Calandagan lands King George victory to seal repeat success for trainer Graffard

Calandagan, the 11-10 favourite, passed all four of his rivals in the home straight on Saturday to win the 75th running of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes. It gave his trainer, Francis-Henri Graffard, a second successive win in the Ascot showpiece after Goliath’s 25-1 victory 12 months ago.

Kalpana, the only filly in the race, struck for home inside the final quarter-mile under Oisin Murphy and opened a useful lead, but Calandagan and Mickael Barzalona were soon eating into her advantage with every stride and Calandagan was in front with a dozen strides to spare.