Calandagan rated behind only Ka Ying Rising after Champion Stakes victory
Calandagan's performance in the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday has been rated as the best in Europe this season by the experts at Timeform.
Calandagan earned a Timeform rating of 133 for his decisive two-and-a-quarter-length defeat of Ombudsman, surpassing the figure stablemate Daryz (131) achieved when winning the Arc nearly two weeks earlier, to become the highest rated horse in Europe.
Calandagan is now also the second highest-rated horse in the world, behind only Ka Ying Rising who earlier on Saturday extended his winning sequence to 14 in The Everest, the world's most valuable race on turf. Ka Ying Rising didn't have to be at his best on his first start away from Sha Tin, clocking a performance rating of 128 at Randwick, but he retains his master rating of 135 based on the pick of his efforts in Hong Kong.
Timeform handicapper Rory King said: "The Champion Stakes looked the race of the season on paper, Ombudsman and Delacroix – both having a victory over the other this summer – joined by King George winner Calandagan in a heavyweight clash, the like of which is rarely seen in Europe.
"In the last 10 years there have been just two previous occasions where three horses boasting a Timeform rating of 129 or higher have run in the same race. The first was the 2016 Champion Stakes where Almanzor saw off Found and Jack Hobbs, and the second being the 2023 Arc featuring Ace Impact, Westover and Hukum.
"There was depth to the Champion Stakes beyond the headline ratings clash, too, all of which set the stage for the potential crowning of a superstar, and the race didn’t disappoint.
"In many ways Calandagan's the perfect middle-distance horse. He had the speed to put himself in a winning position through the first half of the straight and the mile-and-a-half stamina to fend off Ombudsman once that one had got within half a length, the mettle he showed in pulling clear putting to bed any remaining doubts over his attitude that crept in following defeat to Jan Brueghel in the Coronation Cup.
"A rating of 133 makes him the second highest-rated horse in the world on Timeform ratings behind Ka Ying Rising, and the breed’s loss is racing fans’ gain because, as geldings, both should be around for some time to come."
Timeform's highest-rated horses in the world:
135 Ka Ying Rising
133 Calandagan
131 Daryz
130 Ombudsman
129 Delacroix
129 Romantic Warrior
129 Sovereignty
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Feature image credit: Alamy
