Calamandra

There were plenty of talking points in French Racing this weekend, but perhaps the story that has been overlooked is the striking debut from Calamandra at Compiegne on Saturday. A 3-year-old Filly winning on debut for Francis-Henri Graffard in the Aga Khan Silks has become a familiar theme in France this year, but when we add in that Calamandra is a New Bay half-sister to Calandagan, the story has a little bit more glamour than it might first have appeared.

Breeding isn’t everything of course, but the famous green silks have often crossed the winning line with this family and there was an awful lot to like about this debut effort. A PMU price of 4.3 would suggest that she had been showing enough at home to make her connections think that she would run well on debut and she duly obliged to win by a length under a hands ride from Mickael Barzalona. The placed horses had shown a fair level of form, most notably the runner-up Seine, who had finished 4th on her debut behind the subsequent Listed winner Sunly at Paris Longchamp for Andre Fabre and the winning time was 4-seconds faster than the Class 2 conditions race for the older horses earlier on the card. However, rather than looking at those in behind, it is the manner of this victory which appeals most.

Having been slow to leave the stalls, taking 18.98s to reach the first furlong marker, Barzalona was forced to sit in mid-division in a race where the order barely changed in the opening 12-furlongs. As much as 8-lengths behind the leaders as the field turned for home, she could have been forgiven if finishing 4th or 5th from that position. However, when the gaps came, Calamandra showed a superb turn-of-foot to quicken through them, running the fast furlong split for each of the final 3-furlongs in the race (11.71, 11.69 and 12.45s) at a top speed of 61.7 km/h, also the best in the field. We need to add some context to this speed. It is not at the same level as Calandagan and given that she has started her career in a maiden over 2,400m, she is clearly thought of as a staying type, as are those that she ran against on Saturday. Allowing for that fact, she has still shown a considerable turn-of-foot, which is essential in French Racing where the pace often takes time to develop.

At this stage, she holds no fancy entries and having been given time to develop, I expect she will continue to be campaigned slowly, possibly with a Class 2 race over a similar trip as her next port of call. There are so many talented 3-year-old Fillies in the care of the Graffard team that it would be impossible to try and work out where she might fit, but right now, she looks highly promising and will surely win more races in 2025.