Calandagan finished on a flourish, becoming the first foreign runner in two decades to clinch the Japan Cup.
Four-year-old Francis-Henri Graffard has had a fantastic campaign on European soil, belatedly breaking his Group 1 duck at the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud before adding the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Champion Stakes at Ascot to his blossoming CV.
Wearing the colors of Aga Khan Studs, Calandagan was held up in Tokyo by Mickael Barzalona before storming home to meet his challenge, winning a pulsating final furlong duel with his favorite Masquerade Ball by a head.
The son of Gleneagles is the first horse trained outside Japan to win the country’s showpiece event since Luca Cumani’s Alkaased in 2005, with his victory also coming in a course record.
He did it! CALANDAGAN WINS THE JAPAN CUP IN RECORD TIME! 🇯🇵🏆#Japanese Cup #horseracing pic.twitter.com/7Lc0bgSba8
— At the Races (@AtTheRaces) November 30, 2025
Nemone Routh, manager of the Aga Khan Studs in France, told the Press Association: “It was a fantastic race, unbelievable.
“I was told that not only was this a record time for the Japan Cup, but apparently it was also the fastest mile and a half race ever run. Almond Eye (winner of the Japan Cup in 2018 and 2020) previously held the record at a mile and a half and apparently Calandagan has now lowered that record.
“There are really no words for it. It’s a big ask to come here because it’s a 24-hour journey and you take them out of their routine. He’s not trained in the same way and this is where a lot of credit goes to his rider and Francis for being able to train him, even though you’re not in the same training conditions, to be able to perform at this level in his last race of the year. It’s really phenomenal.”
“Francis also broke the record for the number of Group 1 wins in a calendar year for a France-based trainer. He was tied with Andre Fabre with thirteen wins and has now made it fourteen with this win.”
A Japan Cup tilt has been in the works for some time, with Routh adding: “We’ve been taking this race very seriously. We made a bit of a mental note after he won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud when we realized he had qualified for a bonus in this race.”
“We wanted to do one big international race with him at the end of the year and we identified this as the race. That’s why he didn’t go to York for the Juddmonte International and he didn’t go to the Irish Champion Stakes. We wanted to keep him fresh for the end of the year.”
“The race we thought would be the best prep race for him was the Champion Stakes because he can’t run in the Arc (because he’s a gelding) and he’s responded to every call this year. Mickael has so much confidence in him and they’re a great team.”
Calandagan will now get a well-deserved break before returning in search of more riches in 2026, when connections will also look forward to campaigning their Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe hero Daryz.
“We’re bringing him home. He’s obviously not going to the Hong Kong Vase. He’s been invited, but that’s only a few weeks away and we wouldn’t do that to the horse because even though he’s a phenomenal athlete, he’s not a big, strong horse and you have to respect him,” Routh continued.
“The Sheema Classic in Dubai should probably be on the agenda, but we have not made any firm plans yet.
“We also have Daryz to factor in, but I imagine Calandagan will be doing some more international travel, while Daryz will remain with the European Group Ones.”
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