Last Saturday provided Australian racing fans with a bewildering array of 15 Black Type events spread across four states, so with a newly minted Group I winner and a couple of other horses we see as having G1 potential, a closer look at the pedigrees got me thinking.

Aga Khan Studs don’t race a lot of geldings, but one that they do is Calandagan, who has taken giant strides in 2025 to become the Cartier European Horse of the Year and on Sunday he achieved the almost unthinkable with a history making win in the Group I Japan Cup (2400m).