Calandagan goes back to basics at Saint-Cloud

French Group 1 racing action moves to Saint-Cloud this weekend with the staging of its eponymous Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud on July 5.

The drawcard will undoubtedly be Calandagan, the French globetrotting champion who will be out to restore some gloss to the recent blot to an otherwise impeccable copybook.

Longines World’s Best Racehorse’s bid is twofold. Erase the memory of his bitter defeat in the Group 1 Coronation Cup (2,400m) at Epsom on June 6, and defend his title.

The Gleneagles five-year-old sensationally began his rampage of five Group 1 wins in a row in the 2025 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (2,400m).

The €400,000 (S$591,000) feature, which forms part of the Arc Races series, is one of three Group 1 races staged at the Paris track, the other one being the Criterium de Saint-Cloud (2,000m) and the Criterium International (1,600m), both run in October.

It may not be as glittering as the international feathers the Aga Khan’s superstar successively added to his cap, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Qipco Champion Stakes, Japan Cup and Dubai Sheema Classic, but to connections, a return on home soil at a track he relishes will be like a return to basics.

“It’s nice that we can just put him in the box for an hour, even though he does travel well,” said the Aga Khan Studs’ racing manager Nemone Routh.

“It’s a bit less of a task for him than what he normally has to do, which is nice on the back of that Epsom run.

“We were obviously a bit concerned after Epsom, so we just wanted to check he was completely sound, which he was.

“We tested him and all the results came back well, so I think we just put it down to the fact he really didn’t like that ground.

“He’s showing us all the right signs at home that he’s in good form.”

Just to see the champion back in a happy hunting ground of his, albeit he conquered Saint-Cloud only once, should put bums on seats at a track, which is arguably not as iconic as its sister Parisian hippodromes, ParisLongchamp or even Chantilly.

Saint-Cloud has actually long been a household name to French horse racing fans, especially in the Paris region.

To those who are not as familiar with the 125-year-old venue, let alone speak any French, the name may conjure up images of a misty track up on a mountain top.

It is not completely wrong as Saint-Cloud, also known as the Val d’Or racecourse, does sit on top of a hill, offering a breathtaking panoramic view of the Eiffel Tower and Paris sights.

However, the “Cloud” is not that same fluffy cotton ball floating in the sky, but a mediaeval prince-turned-monk named Clodoald who lived around the Seine river – and is pronounced as “clue”.

The Saint-Cloud racecourse sits in the upscale Parisian area named after him, located only 1km from the more famous hippodrome of Longchamp – divided only by the Seine. With the Parc des Princes, Roland Garros and a golf course only a stone’s throw away, it blends in nicely with the potpourri of sports around the neighbourhood.

From its early beginnings in the 19th century as a farm belonging to Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte and the last monarch of France, Saint-Cloud was converted into a racecourse only in 1901 by politician and horse breeder Edmond Blanc.

Originally meant for trotters, it quickly pivoted to flat racing to evolve into one of France Galop’s – which became the landlord in 1974 – premier racing venues these days.

Featuring a wide 500-metre straight, Saint-Cloud has hardly any undulations and is the only racecourse in the Paris region that is exclusively left-handed.

“We know he likes that track and goes very well left-handed,” added Routh. “It’s a flat track and conditions should be in his favour, so it’s just a question of hopefully re-finding the real Calandagan.”

manyan@sph.com.sg