Betfred Coronation Cup 4z3l6t |
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| Group 1, Newmarket 14:40 £425,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 4f, Class 1  |
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695l59
1 Jan Brueghel 100/30
2 Calandagan 8/13F
3 Giavellotto 11/2
7 ran Distances: ½l, 7l, 5½l
Time: 2m 36.13s (slow by 0.53s)
SENSATIONAL FINISH!
— Epsom Downs Racecourse (@EpsomRacecourse) June 6, 2025
Jan Brueghal wins @betfred Coronation Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/KQpCG6rhX3
They threw the kitchen sink at him in the straight—but Aidan O’Brien’s Jan Brueghel, the iron-willed St Leger hero, would not be denied, fending off a relentless Calandagan surge to take a dramatic win.
A Classic winner unbeaten through his three-year-old campaign, the Melbourne Cup had once looked like his destiny—until the Australian vets intervened. A ring-rusty return in the spring saw him turned over in a Group Three, but as so often with Ballydoyle’s finest, the second run was where the fire returned.
With Ryan Moore riding with serene authority, Jan Brueghel was delivered into a steadily building gallop—Continuous setting the tone under Wayne Lordan, acting as the Ballydoyle metronome—and when the pressure mounted, the 100-30 shot dug deep.
Calandagan, the 8-13 favourite, came at him once… then twice… and for a brief moment looked to have landed the telling blow. But Jan Brueghel, all heart and horsepower, eyeballed the challenge and edged away once more—half a length to the good at the line, ears pricked, engine still ticking.
O’Brien, never one to deal in hyperbole, was full of praise:
“He’s a very tough horse. Ryan gave him a class ride—he doesn’t surrender. He improved bundles from his first run, and even in the final strides he was still pricking his ears.”
The Ballydoyle maestro expanded further:
“He was unbeaten last year and, honestly, he was the biggest certainty I’d ever sent to Australia. But he never got the chance to run.
“Today, Ryan got him into a beautiful rhythm. The race unfolded a long way out, but he carried on like a proper Group One colt. That’s the hallmark of a mile-and-a-half horse with guts.”
The pace was a team affair, Lordan ensuring an honest gallop with Continuous, and O’Brien made no secret of the plan:
“Everyone wanted a true-run race, and Wayne did a great job. When that happens, you can learn what trip suits each horse best—today confirmed this lad is a proper mile-and-a-half-plus horse.”
Reflecting on the early-season campaign, he added with trademark honesty:
“To be fair to him, I shouldn’t have run him over a mile and a quarter at the Curragh. It was too sharp—Joseph’s horse Galen beat him fair and square. But we had to get him out. That run brought him on.”
Plans had once pointed to Illinois for this spot, but the retirement of Kyprios shuffled the Ballydoyle pack.
“Kyprios was the flagbearer, everything slotted in behind him. Once he came out, Jan Brueghel took Illinois’ place. There was even talk of Longchamp, but this fell right.”
Moore, typically succinct, gave his own glowing verdict:
“He’s only been beaten once. He’s a Classic winner and still improving. He was headed—and he battled back. He’s a proper horse.”
Coronation Cup
£425,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 4f, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good to Soft, Good in places
POS. (DRAW) FORM HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (3) Jan Brueghel 4 9-2 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 100/30
2 (6) ½ Calandagan 4 9-2 F-H Graffard Mickael Barzalona 8/13F
3 (5) 7 Giavellotto 6 9-2 Marco Botti Oisin Murphy 11/2
4 (4) 5½ Continuous 5 9-2 A P O'Brien Wayne Lordan 66/1
5 (1) 2½ Ancient Wisdom 4 9-2 Charlie Appleby William Buick 22/1
6 (7) 12 Bellum Justum 4 9-2 Andrew Balding James Doyle 33/1
7 (2) ½ You Got To Me 4 8-13 Ralph Beckett David Egan 40/1
