Scandinavia's dominance ended as Caballo De Mar defeats heavy odds-on favourite in enthralling Longchamp battle

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It was supposed to be a far more formidable task for Caballo De Mar this time with Scandinavia in attendance, and that much certainly proved to be the case as the stewards had to have the final say after a late bump as they went toe-to-toe in an absorbing duel down the Longchamp straight.

The result, though, was the same as it was 12 months ago. A Cadran victory for Caballo De Mar.

George Scott's brave staying stalwart lost his way in the middle of the season, having also won the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier here in May. However, Scott got him back on track with victory in last month's Doncaster Cup and, when speaking after Wimbledon Hawkeye's earlier success, he was upbeat that they might have Scandinavia's measure this time.

Oisin Murphy, who was on the runner-up Coltrane in 2025, was pivotal here in crowning the day on Caballo De Mar for Scott. He tracked Ryan Moore's every move on Scandinavia and went at them from a furlong down. The Ballydoyle star had not been beaten in eight starts since July of last year, and he never gave in, but he was a short neck shy at the death having returned an SP of 1-5 locally, 1-6 on British and Irish shores.

Caballo De Mar did bounce off him in the shadow of the post, but Moore never stopped riding despite hitting the inside running rail, and it was possibly too close to home to have impacted the result.

While Moore lodged an objection and it made for a tense wait, the result stood. As a consequence, Caballo De Mar became the first horse since Westerner in 2004 to secure successive Cadrans.

Caballo De Mar (Oisin Murphy) makes contact with Scandinavia (Ryan Moore) in the closing stages of the Cadran

Caballo De Mar (Oisin Murphy) drifts to his right and makes contact with Scandinavia (Ryan Moore) in the closing stages of the CadranCredit: Sky Sports Racing

"What an amazing racehorse," said Scott, who was anxious but justifiably hopeful the result wouldn't be overturned. "I'm very emotional as he is such a special horse for us. To come and win the Cadran again is great.

"He is a real character of a horse, very individual, and it’s so special to beat Scandinavia after being beaten two furlongs by him at Ascot.

"He takes a lot of managing at home, but Eliza [McCalmont], who rides him every day, has done an amazing job with him to get him back to peak condition."

Scott added: "We wanted to track Scandinavia and it all went to plan. I thought that if there was an opportunity to beat him, it would be today, because my horse loves it here and he was showing all the right signs.

"Scandinavia had a very hard race in Ireland and we felt like we could beat him today, but obviously you're not going to say something like that. It's been an amazing day."

Sheikh Nasser holds Caballo De Mar in the winner's circle following his stayer's shock defeat of Scandinavia

Caballo De Mar (Oisin Murphy) and trainer George Scott (L) after the Prix du Cadran Longchamp 3.10.26 Pic: Edward WhitakerCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Murphy was winning the race for the first time on the 9-2 shot, who is unbeaten at the Parisian venue. "You just don't know, and I didn't feel the bump in the race, which is always a good sign," he said, when asked if he was worried the result would be overturned.

"It's a great training performance because the horse was kind of lost mid-season. He had a confidence-boosting win last time and today was a great performance."

Having had to knuckle down to claim a third Group 1 of the year in the Irish St Leger, Scandinavia was initially thought to be finished for the season, but the prospect of decent ground in Paris persuaded Aidan O'Brien to go again. On this occasion, his intuition wasn't quite rewarded.

"He ran well, but he's had a long season," O'Brien said. "The ground rode a little bit on the slower side, and that'll be it for him now."

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