Calandagan seals King George-Champion Stakes double

Calandagan powered home to win the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, holding off favourite Ombudsman to claim a decisive victory on British Champions Day. The four year old, trained by Francis-Henri Graffard and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, led in the closing stages to win by two and a quarter lengths over Ombudsman, with Almaqam a further length and three quarters back in third.

Set over 1 mile 2 furlongs, the race developed into a strong pace with Mount Kilimanjaro and Devils Advocate sent forward as pacemakers. Calandagan was restrained toward the rear before being swung wide in the straight. He hit the front with about three sixteenths of a mile to run and stayed on strongly, stopping the clock in 2 minutes 3.19 seconds. Barzalona said they "went a nice gallop early on" and that Calandagan felt ready when asked, adding that trainer Graffard had done "a magnificent job."

The victory capped a remarkable campaign for the Aga Khan Studs owned gelding. Calandagan had won the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in July and now becomes the first horse since Brigadier Gerard in 1972 to land both the King George and the Champion Stakes in the same season. It...