Six-time Group 1 winner Calandagan (Gleneagles) was a notable absentee as 15 horses stood their ground at the latest entry stage for the Juddmonte International at York, with all roads leading back to Tokyo and a Japan Cup defence for the horse named Longines World's Best Racehorse for 2025.An enthralling edition of the Juddmonte International remains in prospect, with outstanding three-year-old Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) and last year's winner Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) heading the list of remaining contenders, along with Andrew Balding's Item (Frankel), a dual Group 2 winner over course and distance.A return to the Knavesmire for Calandagan – who was previously second to City Of Troy in the 2024 Juddmonte International – would have given the race an extra dose of star quality, but that eventuality has now been ruled out for Francis-Henri Graffard's stable star after his runner-up finish in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.“He came out the King George fine, but we all felt he needed a bit of a break,” said Nemone Routh, French racing manager and director for owners the Aga Khan Studs.“We didn't think it was the right thing to do to go to York. He likes the track and always tries his hardest, but we just didn't think that it was fair to him to ask him to do that. He'll get a little bit of a summer break with the idea of an international run, which is more than likely going to be the Japan Cup.”She continued, “I think the Japan Cup is such an amazing race, and a tough race, but it suited him last year and he liked the track.“It's a lot of travel and we saw how hard it was for the Japanese horses who came over for the King George. It's a big trip and it really does take a certain type of horse to do it. You need the quality, but you also need one who can take that travel.“We're under no illusion that it's going to be very hard again and, as Francis has pointed out, last year he went there as the best horse in the world, broke the track record, but still only won by a short head. It's a very hard task, but he did it last year.“Other races that could come into play are the Breeders' Cup or Hong Kong, but I think, if you aim at the Japan Cup, you have to make that your number one objective – you can't run in it on the back of other international races if you want to give it your best shot.“I doubt we'll see him anywhere other than Tokyo – that is very much our thinking at the moment.”Estrange scratched from Yorkshire OaksAnother Group 1 winner set to bypass York's Ebor Festival is Estrange (Night Of Thunder), who was last seen making the breakthrough at the top level in the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.Runner-up to Minnie Hauk (Frankel) in last year's Yorkshire Oaks, Estrange had been expected to return to the Knavesmire later this month to try and go one place better, but she was scratched from that Group 1 contest on Tuesday as 21 fillies and mares stood firm.They include Calandagan's King George conqueror, Kalpana (Study Of Man), along with the aforementioned Minnie Hauk and Joseph O'Brien's Irish Oaks heroine Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars).“She's probably going to France for the Prix Vermeille [September 9], I'd have thought, or the [Prix Jean] Romanet [August 23],” trainer David O'Meara said of Estrange.“There's races like Prix de l'Opera and the Arc that are big targets as well. She was put in the Fillies & Mares [British Champions Day] that closed this morning and we might have half an eye on the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland as well. We will probably head to France, I would have thought.”The post No Calandagan in Juddmonte International – But Blockbuster Clash Still Awaits appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.