The Horse Who Finally Shut Everyone Up: Calandagan's Last-to-First Masterclass

By HOAR Team 26 July, 2025 5 mins read 3582 Views

Look, I've been watching Calandagan get called everything but a racehorse for the past year. Bottler. Choker. The nearly-horse.

Well guess what? He just told every single doubter to stuff it with a King George performance that had me jumping off my sofa like an idiot. My neighbor probably thinks I've lost it completely.

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When Everything Goes Wrong... Until It Goes Right

This horse had every excuse in the book to pack it in when Kalpana shot clear like she was fired from a cannon. Seriously. The filly got first run, she had the 3lb weight advantage, and for about a furlong there, I'm thinking "here we go again with this horse."

But something clicked. Maybe it was jockey Mickael Barzalona finally figuring out the puzzle after five rides. Maybe Calandagan just got tired of being called names in the racing press.

Whatever it was, he dug so deep I thought he might strike oil. Francis-Henri Graffard now has back-to-back King Georges, and honestly? The guy deserves it after putting up with all the criticism about his star horse.

Ballydoyle's Baffling Brain Fade

Can we talk about those tactics for a second? Because even Graffard looked confused afterwards, and that's saying something.

You've got Jan Brueghel at 5-2, a horse who literally outstayed Calandagan at Epsom just two months ago. This is a stayer who needs a proper test, right? So what do they do? They let him set his own funeral pace while Continuous - the 40-1 rabbit who usually tears off like his tail's on fire - decides to play follow-the-leader.

Made zero sense. Not that Barzalona was complaining - he's sitting on the horse with the best turn of foot in a slowly-run race. Must've felt like Christmas morning.

Kalpana's Brave Stand (Almost)

Credit where it's due though.

Andrew Balding's filly showed serious guts when Oisin Murphy pressed the button at the two-furlong pole. She exploded clear like she'd been shot from a catapult, and for about 150 yards there, I genuinely thought she'd pulled it off.

Maybe Murphy could've waited another beat or two before committing her, but hindsight's always 20-20, isn't it? Balding seemed happy enough afterwards, already plotting the route to the Arc. Fair play to connections - she ran her heart out and just got beaten by a better horse on teh day.

The Doubters Can Pipe Down Now

Graffard's post-race comments hit the nail on the head: "I never had any doubts about his will to win." Easy to say now, but the man stuck by his horse through all the criticism. Second in the Juddmonte International, Champion Stakes, Sheema Classic, Coronation Cup... those aren't the results of a quitter.

"This is the fifth time Mickael has ridden him," Graffard explained. "He has been getting to know him and knows what to do on him now."

Sometimes it just takes time for the pieces to fall into place. And when they did at Ascot, it was beautiful to watch.

What's Next? York Beckons

Word is the Juddmonte International at York is next up, where a potential showdown with Field Of Gold awaits. Now that's a race I'd pay good money to see.

Calandagan's finally got his big one. The monkey's off his back, the doubters are silenced, adn Francis-Henri Graffard can sleep easy knowing his stable star has delivered when it mattered most.

Sometimes the best stories are worth the wait.

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