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France-based gelding bettered Almond Eyes' previous course record for the 2,400 meters set in 2018 while becoming the first foreign-trained horse to win the race since 2005.

Aga Khan Studs' Calandagan, Europe's newly minted Horse of the Year and world's top-rated racehorse, became the first foreign-based runner in 20 years to win the Japan Cup (G1) Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse and did so in record time.

"We’ve had a fantastic year," said winning owner Princess Zahra. "Calandagan is a good horse, he’s trained and has improved throughout the year. Both Francis and Mickael know how to read the horse and bring him to the best place on the right day at the right time. Calandagan, as Francis said to me at the beginning of the year, was the horse for this race and he had planned this for a very long time. I wasn’t sure in March that we were going to get here. But it’s very amazing, the enthusiasm—we went to Shadai yesterday and saw the stallions there and the breeding operations, it’s fascinating to see the bloodlines that exist in this country—very actually remote to the European bloodlines we have today standing in Europe, so it’s very interesting to me to see what Japan has produced in terms of stallions and bloodlines and I think it’s going to be fascinating to see what those bloodlines do in the future".

Ridden by Mickael Barzalona for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard, the 4-year-old Gleneagles gelding unleashed a stout late rally and outbattled favorite Masquerade Ball by a head. In the process, he set course record of 2:20.3 for the 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles), eclipsing the former record 2:20.6 set by Almond Eye in the 2018 Japan Cup. His victory is the first by a foreign-based horse since Alkaased in 2005 and he is the second French-trained horse since Le Glorieux in 1987 to capture Japan's top race.

The field broke off in front of the heavily packed stands with Admire Terra unseating Yuga Kawada immediately after the break and Seiun Hades was rushed to the front to set a rapid pace. While the pacesetter gradually outdistanced himself from the rest of the field, Calandagan traveled fifth from the rear, a couple of lengths behind Masquerade Ball and on the shoulder of Danon Decile.

Entering the straight, Calandagan drew even with Masquerade Ball and, after picking off other rivals, the two showcased a nail-biting duel climaxing in a photo finish in the last 150 meters. Calandagan got the best of the duel with the fastest-finishing speed right to beat the 3-year-old favorite at the wire.

Masquerade Ball broke smoothly and rated off the rails outside rivals, further back than mid-division around ninth to 10th behind Seiun Hades while jockey Christophe Lemaire kept a careful watch on riderless Admire Terra who ran along outside him. As the field closed in on the pacesetter who had maintained almost 10 lengths up to the third corner but eventually began to tire turning for home, Masquerade Ball was shifted to the outside while joined by Calandagan on his outside to charge up the hill from 400 meters out, pinning the leader at the furlong pole and dueled with the eventual winner to the wire.