The 48-year-old French trainer caps off a career year in 2025 that wrapped a perfect bow on January 20 when Calandagan was honored as Longines World’s Best Racehorse. In addition, he was the only trainer with two horses represented in the top nine of the award, as Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Daryz finished in joint seventh place.
That status at the top of the international standings should come as no surprise for a trainer who developed a love for – and confidence in competing in – international racing through Godolphin’s Flying Start program.
“[Flying Start] exposed me to racing around the world; big gatherings, important people,” the 2005 Flying Start graduate said on the Jan. 26 episode of the BloodHorse Monday podcast. “As a trainer, I never worried about running a horse in Group 1 or Group 2 because I was exposed to it and had been on stage in a different role. I definitely think all those previous experiences – and international experiences – have really helped me for the future of my career.”
Graffard showed that confidence to a T in 2025, setting a single-season record for a French trainer with 14 wins in Grade/Group 1. Graffard defended his home base with nine Group 1 teams in France – highlighted by Daryz’s Arc win – and also recorded top-level victories in Germany, England and Japan – where he saddled Calandagan to become the first foreign winner of the Japan Cup in two decades.
One of the major highlights of his season, however, came on November 1 at Del Mar, when Graffard took his first Grade 1 victory in America, as well as his first in the World Breeders’ Cup Championshipswith Gezora in Maker’s Mark Filly and Mare Turf.
Graffard praised the atmosphere surrounding the Breeders’ Cup, saying it comes at the perfect time of year as European trainers are typically winding down their seasons.
“The Breeders’ Cup does a fantastic job of making it a big, special event,” said Graffard. “I will target them all [the Breeders’ Cup races]don’t worry.”
Graffard’s American interests do not, strictly speaking, lie in more championship moments during the Breeders’ Cup. World-class jockey Ryan Moore sparked a bit of Kentucky Derby fever in the trainer during a December conversation in Hong Kong. While congratulating Graffard on his success in the Japan Cup, Moore told him that the two most difficult races to win are the Japan Cup and the Kentucky Derby.
“I’m also going to look for dirt horses now, and hopefully one day I can win the ‘big one,’” Graffard said. “So here we come.”
Graffard also expressed interest in keeping a series of horses in America throughout the summer, focusing on competition at tracks such as Saratoga Race Course and Kentucky Downs. In fact, Graffard said he plans to purchase Kentucky-bred horses specifically with Kentucky Downs in mind. With one of America’s most lucrative racing events already running, Kentucky-bred horses are running for additional bonuses at Kentucky Downs – and at the Commonwealth’s four other tracks – through the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund.
“I love American racing and I think there are plenty of opportunities, especially on artificial turf,” said Graffard. “I need some time to organize myself, but I’m always thinking [about having] a bunch of horses in a stable there to participate in the Saratoga meeting. It should be my goal and my goal because I have a big garden.
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