Horses to Follow
Again andagan
Horses that race for more than a year or two grow larger fanbases and the sport will be given some fantastic spectacles by this cohort of older protagonists (ages as of 2026, ratings reproduced by kind permission of Timeform)
Photos: Healy Racing & Peter Mooney • Words: Rory Delargy
CALANDAGAN (IRE) 133
5 b g Gleneagles – Calayana (Sinndar)
How fine the line between glory and ignominy. When Calandagan suffered his fourth successive defeat in the Coronation Cup, it didn’t seem to matter that those defeats were narrow ones and came at the highest level - the knives were out for him. Sure, he was talented, said his critics, but did he really want to win anymore? The consensus of opinion was that he was outbattled at Epsom, and even his biggest fans were having doubts.
If rumours of his demise as a performer were premature, then his revenge was sweet. That series of defeats was followed by victories in a trio of Group 1 contests, the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Champion Stakes, in which he fully redeemed his reputation by scoring by 2¼ lengths from Ombudsman in a display which confounded the doubters. As a gelding, he’ll never win an Arc but the vast majority of international Group 1 races are open to him and he’s likely to be globetrotting, although the three races he contested in Britain last year are among the most attractive options given their status and how they fall in the calendar.
Francis-Henri Graffard
DARYZ (FR) 131
4 b c Sea The Stars – Daryakana (Selkirk)
Was able to achieve what Calandagan is prevented from trying by winning the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October and that will be his primary aim as a four-year-old, though all trips to Britain are sure to come under consideration as long as he and his older stablemate can be kept apart.
Daryz ran his only poor race in the International at York but it’s almost certainly not the travelling that affected him, with plenty of horses disappointing at York over the years without adequate explanation. He showed in the Arc that stamina is one of his strongest suits, and he showed significant improvement on the day, with the trip and ground both likely factors in that career highlight. He would have more options running at ten furlongs, but I think he will prove best when granted a stiffer test.
Francis-Henri Graffard
OMBUDSMAN (IRE) 130
5 b c Night Of Thunder – Syndicate (Dansili)
Ombudsman is another to have been beaten more often than he won as a four-year-old, but his defeats lost him little in terms of reputation and his top-level wins in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the International Stakes at York were dominant. He was exacting revenge on Delacroix at York after that colt had produced a barnstorming finish to win the Eclipse, and again had his measure when beaten by Calandagan in the Champion Stakes.
Ombudsman may have a similar campaign in 2026, but there must be a strong possibility that he will have a crack at the Japan Cup next year, that race coming under discussion for his latest campaign but ruled out by John Gosden. If his career is to culminate with a five-year-old campaign, then a trip to Japan would be an attractive way to end it.
John & Thady Gosden
FIELD OF GOLD (IRE) 127
4 gr c Kingman – Princess Lune (Shamardal)
Despite winning the Craven Stakes, Irish 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes, there is a feeling that Field Of Gold’s talent went only partially fulfilled in his Classic season. Both runs after Royal Ascot ended in defeat with his shock reversal in an astonishing renewal of the Sussex Stakes explained at the time by his lameness the following day and another defeat in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes forgivable in isolation also. As Oscar Wilde might have said, to lose a Group 1 to an exceptional rival might be unfortunate, but to be beaten by a 150/1 winner in one and a 100/1 shot in a second looks like carelessness.
It now seems that Field Of Gold, so impressive when he won, needs to stay in training to put the record straight. The simple facts suggest that the three-year-old milers as a bunch came up short, and that Field Of Gold was the best of a tarnished generation, but he will have a chance to prove that working theory to be nonsense.
John & Thady Gosden
LAZZAT (FR) 124
5 b g Territories – Latochka (Australia)
It wasn’t a perfect season but Lazzat did enough on his best day to lay claim to the title of champion sprinter and he will be back to prove himself so next season. The gelded son of Territories has no stud to shuffle off to, and Jerome Reynier will be at pains to right one or two wrongs from the latest campaign.
Lazzat was very impressive when taking the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and tactics were at least partially to blame for subsequent defeats in the Sprint Cup at Haydock and the British Champions Sprint. He ran well both times but was unable to match the brilliance of his Royal Ascot win, where he and Satono Reve pulled well clear in the closing stages. British sprints tend to be affected unduly by pace and track position, and Lazzat was in the wrong part of the track at both Haydock and back at Ascot, and with a fair wind, he could dominate a division crying out for a star.
Jerome Reynier
ETHICAL DIAMOND 123
b f Starman – Johara (Iffraaj)
Every now and then something happens that sets the memory apart, to remain as fresh and exciting as experienced in the moment. Such an example is the victory of Ethical Diamond in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, from the swashbuckling ride by Dylan Browne McMonagle to the look of disbelieving delight on the face of Willie Mullins afterwards. Mullins is a trainer par excellence, but he never takes the big days for granted and he enjoyed every second of a win that knocked the US audience sideways.
Victories at Royal Ascot and in the Ebor were signs to Europeans that Ethical Diamond was progressing into a top-class performer, but the Ebor means nothing to the Americans and it was amusing to see them so flummoxed by the winner, who showed there was no fluke about the result by smashing the track record. That win means that we won’t be seeing Ethical Diamond in a handicap hurdle again, but he’ll be back for more Group 1 glory and only a fool would suggest he can’t repeat his American odyssey.
Willie Mullins
FIELD OF GOLD
KALPANA 123
5 b m Study of Man – Zero Gravity (Dansili)
There is something about a tough racemare that is particularly attractive, and the occasional defeat tends to deepen the bond between the race fan and the object of his affections. Mares like Dahlia and Triptych were beaten regularly but it was the way they kept coming back for more that endeared them to the public. Kalpana gained an enthusiastic fan base as a three-year-old as she progressed through the season, and maintained that devoted following despite taking all year to get her head in front.
A brave defeat against Calandagan was followed by two of her lesser efforts, failing to defend her September Stakes crown at Kempton and finishing only seventh in a brutal Arc that might have knocked the stuffing out of her. But handsome is as handsome does, and Kalpana showed no signs of being bowed as she produced a stylish display to win the British Champion Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes for the second consecutive season. She clearly thrives on her busy schedule, and we may see even more of her next year when a Champions Day hat-trick would see her name etched into history.
Andrew Balding
NEVER SO BRAVE 123
5 b g No Nay Never – Chica Whopa (Oasis Dream)
One of a couple of former Sir Michael Stoute handicappers who blossomed into top-class runners last year, Never So Brave ended his campaign on a low note with an unplaced run in a bizarre Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, but his progress prior to that was extraordinary. Winner of the Buckingham Palace Handicap at Royal Ascot, he took the step to Group 2 company in his stride with a win in Ascot’s Summer Mile and was better still when bagging a first Group 1 in the newly promoted City of York Stakes in August.
Andrew Balding has continued Sir Michael’s excellent groundwork with Never So Brave and he is taken to eke out a little more improvement as a five-year-old, where he’s likely to be tried more often at a mile, with the Lockinge and Queen Anne sure to be on the agenda before another crack at the City of York. Never So Brave is versatile regarding the racing surface having won on firm, heavy and most descriptions in between.
Andrew Balding
SCANDINAVIA (USA) 123
4 b br c Justify (USA) – Fabulous (Galileo)
A list of older horses would not be complete without the promise of a Gold Cup winner from Ballydoyle, and Scandinavia looks the horse to plug that gap. Trawlerman was the star stayer in 2024 in the absence of Kyprios, but that horse will be an eight-year-old next season and there must be an argument that the younger generation will regain dominance. Scandinavia has all the hallmarks of a top stayer, emulating Stradivarius by winning the Goodwood Cup as a three-year-old and going on to do what Stradivarius couldn’t by winning the St Leger at Doncaster.
There is often a desire to prove the worth of St Leger winners as potential sires by campaigning them at 1½m as four-year-olds, but Scandinavia is not the type who has pretentions in that area, and simply looks like he will continue to progress only as his stamina is drawn out. The Gold Cup trip is a daunting one for most four-year-olds, but Scandinavia looks ready for the step up.
Aidan O’Brien
AMILOC (GB) 121
4 b g Postponed – Colima (Authorized)
Won the first five starts of his career but has proven better the last twice, despite being beaten in the Irish St Leger and the Breeders’ Cup Turf. His best effort in the first half of the season came when winning the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he beat subsequent Royal Whip winner Zahrann. He followed that with a battling effort to split Al Riffa and Al Qareem in the Irish St Leger, proving no match for the winner, but further clear of the third than he was beaten.
Amiloc ended the season by finishing a 2½-length fourth to Ethical Diamond in the Breeders’ Cup Turf when unsuited by the drop back in trip at a speed-favouring track, but he matched his previous best form and remains open to further progress returning to 1¾m or further with the Further Flight Stakes at Nottingham or the Yorkshire Cup both suitable starting points. Could develop into a Cup horse later in the season, but I doubt he will be stepped up to the Gold Cup trip as early as June.
Ralph Beckett