He’s not permitted to dance every dance but it’s Calandagan’s world and we're all just living in it

There might have been a strand of regret among those who run French racing after Calandagan battled to a famous victory in the Japan Cup on Sunday. What should have been a universal Gallic celebration will have left some grandees at France Gallop shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

Any talented middle-distance horse trained in France should have the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on their end-of-season agenda. Not Calandagan, however. He is a gelding, and thus barred from running in the race. Instead, the world’s top-rated horse was obliged to sprinkle his magic dust on the Champion Stakes and Japan Cup, in the process bestowing extra prestige on those events at the direct expense of the Arc.

Moreover, Calandagan’s Arc absence from Longchamp this year – together with that of Rebel’s Romance and Goliath – ensured that France’s signature race could not be named Longines World's Best Horserace. It has won the accolade five times since it was introduced ten years ago, but the average official ratings of the first four home in Tokyo should ensure this year’s honour will be bestowed on the Japan Cup for the second time in three years.