The Japan Cup was once a ‘door to the world’ and the sight of unfamiliar foreign powerhouses overwhelming Japanese horses was not uncommon. However, since Alkaased’s victory in 2005, that door had remained firmly shut … until Calandagan came along.
“Very good. Mission accomplished.”
Jockey Mickael Barzalona delivered those short but powerful statements after prying open that door on the French-trained galloper in the late autumn twilight at Tokyo Racecourse – a victory that meant the current generation of fans saw the G1 Japan Cup go to an overseas raider for the first time in 20 years.
Calandagan’s winning time was 2:20.3. It was an astonishing record that shaved 0.3 seconds off the world record established by the great Japanese mare Almond Eye in 2018.
This historic victory was not achieved by the horse’s ability alone. It was founded on the ‘horseman’s philosophy’ built and inherited by the great owner-breeder, the Aga Khan IV, who passed away in February of this year. It was planned by a trainer who was capping his finest year with an historic feat, and by the astute team the Aga Khan left behind to carry on his work.
After the race, his daughter Princess Zahra Aga Khan spoke in the true style of the Aga Khan Studs about why they sent Calandagan to Japan this year.
“You never go to a race thinking that you are going to win, but you are always hoping that you might,” she said. “It’s horse racing. You have to run the right horse on the right day for the right course. So if it’s the right racecourse, the right timing, and the right horse, then we will travel with horses.
“As Francis said from the beginning of the year, Calandagan was the horse for this race, and he had planned this for a very long time.”
Entrusted with executing this ‘mission’ from the saddle was the French master Barzalona, who became the lead jockey for the Aga Khan Studs this year.
The race began with turmoil when Yuga Kawada was unseated from Admire Terra after the gates opened.
As the crowd fell into an uproar Seiun Hades took the lead alone, carving out a split of 57.6 seconds for the first 1000m.
Calandagan took a position in the mid-to-rear pack. Along the way there was contact with a horse trying to cut in from the outside, but he remained utterly calm.
“I was following one of the favorites, Christophe’s horse.” Barzalona said.
The home straight brought a battling climax. Blocking the path of Calandagan, who advanced from the outside, were Christophe Lemaire – who once served as the main jockey for the Aga Khan – and the ace among the Japanese three-year-olds, Masquerade Ball.
“He played a lot with us, maybe pulling me a head in front of him when we got to the top of the hill, but Calandagan was the strongest,” Barzalona said.
In the rider’s words, the hero honed in Europe possessed the unfathomable gears of a “true champion”. Winning the fierce duel with Masquerade Ball by a head, the moment he crossed the finish line proved that the philosophy of the Aga Khan family was correct. The result of sending the “right horse” to the “right course” – the Japan Cup – on the “right day” was the way to achieve a feat that no other foreign horse had been able to accomplish since 2005.
“Calandagan did a perfect season. He proved in Europe he was the best. He came over here and was able to beat the best horse in Japan. So he’s definitely the best horse of the year,” Barzalona said.
It proved a historic victory for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, who reached his 14th Group 1 win of the year, breaking André Fabre’s record for the most Group 1 wins in a calendar year by a French trainer. That epic haul also included Calandagan’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Champion Stakes, as well as Daryz’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe win for Aga Khan Studs.
For the team, who in February this year faced the sad news of the Aga Khan’s passing, the victory held special meaning.
“Of course, I miss my father very much, and he was involved, but in terms of the operation, we continue to do what we do,” Princess Zahra said.
There was a sense that His Highness was looking down from above on the green and red silks shining in the Tokyo twilight.
Calandagan has emphasised his ‘world’s best racehorse’ status with a champion’s performance that will be remembered by fans in Japan and around the world for decades to come. ∎
