Ian Ogg reflects on the 2025 Flat season on turf as horses from Aidan O'Brien's the Gosdens and France lit up the campaign.
The Narrative
The mile division effortlessly serves up the longed-for narrative for the first half of the flat season, from the 2000 Guineas to the St James's Palace and onto Goodwood for the Sussex Stakes. It didn't quite work out like that this season with Ruling Court not seen after Royal Ascot but the milers still delivered some memorable moments. Ruling Court won the 2000 Guineas, the first leg of a Guineas double for Godolphin, but most of the post-race 'noise' surrounded Field Of Gold and Kieran Shoemark and the equine stars were ideally placed to meet again at Royal Ascot where they were joined by Poulains (French 2000 Guineas) winner Henri Matisse for an enticing contest. The race itself and Field Of Gold didn't disappoint with the Juddmonte-owned grey producing a performance to set the pulse racing. Sadly, things rather flat-lined afterwards with that Sussex Stakes and Henri Matisse packed off to stud after one more run, Field Of Gold failing to put the run behind him on Champions Day and Ruling Court not seen after the Eclipse and then succumbing to laminitis. Field Of Gold will, at least, be back to redeem himself. Will he fare better in 2026 than Rosallion in 2025?
Ombudsman v Delacroix
The Eclipse (replay below) saw the first meeting between Ombudsman and Delacroix with the beaten Derby favourite coming from a seemingly impossible position to deny the Gosdens-trained horse by a neck with Ruling Court a length and three quarters away in third. The leading pair met again at York for the International with a pacemaker employed by Godolphin to negate the threat of a slow gallop which they felt cost their boy at Sandown. Birr Castle didn't quite pull off a Qirat but there were a few hearts in mouths as Rab Havlin and Birr Castle poached a considerable lead at the top of the straight before being cut down by the big two. We had to wait until Champions Day for round three but not before we had an entertaining war of words between John Gosden and Aidan O'Brien, the remnants of which still lingered in the build-up to Ascot but both had to settle for minor roles behind Calandagan.
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Calandagan
Calandagan's brilliant display in the Champion Stakes cemented his position as the leading performer in Europe and gave further evidence of the rise and rise of Francis Graffard but that scenario didn't look likely at the start of the season. The 'naughty boy' paid for his indiscipline with a gelding operation early in his career - leading to many, many words about the qualification criteria for the top races - and some were quick to question his attitude following relatively narrow defeats to Anmaat (2024 Champion Stakes), Danon Decile (Sheema Classic) and Jan Brueghel (Coronation Cup) with ready victories over top-class mares Aventure and Kalpana doing little to silence the naysayers. Roll on Ascot and Calandagan produced a faultless display to brush aside a strong challenge from Ombudsman and claim the deserved accolades.
A rising force
Ben Linfoot covered another remarkable year for Aidan O'Brien in his Breeders' Cup reflections earlier this week. It's easy to be blasé about O'Brien's achievements given his domination but that really shouldn't be the case.
Enough has been said and written about the Ballydoyle master though so I'll turn instead to the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, one of the more memorable domestic sprints of the season. That was, in no small part, due to the leading protagonists hailing from abroad and although it didn't quite go on to deliver as much as promised, the excitement leading up to the race was palpable.
Lazzat was an intriguing enough runner in his own right having burst onto the scene in 2024 but it was the presence of Japanese sprinter Satono Reve which got the juices flowing. Ascot have worked hard in attracting international runners to the Royal showpiece and were rewarded with Satono Reve - a horse who had twice placed behind the peerless Ka Ying Rising - adding an extra dimension to proceedings. Japan are still waiting for their first Royal Ascot winner and, famously, their first in the Arc de Triomphe but their continued presence in Europe's top races (Japan has also been represented in the last two renewals of the International) adds layers of intrigue, context to international form and upholds the standing of the sport in this country.
Great Scott
The search for new talent is in perpetual motion whether that be equine or human. Without the backing of the biggest breeders and owners the path will never be smooth but George Scott capped another successful season with a breakthrough top-level success. The 2024 season was a memorable one for the Newmarket handler with Isle Of Jura going on a winning spree in Bahrain before returning to win a Listed race at Goodwood and the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot (from no less a horse than Goliath), Prydwen winning the German St Leger and Bay City Roller going three from three, including the Champagne Stakes.
Bay City Roller hadn't managed to add to those wins in 2025 (although he did run Daryz to three-quarters of a length in June) by the time of the Arc meeting but Caballo De Mar more than made up for any possible disappointment for the same owners. The four-year-old signed off for 2024 with wins at Ayr and Southwell off 64 and 67, resumed in the same vein off 75 and added another three handicaps before stepping up to pattern company, winning another German St Leger for Scott before his crowning moment in the Prix du Cadran.
Scott and Bay City Roller were not done with either as they combined to make every yard of the running in the Group 1 Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern at Munich to cap another fine season for a rising talent.
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