Calandagan gets 1st Group 1 win in Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud

After four second-place finishes in as many tries, Calandagan finally got his first Group 1 win when he outclassed four rivals Sunday in the US$468,860 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud going nearly 1 1/2 miles on the turf in France.

A 4-year-old gelding by Gleneagles, Calandagan (1-2) was sent off as the odds-on favorite on the strength of his runner-up streak which included a narrow loss in the Coronation Cup (G1) on June 6 at Epsom, England.

Content to race early in fourth place, jockey Mickaël Barzalona took a wide path into the homestretch and rallied Calandagan into the lead with a little more than a furlong to go.

Widening his advantage through the finish, the Aga Khan estate’s homebred finished 3 1/2 lengths clear of runner-up Aventure (5-2), a 4-year-old filly. Six-year-old gelding Junko (15-1) was third. Eight-year-old gelding Iresine (31-1) came in fourth. Five-year-old gelding Goliath (4-1), Calandagan’s stablemate, was eased and finished last.

Calandagan’s winning time was 2:28.28 without a run-up going 2,000 meters, 15 yards short of 1 1/2 miles on the counterclockwise Saint-Cloud course rated good to soft.

Trained by Francis Graffard, Calandagan has been nominated for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (G1) on July 26 at Ascot.

Sunday’s race was a win-and-you’re-in for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1) on Oct. 5 at ParisLongchamp, but Calandagan is ineligible since the race is not open to geldings.