DUBAI: When your horse has already gone around the world once to prove himself the best, the pressure of reproducing that seems to mount for the humans around him with each new challenge.
Four months on from becoming the first foreign-trained winner of the Japan Cup in 20 years, Calandagan put Princess Zahra Aga Khan and trainer Francis-Henri Graffard through two and a half minutes of what must have seemed agony, as Mickael Barzalona spotted the leader West Wind Blows a lead in excess of 10 lengths at a pace which meant there was little chance of the runaway stopping.
Yet such is his confidence in Calandagan that Barzalona only gradually moved forward around the home turn, and still had four lengths to make up at the 400-metre mark.
When he finally said go, the result went from suspense to a formality in a matter of strides as the five-year-old homebred stamped his abundant class on the race, running out an easy three-quarters of a length winner from the gallant West Wind Blows.
Asked how much she enjoyed watching the race unfold, Princess Zahra said: “No, not a bit of it!
“It was terrifying. They went slow but Mickael has been riding him like that for two years ago so we weren’t terrified until the final turn. Now we’re not any more.
“He has an amazing stride and he also has an amazing motor and a will to win. You can always tell with him, the last few strides, he puts his entire soul into it. It’s amazing to watch.”
Asked about future targets, Princess Zahra added: “I think we might go home for a while, because the rest of us are exhausted, let alone the horse.
“I think we might take a bit of a breather and then stay in Europe at the start of the summer, then we’ll see.
“Ultimately if we end up going back to Japan at the end of the year – I mean it’s a very long way off – all the races he’s run in already are options. Francis and the team and I have to discuss it.”
At the start of last season Calandagan continued a run of heartbreaking seconds but Graffard never lost faith in his horse, and has now masterminded a sequence of five straight Group 1 victories.
He admitted to suffering ahead of the Japan Cup and once again he appeared to momentarily age before the race, aware of the disappointment that would come with anything other than victory.
“That was really hard,” said Graffard. “It became such a tactical race and it’s difficult because there’s a lot of pressure that comes with running a horse like this.
“The difference now is that Mickael knows him so well.”
While owner and trainer went on a Meydan rollercoaster, the man in the saddle maintained laser-focus to deliver a millimetre-perfect steer on a horse he only inherited when becoming first jockey to the Aga Khan Studs at the start of 2025.
“He’s an incredible horse, he’s got his own attitude,” said Barzalona. “I know him very well now and he always gives plenty in the end, I just need to trust him.
“That’s all that jockeys dream about, to find this kind of incredible horse and I’m very glad and very grateful for the opportunity to be part of this team as well.”
Reflecting on the run of the race, Barzalona added: “I thought my main dangers were Giavellotto and the Mullins horse [Ethical Diamond] which was behind me.
“And when I thought I was going much better than Giavellotto, it was my turn to go. I didn’t expect West Wind Blows to give me that hard a race.”
Confidence breeds confidence, and the partnership between Calandagan and Barzalona has now forged an unshakable belief in their ability to take on any opposition and any situation.
The rest of the world will have a hard time dislodging his crown as the season unfolds.
Result
1st – #1 CALANDAGAN (IRE)
Jockey: Mickael Barzalona
Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard
2nd – #6 West Wind Blows (IRE) – 0.77L
3rd – #3 Giavellotto (IRE) – 4.35L
4th – #4 Royal Power (FR) – 6.19L
5th – #2 Ethical Diamond (IRE) – 6.85L
6th – #5 By The Book (IRE) – 11.13L
