France
Back-to-back for Calandagan
By Tom Frary, TDN Europe
Calandagan (Gleneagles) entered Sunday's G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud with a question to answer and did so in his customary style to register back-to-back successes in the 12-furlong feature.
Bogged down in the Coronation Cup last month, the flagship performer of The Aga Khan Studs had his favoured lively conditions here and was dropped out as usual by Mickael Barzalona with every rival ahead. Last at the 500-metre marker and in front at the furlong pole, the 30-100 favourite closed out with his trademark dazzling sectionals, hitting 10.94, 10.55 and 11.18 for the last three furlongs.
At the line, the homebred had a neck to spare over Godolphin's Cualificar (Lope De Vega), with three quarters of a length back to the winner's stablemate Sunly (Night Of Thunder) in third and another four to last year's runner-up Aventure (Sea The Stars), running a time of 2:27.27 which is a second faster than he managed in 2025.
“I was upset with myself at Epsom and he was on edge and sweating more than usual today, so I was worried,” Francis Graffard said. “In the end, I said to Mickael to just ride him to suit and trust in him and he's such a good horse–he's like a greyhound, if you put a rabbit in front of him he tries to catch it.”
“In the end, I said to Mickael to just ride him (Calandagan) to suit and trust in him and he's such a good horse–he's like a greyhound, if you put a rabbit in front of him he tries to catch it.” - Francis Graffard
“These Group 1s are hard races and I like them to enjoy themselves–I think it was really good for him and I think he'll be very pleased with himself,” he added. “The plan is to go back to the King George and Ascot is a good place for him, but it is closer to this race this year and so we'll see how he comes out of this–it's very hot today.”
Graffard was also impressed by the effort of Sunly, who was coming of age with conditions to suit. “In the paddock beforehand she was magnificent, she looked fantastic and she's a strong filly, she had a good draw, a perfect trip behind the leaders and she quickened nicely,” he said of the Juddmonte homebred. “I nearly thought she was going to win at one stage–I was focusing more on her than Calandagan, who I thought was too far back.”
Francis Graffard | Image courtesy of Graffard Racing
“She's a good filly who has the option of the Prix Vermeille, but she deserves to take her chance in the Yorkshire Oaks,” he added. “She's a very late-maturing filly and a filly I've always held in very high regard. Today, with good ground and 2400 metres, she fully confirmed her ability.”
Pedigree: Calandagan is the second foal out of Prix Minerve runner-up Calayana (Sinndar), whose two other black-type performers are the Prix de Thiberville winner Calasita (Zarak) and the Prix Belle de Nuit third Calamandra (News Bay). From the family of Danehill's Poule d'Essai des Poulains-winning sire Clodovil and the Group 3 winner and Arlington Million third Colombian (Azamour), her 2-year-old filly is by Palace Pier while she also has a colt foal by Siyouni.
Germany
Surprise winner in Deutches Derby
By Sean Cronin, TDN Europe
Stall Bergholz's one-from-five Listed Dortmund Derby Trial runner-up Dardanos (Soldier Hollow) was an unconsidered 84-1 chance for Sunday's G1 Idee 157th Deutsches Derby at Hamburg and belied his monster odds to provide trainer Andreas Wohler with a sixth renewal of Germany's Blue Riband.
Wohler's first success came via Pik Konig (Konigsstuhl) in 1992 and his latest winners include Isfahan (Lord Of England) in 2016 and 2019 hero Laccario (Scalo).
“He is such an easy horse to ride, so I was happy to be booked and really looked forward to the race,” said jockey Wladimir Panov after registering his first win in the contest. “He is so relaxed, he does everything you want and I had an excellent trip. It is an emotional moment and I am overjoyed.”
“He (Dardanos) is such an easy horse to ride, so I was happy to be booked and really looked forward to the race.” - Wladimir Panov
Stall Bergholz's Friedrich von Lenthe added, “I can't yet believe what has happened. We were hoping to maybe get placed, or perhaps finish in the first five or six home, but to win is awesome.”
Wohler continued, “One of Dardanos's owners is a Hamburg native and that is something very special. Dardanos definitely needed his latest outing and he improved for that, but we did not really know just how much. Winning the Derby always is and always will be so very special.”
Dardanos, one of three contenders representing Wohler, was the last to load and first into stride and accepted a tow in second before slipping to fourth once past halfway.
Repeating this week's popular tactic of heading wide with the field off the home turn, he gained an edge passing the quarter-mile and stayed on relentlessly under continued rousting in the closing stages to prevail by a length and the same from the Liberty Racing duo Chiefland (Study Of Man) and Salitos (In Swoop). Kairos (Zarak), another Liberty Racing nominee, finished two lengths back in fourth.
Pedigree: Dardanos becomes the seventh Group 1 winner and third Deutsches Derby hero for his sire and follows the lead set by Pastorius in 2012 and Weltstar in 2018. He is the best of three stakes winners for the four-time winner Delegation (Mount Nelson), who is also responsible for the dual Group 3-placed Listed Dusseldorf Derby-Trial victor Delgardo (Best Solution) and Listed Junioren-Preis winner De La Soul (Sea The Moon).
Delegation has also produced the unraced 2-year-old colt Dancing Dunes (Torquator Tasso) and a yearling colt by Torquator Tasso. She is the leading performer out of a half-sister to the dual Graded-placed Blue Norther Stakes victrix In The Slips (More Than Ready), herself the second dam of Grade III-winning GI Hollywood Derby third Donegal Momentum (Uncle Mo).
Descendants of the winner's unraced fourth dam Ocean Jewel (Alleged) include G1 Melbourne Cup hero Delta Blues (Dance In The Dark) and the Group 1-placed distaffers Pearl Dance (Nureyev) and Rainbow Springs (Selkirk).
