Horse Racing

Japan Cup: Calandagan Ends Two-Decade Victory Drought for Foreign Horses

Calandagan, the world's top-ranked horse, edged Japan Cup favorite Masquerade Ball by a head in a spirited sprint to the wire in the 2,400-meter race.

by
JRA News
December 1, 2025

Fourth pick Calandagan became the first foreign-based horse to win the Japan Cup since Alkaased in 2005 on Sunday, November 30 at Tokyo Racecourse.

The Gleneagles progeny also became the second French-trained horse to win it, following Le Glorieux in 1987. And at the same time, Calandagan renewed the race record to 2 minutes, 20.3 seconds.

Almond Eye held the previous record of 2:20.6, which was set at the 2018 Japan Cup.

On Sunday, Calandagan, a 4-year-old gelding, extended his winning streak to four after his titles in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1, 2,400 meters) in June, the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1, 2,390 meters) in July and the Champion Stakes (G1, 1,990 meters) in October. With this win, the Irish-born Calandagan earned the winner's prize of ¥500 million JPY ($3.2 million USD) and a $3 million bonus (about ¥470 million).

Trainer Francis-Henri Graffard registered his first victory in his fourth Japan Cup challenge after finishing sixth in 2015 and 14th in 2016 with Erupt, as well as a sixth-place showing with Goliath in 2024.

Jockey Mickael Barzalona scored his fourth graded victory, including titles won under JRA's short-term licenses. It was his first G1 title in Japan.

Calandagan's Path to Victory in the 45th Japan Cup

The field broke off in front of the heavily packed stands with Admire Terra unseating jockey Yuga Kawada immediately after the break. Seiun Hades (Akihide Tsumura) was rushed to the front to set a rapid pace.

While the pacesetter gradually outdistanced himself from the rest of the field, Calandagan traveled fifth from the rear, a couple of lengths behind race favorite Masquerade Ball (Christophe Lemaire) and on the shoulder of third pick Danon Decile (Keita Tosaki).

Entering the straight, the Gleneagles gelding drew even with Masquerade Ball and, after picking off other rivals, the two showcased a nail-biting duel leading to a photo finish in the last 150 meters. But it was the world's top-rated horse who got the best of the duel with the fastest finishing speed to beat the 3-year-old favorite at the wire by a head. (Watch the race on the JRA's YouTube channel.)

Reactions to Calandagan's Japan Cup Victory

"I'm very happy with where I ended up during the race, which is when Christophe came up with the favorite. I knew a good horse (Masquerade Ball) could bring me very close and just when we got to the straight, I wasn't sure if he (Lemaire) was going or not," Barzalona said. "So I had to give a clear run to Calandagan and started to increase my pace.

"Chris, of course, actually was very close to us and he even got probably a head in front of me when we got to the top of the hill, but Calandagan was the strongest."

Asked for his impressions of the strong lineup of domestic horses in the Japan Cup, Barzalona said Calandagan, winner of the 2025 Horse of Year at the Cartier Racing Awards in London, was well prepared.

"Well, actually Calandagan had a perfect season and proved in Europe that he was the best and then coming here, proved he was the best again in Japan," the jockey commented.

Trainer Graffard said, "We were a little bit worried with the speed in the early parts of the race, but Mickael found a good lead behind Christophe Lemaire, and he traveled the whole way behind the right horse in the race, so that gave me a lot of confidence. And then, we never had any trouble running, especially in the last bend and climbing up to the front. … He's a real champion as everybody saw today."

The 45th Running of the Japan Cup

Race favorite Masquerade Ball broke smoothly and rated off the rails outside rivals, further back than mid-division around 9th-10th behind Seiun Hades while Lemaire kept a careful watch on riderless Admire Terra, who ran along outside him after stumbling at the break.

As the field closed in on the pacesetter who had maintained almost 10 lengths up to the third corner but eventually began to tire turning for home, Masquerade Ball was shifted to the outside. Masquerade Ball was joined by Calandagan on his outside to charge up the hill from 400 meters out, pinning the leader at the furlong pole. The favorite dueled with the eventual winner to the wire for a photo finish that determined the winner had outpaced the Duramente colt in record time.

Third favorite Danon Decile was positioned between rivals around 11th with both the two top finishers in close view. After the furlong pole, he was a fraction late in picking up speed thereafter while showing good acceleration to grab third place.

Croix du Nord (Yuichi Kitamura) finished fourth, one length behind Danon Decile. Justin Palace (Cristian Demuro) was fifth.