No King George but impressive King Edward VII winner Calandagan still has Ascot on his agenda

Impressive King Edward VII Stakes winner Calandagan will not be supplemented for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes back over the same course and distance on July 27.

But trainer Francis Graffard and his owner-breeder the Aga Khan are eyeing a return to Ascot later in the season, with the Champion Stakes in October the major objective for the gelded son of Gleneagles.

Calandagan bounded six lengths clear of his rivals on a first try at a mile and a half, recording a margin of victory only exceeded by Bedtime Story's extraordinary romp in the Chesham Stakes among 35 races across five days at Royal Ascot.

The Aga Khan's racing manager in France, Nemone Routh, reported that connections will not be rushing Calandagan back into action, despite the apparent ease with which he disposed of Space Legend and company.

Routh said: "He's come out of the race fine. He's naturally quite a light horse and it was his first time travelling. He won quite easily but it was still a proper race and so we're not planning to take him back to Ascot in a month's time. I think it would be asking too much of him and the idea at the moment is to give him a little break to freshen him up."

Francis Graffard (left) and Stephane Pasquier with Calandagan after victory at AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

In his post-race interview jockey Stephane Pasquier colourfully highlighted to ITV viewers that the gelding operation carried out on Calandagan immediately after his debut last August means that the Arc is off the agenda, but Graffard does not see a drop back in trip for the Champion Stakes as an issue.

"Francis is quite keen to target the Champion Stakes and he'd need one run before that," said Routh. "There are a few different options and while we're not very keen to take him to Deauville, there are races like the Prix Niel and the Prix du Prince d'Orange. There's the race over Arc weekend [Prix Dollar] but that's very close to Champions Day this year so we'll have to see.

"Depending on how things go at Ascot we might consider an international target at the end of the year, but that's all a long way off. He's not in the King George so he'd need to be supplemented and we're backing off him a bit. He did have a proper race the other day and he puts plenty into his races, and he's not a horse you'd want to run him every three weeks."

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