' Cup July 28 (UPI) -- Royal Ascot rules racing springtime in England, but midsummer packs in some of the best of the year's action as the 3-year-olds start to test their elders and spots for big-ticket year-end races are on the block. The weekend's King George meeting at Ascot and this week's Glorious Goodwood are on the leading edge of that excitement. Here's a rundown, a look forward and a sideways glance at Germany and South Africa. England Calandagan chased down Kalpana in the final yards to land Saturday's Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot by 1 length with two-time Breeders' Cup Turf winner Rebel's Romance rallying to finish third after traffic issues. Coolmore's pair, Jan Brueghel and Continuous, led the way for most of the King George's 1 1/4 miles, but wilted when Kapana surged to the front midway down the straight. They finished next-last and last in the five-horse field. Kalpana, a 4-year-old Study of Man filly, with Oisin Murphy up, looked to have stolen a march on the field, but Mickael Barzalona had Calandagan wound up from the back of the pack and the Aga Khan Stud's homebred 4-year-old Gleneagles gelding got the job done. The tactics were a bit of a puzzler, as most thought Continuous was in the race to make a pace for Jan Brueghel, who had defeated Calandagan by 1/2 length in the Group 1 Coronation Cup using those tactics. Barzalona said he was surprised, too, to see jockey Ryan Moore put Jan Brueghel on the lead. "I didn't expect that one," Barzalona said. "But once I saw Continuous beside him and Rebel's Romance boxed in, I was happy where I was because I knew either William [Buick on Rebel's Romance] was going to make a gap or Oisin was going to have to go round. "I was just waiting to see what happened, and when I saw Oisin making the move, I just followed." The race was a "Win and You're In" for the Longines Breeders' Cup Turf on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Trainer Francis Graffard wasn't talking California in his post-race comments. "He's in the Juddmonte International, so why not go there?" he added, referring to the Group 1 at York on Aug. 20. "I wouldn't mind coming back and then maybe going to Japan at the end of the season. But I have to discuss it with the Aga Khan team and Princess Zahra." Kalpana, despite the defeat, was lowered into the favorite's role by many bookmakers for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, perhaps thanks to her win on soft turf in last October's Group 1 British Champions Filly & Mare Turf. Calandagan came to Ascot off a victory in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. Before that, he had four straight seconds, all in Group 1 races. Also Saturday at Ascot, Fitzella captured the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes, improving on a fourth-place finish in the Group 3 Albany at the Royal meeting; and Cheshire Dancer landed the Group 3 Valiant Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 mile. On Friday at Ascot, Time to Turn shot to the lead in the final furlong of the Pat Eddery Stakes for 2-year-olds and held off the late run of A Bit of Spirit to win by a head. The Godolphin homebred Dark Angel colt finished second in his first two starts, won his third on the Wolverhampton all-weather and was favorite in Friday's field. Looking ahead ... Glorious Goodwood kicks off Tuesday with the Group 1 Goodwood Cup, a 2-mile staying test with Coolmore's Illinois and Scandinavia the top early picks. Wathnan Racing fields French Master. Nine-year-old Dubai Future is held at long odds in the eight-horse field, but has shown continued ability with a win in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup in April and a third (albeit beaten 13 lengths) in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. Trainer Saeed bin Suroor would like nothing more than to pick up his second top-level win in three days' time after winning Sunday in Munich. The highlight of the meeting arrives Wednesday in the Group 1 Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes. Field of Gold, romping winner of the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in his last start, is the overwhelming favorite. He and Coolmore's Henri Matisse, second at Ascot, try their luck against older horses for the first time. Field of Gold, a Juddmonte homebred trained by John and Thady Gosden, shares the top spot in the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings with Ombudsman and Japanese star Forever Young. It's 3-year-olds against older rivals again Thursday in the Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes for fillies and mares. Pending declarations, Coolmore holds a strong hand with entries for Whirl, winner of the Group 1 Pretty Polly, and Bedtime Story, second in the Group 1 Prix de Diane or French Oaks. See the Fire, third behind Ombudsman in the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes at the Royal meeting, also figures in this 1 1/4-mile test. Germany Tornado Alert racked up another German Group 1 win for Godolphin in Sunday's Grosser Dallmayr-Preis in Munich. Jockey Oisin Murphy kept the 3-year-old Too Darn Hot colt close enough to the pace throughout, easily took the lead turning for home and repulsed a late bid by the favorite, Wathnan Racing's Map of Stars, to win by 2 1/2 lengths. Lazio finished third, the best of the locals. Winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who won the event with Kutub in 2001 and Benbatl in 2018, picked up his first Group 1 win since October 2023. Neither of the top two features in the top ranks for upcoming Group 1 events, but Tornado Alert's odds were halved by some bookmakers for the Juddmonte International at York. Map of Stars' standing for the Arc took a tumble. South Africa Gladatorian turned the tables on Durban July winner The Real Prince in Saturday's Grade 1 HKJC Champions Day at Greyville, seeing off that rival by 1/2 length. The 5-year-old Vercingetorix gelding finished seventh in the July and third, behind Dave the King, in their previous
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Calandagan rules supreme for France in King George
Francis-Henri Graffard's gelding was bidding to keep the trophy in the Chantilly yard after Goliath prevailed 12 months ago, with his key rival seemingly Aidan O'Brien's Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel, who had edged the Aga Khan Studs-owned four-year-old at Epsom. Calandagan was the well-backed 11-10 favourite to turn the tables and after an incredibly patient ride from Mickael Barzalona he swept through to pick off all of his rivals and pass the gallant Kalpana ahead of the line for a one-length triumph. It is the fifth time the race has been won by a horse carrying the green and red silks, with Shergar the most famous of the those winners after prevailing for the fourth Aga Khan, who died in February this year at the age of 88. THE FRENCH RAIDER HAS DONE IT! 🇫🇷 CALANDAGAN WINS THE KING GEORGE VI AND QUEEN ELIZABETH STAKES! — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 26, 2025 'I am so pleased for the horse, it was a competitive race,' said Graffard. 'The tactics during the race were not what I was expecting, when I saw Continuous going very steadily it was all different. 'When the filly (Kalpana) kicked on for home my horse was still travelling well, I was hoping he was going to catch her at the end. He lengthened so strongly, he's a very good horse. 'I wanted to see my horse getting into his rhythm and lengthening his stride, when I really saw him coming I started to shout. 'He won nicely again today, he's a good horse, that's two in row now in Group Ones. 'Mickael knows him very well and he has a lot confidence in the horse. You saw the ride he gave him, he had a lot of confidence and he won – we are so happy.' Future plans could include another trip to York for the Juddmonte International, in which he was second to City Of Troy last year. Graffard said: 'We'll see how he comes out of the race, but he's in the Juddmonte International and why not, I wouldn't mind going back there. I would have no problem bringing him back to 10 furlongs, but I will discuss it with the owner. 'A mile and a half is also the perfect distance for him, but he ran really strongly in the race at York last year and if he comes back really well, why avoid the race? 'We could maybe go for the Japan Cup at the end of the season, but he will have a big target somewhere.' Jubilant rider Barzalona added: 'This means a lot and it has come at the right time for me. 'It's took a bit of time to win his Group One, but now he has won two in a row and to win a King George means a lot. 'He's a lovely horse to ride and he has an engine and a beautiful action. Once he finds his rhythm he is never going to let you down and as a jockey you just need to put him in the right spot and let him do the rest. 'I was very confident I would get to Kalpana and this is a great result.'
South Wales Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Balding: We'll work back from the Arc with Kalpana
Andrew Balding's four-year-old had run admirably in defeat in both her prior outings this term, last seen going down fighting in a titanic dual with Whirl on the Curragh last month. Returned to her favoured distance of a mile and a half, it momentarily looked like Kalpana had slipped the field when Oisin Murphy asked the Juddmonte-owned filly to quicken. However, hot on her tail was Francis-Henri Graffard's French raider Calandagan, who ensured Kalpana had to once again dip into her reserves and battle before being thwarted close home. 'I'm very proud of her, she's run her heart out again and just been beaten by a very good horse,' said Balding. 'She's done nothing wrong, had every chance, just bumped into a quick one on the day. 'It would have probably helped our cause if a bit more rain had got into the ground, but we can't complain.' For Juddmonte it was once again Graffard who proved their nemesis after Goliath denied Bluestocking 12 months ago. Ralph Beckett's filly would of course claim the Prix Vermeille and then the Arc, and hopes are high Kalpana could do the same. THE FRENCH RAIDER HAS DONE IT! 🇫🇷 CALANDAGAN WINS THE KING GEORGE VI AND QUEEN ELIZABETH STAKES! — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 26, 2025 Her route to the Arc could see her follow Bluestocking and head to ParisLongchamp for an early sighter in the Vermeille. But Balding could instead use another route successfully used by a Juddmonte star in the past – and search for back-to-back victories in Kempton's September Stakes, a race Enable won before downing Sea Of Class in the French capital in 2018. 'She's a class act and she's tightened up again since her two runs and come forward again, we're excited about the autumn,' added Balding. 'I would have thought that was a career-best effort and we'll be working back from Paris in October. 'She's in the Yorkshire Oaks, but she's had a hard race today and we'll work back from the Arc. 'We could head to the Vermeille, but she hasn't won a race yet this year so could go to the September Stakes without a penalty which might be an easier 'in'. 'It is likely to be one or the other and there's an extra week this year from the Vermeille to the Arc so anything is possible. 'The Kempton race she won last year and is on our doorstep and you are guaranteed the surface. But the Vermeille could be a good shot at a Group One, so we'll see.' Also given an international objective, albeit further afield, is Charlie Appleby's stable stalwart Rebel's Romance who was a luckless third in his quest to follow up Hardwicke Stakes success at Royal Ascot. Short of room at a vital stage, William Buick was forced to sit and suffer, as he repeated last year's placed effort in the race. Appleby said: 'He ran a solid race. It was a tactical race in a small field and no one would have expected the leader to be who it was (Jan Brueghel). It was very slow fractions in the first half a mile. 'We were in that pocket and with a horse that we know gallops we would have liked to have got out and got rolling. The rain earlier was nothing and that didn't settle the dust. 'He will go on his travels again now and we will point him towards the Canadian International.'
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Calandagan's trainer reacts to King George win at Ascot - 'I never had any doubts'
Francis Graffard said he has always believed in his horse's will to win, as the 11-10 favourite put a run of seconds behind him in British races when landing the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes Calandagan ran straight and true in the heat of battle to give trainer Francis Graffard back-to-back triumphs in Ascot's King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes. A defeat by Jan Brueghel in the Coronation Cup at Epsom caused some onlookers to question the four-year-old's stomach for the fight. The loss had been Calandagan's fourth in a row at the highest level, a sequence that had ended with a maiden Group 1 success in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud four weeks ago. When sent in pursuit of Kalpana, who had burst two lengths clear of her four opponents entering the final two furlongs of the mile-and-a-half Group 1 prize, well-backed 11-10 favourite Calandagan didn't flinch. 'I never had any doubts about his will to win,' smiled Chantilly-based Graffard after watching Mickaël Barzalona, carrying the colours of the gelding's owner-breeder, the late Aga Khan, to the front 100 yards from the winning post for a one-length margin, with Rebel's Romance repeating his third place of 12 months earlier. 'At Epsom, after the race I couldn't say it was because he doesn't want to try - and the jockey never reported that to me, either.' The 75th King George unfolded to the consternation of those who believed Aidan O'Brien's Continuous was in the line-up to make the pace for stablemate Jan Brueghel. Wayne Lordan was content to ride shotgun aboard Continuous as Ryan Moore cut out a funeral cortège gallop on last year's St Leger winner, who found a change of gear beyond him when Oisín Murphy committed Kalpana for home and completed in fourth. Barzalona, who had anchored Calandagan at the back before switching wide in the straight, admitted: 'I expected the race to go quicker. 'I was waiting to see what happened and when I saw Oisín making the move, I followed. 'These are the races you want to win. I was very young when I won the Derby [on Pour Moi in 2011] and this one is very special.' Graffard is now likely to send Calandagan to York on August 20, when he will bid to better last year's second to O'Brien's City Of Troy. 'The way he can quicken is very impressive,' he reasoned. 'He has proven in every single race that he is a very good horse.' His status as a gelding bars Calandagan from running in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp on October 5, for which Kalpana is now the 8-1 market leader. 'I think that is a career-best effort and we will be working back from Paris in October,' said her trainer Andrew Balding.
North Wales Chronicle
4 days ago
- Sport
- North Wales Chronicle
Calandagan rules supreme for France in King George
Francis-Henri Graffard's gelding was bidding to keep the trophy in the Chantilly yard after Goliath prevailed 12 months ago, with his key rival seemingly Aidan O'Brien's Coronation Cup winner Jan Brueghel, who had edged the Aga Khan Studs-owned four-year-old at Epsom. Calandagan was the well-backed 11-10 favourite to turn the tables and after an incredibly patient ride from Mickael Barzalona he swept through to pick off all of his rivals and pass the gallant Kalpana ahead of the line for a one-length triumph. It is the fifth time the race has been won by a horse carrying the green and red silks, with Shergar the most famous of the those winners after prevailing for the fourth Aga Khan, who died in February this year at the age of 88. THE FRENCH RAIDER HAS DONE IT! 🇫🇷 CALANDAGAN WINS THE KING GEORGE VI AND QUEEN ELIZABETH STAKES! — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 26, 2025 'I am so pleased for the horse, it was a competitive race,' said Graffard. 'The tactics during the race were not what I was expecting, when I saw Continuous going very steadily it was all different. 'When the filly (Kalpana) kicked on for home my horse was still travelling well, I was hoping he was going to catch her at the end. He lengthened so strongly, he's a very good horse. 'I wanted to see my horse getting into his rhythm and lengthening his stride, when I really saw him coming I started to shout. 'He won nicely again today, he's a good horse, that's two in row now in Group Ones. 'Mickael knows him very well and he has a lot confidence in the horse. You saw the ride he gave him, he had a lot of confidence and he won – we are so happy.' Future plans could include another trip to York for the Juddmonte International, in which he was second to City Of Troy last year. Graffard said: 'We'll see how he comes out of the race, but he's in the Juddmonte International and why not, I wouldn't mind going back there. I would have no problem bringing him back to 10 furlongs, but I will discuss it with the owner. 'A mile and a half is also the perfect distance for him, but he ran really strongly in the race at York last year and if he comes back really well, why avoid the race? 'We could maybe go for the Japan Cup at the end of the season, but he will have a big target somewhere.' Jubilant rider Barzalona added: 'This means a lot and it has come at the right time for me. 'It's took a bit of time to win his Group One, but now he has won two in a row and to win a King George means a lot. 'He's a lovely horse to ride and he has an engine and a beautiful action. Once he finds his rhythm he is never going to let you down and as a jockey you just need to put him in the right spot and let him do the rest. 'I was very confident I would get to Kalpana and this is a great result.'
