CAVALOR Trainer of the Quarter - FRANCIS-HENRI GRAFFARD

The Cavalor Trainer of the Quarter award has been won by Francis-Henri Graffard. Graffard and his team will receive a Cavalor voucher of €1,000 for Cavalor supplements and care products as well as a consultation with one of their senior product specialists.

WORDS: LISSA OLIVER PHOTOGRAPHY: GALOPPFOTO.DE

Congratulations to so many of Europe's trainers who have enjoyed incredible international success in the past three months, but our Trainer of the Quarter must go to Francis-Henri Graffard. A matter of weeks after Daryz won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Calandagan capped a wonderful season for the Lamorlaye-based trainer with an historic win in the Japan Cup, the first European winner in 20 years.

As Graffard tells us, "Since our first runner in Japan in 2015 (Erupt) it has remained an objective for me if a horse I've trained has received an invitation. It was one of Calandagan's objectives all year long, and once he won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and received an invitation we were able to build the season around it and start planning."

In this, the JRA were pro-active in making the journey as smooth as possible. "The JRA are exceptionally organised and proactive hosts, ably assisted by the IRB in Europe, particularly Jane George who has been involved with the JRA for as long as the Japan Cup existed. Those interlocutors are excellent and make the organisation much easier," says Graffard.

"The most difficult part of the organising is ensuring the feed is sent out early and approved by the Japanese Agricultural Ministry. Obviously, sanitation requirements are taken very seriously as Japan is highly protected by its various ministries. It is important to not leave anything until the last minute!"

It helps to have the right horse and, as Graffard tells us, "Calandagan has become a good traveller with experience, and he is very straightforward now. However, as he was the only horse in quarantine we were able to take out a companion, as otherwise he would not have seen another horse for ten days. Horses are social animals and it was imperative that he had an equine company for his wellbeing.

"The quarantine facilities at Tokyo racecourse are state of the art, and the JRA are highly organised, proactive and go out of their way to ensure their invited guests are well looked after."

What lies ahead for Calandagan, given that as a gelding he could be competing on the international stage for many more seasons to come? "His training plan is based around him, his race targets and his wellbeing," explains Graffard. "We will do our best to look after him and ensure he has a long and fruitful career. For the moment the team are all appreciating their achievements of 2025, we haven't started thinking about 2026 just yet! Princess Zahra, Nemone Routh and I will no doubt discuss plans early in the New Year.

"It is a team effort but particularly my two assistants, Romain Dupasquier (Graffard Racing) and Willy Loncke (Aiglemont the Aga Khan Studs training centre) are top class and ensure that when I am away everything runs smoothly. I've been an assistant, and I know what a difficult job it can be, so I am full of admiration for their dedication to their teams, and their devotion to their horses."