Calandagan (Ire)

G2 King Edward VII Stakes winner Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) will likely get a break after his exploits at Royal Ascot. Since he is ineligible for some French Group 1 races after being gelded--namely the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and the G1 Arc de Triomphe--trainer Francis-Henri Graffard is in no rush to plot what the next assignment will be for the multiple Group winner. "We know how hard it is to be competitive and win at Ascot, so we are delighted with this win of course," Graffard said. "He...

Following his emphatic success in Friday's G2 King Edward VII Stakes, The Aga Khan's Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}--Calayana {Fr}, by Sinndar {Ire}) can arguably lay claim to being France's leading middle-distance performer. While the G1 Prix du Jockey Club passed him by due to his gelding operation and the Arc is not for him for the same reason, the future looks bright for the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained homebred after his six-length success in this mile-and-a-half "Ascot Derby". Rewarding a numerically-strong French Royal Ascot challenge this year by becoming the first from...

Wednesday saw the draw made for Friday's two group 1 contests at Royal Ascot, with the 10 fillies set to contest the Coronation S. headed by Ballydoyle's G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner Opera Singer (Justify) and Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum's 1,000 Guineas heroine Elmalka (GB) (Kingman {GB}). Opera Singer, who was returning from a setback when third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, has drawn an outside stall in nine for the mile feature while the Roger Varian-trained Newmarket Classic heroine is in seven. James Doyle takes over from Silvestre De...

Francis-Henri Graffard trainee Calandagan (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}--Calayana {Fr}, by Sinndar {Ire}) finished 3-4-of-a-length behind Bright Picture (Fr) (Intello {Ger}) in Saint-Cloud's Listed Prix Francois Mathet last month and exacted revenge on that rival in Sunday's G3 Prix Noailles at ParisLongchamp. The Aga Khan's homebred gelding was out twice as a 2-year-old, following up an Aug. 12 debut third at Deauville with a facile 10-length tally at Chantilly in October. Calandagan tucked in at the tail of the field after breaking from the outside stall and was urged closer once into...