While it’s three-year-old horses that will be taking centre stage at Epsom in June, there’s also the Coronation Cup on Friday June 6.
This is a great race for horses aged four and above and a battle of the sexes too. Can Calandagan justify his current favouritism with UK online sportsbooks?
The mile-and-a-half Coronation Cup was first held in 1902 and last year was won by Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg.
It was then ninth win in the race for the Irish trainer, three of them being provided by St Nicholas Abbey between 2011 and 2013.
Not since 2013 has the same trainer saddled the winner of the Coronation Cup in successive years, could that happen again in 2025?
O’Brien has some leading contenders with both Los Angeles and Illinois high in the betting market.
Leading Fancies
The current favourite at 11/8 with the UK’s horse betting platforms is Calandagan who comes from the stable of French trainer F H Grafford.
Not since 2014 has a French trained horse won the Coronation Cup. That could change in 2025 as the market leader has finished either first or second in each of his last eight races.
Calandangan has been the runner-up in three successive races, most recently in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic run in Meydan in April.
His last win came at Royal Ascot last year when landing the Group 1 King Edward VII Stakes. This consistent runner will put in a bold challenge to win the Coronation Cup but will his age count against the four-year-old?
A horse of his age has only won two of the last six Coronation Cups, all the others being won by five-year-old runners.
Aidan O’Brien Runners
That may well change this year as the first six horses in the current betting market are all four-year-olds.
Two of those are trained by Aiden O’Brien with Los Angeles currently at 6/1. Last year saw Los Angeles placed in several major races.
That included a third place in both the Epsom Derby and the Prix de l’Arc Triomphe. Los Angeles also filled the runner-up spot in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Now a four-year-old, Los Angeles has already had a big Group 2 win. That was in the Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh. He only won that race by a neck but never looked like losing.
Also from the O’Brien yard is Illinois who is 8/1 and looks a good each-way bet. The four-year-old has been so consistent and hasn’t finished outside of the top two in his last seven races.
He was the runner-up in some major Group races last season. That included finishing just a neck behind stablemate Los Angeles in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York.
He heads to Epsom hoping to complete a hat-trick of wins. 2024 ended with victory at Longchamp and his four-year-old career began with a win in the Group 3 Ormonde Stakes at Chester earlier this month.
The Coronation Cup is run over 12 furlongs and that’s a step back in distance for Illinois. His last three races have all been over longer distances and he also won the 14-furlong Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot last year.
His last run over a-mile-and-a-half was that loss at York in 2024. How will the four-year-old react to the shorter distance?
The Rest of the Field
Also at 8/1 is another French runner hoping for Group 1 success at Epsom. Adventure is trained by C Ferland and made a winning reappearance last month at Longchamp.
That ended a run of two seconds being Bluestocking, both at Longchamp. This will be his first run in England and will be hoping for some traditional English weather. All his best performances have come on soft or good to soft ground.
The leading filly in this year’s Coronation Cup is Kalpana who is saddled by Andrew Balding. You can get 8/1 on the four-year-old winning this Group 1 race.
Being a filly, Kalpana will be receiving three pounds from her male opponents.
Emily Upjohn won this race two years ago, so could another filly come out on top this year? Kalpana has won her last three races and ended last year with her first Group 1 success. That came in the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot last October.
The leading five-year-old in the betting market is Al Riffa who is 14/1 to win the Coronation Cup. Only one of his last nine races has been won though.
His most recent outing (the second of 2025) produced a fourth place finish at Longchamp. Trained by Joseph Patrick O’Brien, his last win was a Group 1 race in Berlin. It’ll be a big surprise if he can win the Coronation Cup.
This looks like being a great race on June 6. Calandagan will be hard to beat but the Aidan O’Brien duo of Los Angeles and Illinois will give him plenty to do at Epsom.
