Almond Eye ends stellar career with Japan Cup victory

In a fitting conclusion to a world-class career, Almond Eye won her final start in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse, giving the brilliant 3-year-olds Contrail and Daring Tact their first losses.

Almond Eye, 5, won nine Grade 1 or Group 1 races in her career, a record for a Japanese-based runner. The $6.21 million Japan Cup was arguably the most popular of those victories.

Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Almond Eye ($5.10 in the United States), stalked the pace in fourth for the first mile, well behind Kiseki, who led by at least 15 lengths on the backstretch.

Lemaire moved Almond Eye closer to the front of the chasing pack entering the stretch. Understandably, Kiseki began to fade in the final quarter-mile, allowing Almond Eye to take the lead in the final furlong. Almond Eye finished 1 1/4 lengths in front of 6-5 favorite Contrail, who was a neck ahead of 7-2 Daring Tact at the wire. Kiseki finished eighth in a field of 15.

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“The pace was just right for her and she responded well in the stretch,” Lemaire told Japan Racing Association publicity. “The others closing in on us didn’t worry me at all. Almond Eye is a perfect mare and doesn’t have any weak points.”

The betting differed in Japan, where Almond Eye was the 6-5 favorite and Contrail was the 9-5 second choice.

Contrail won the Japanese Triple Crown earlier this year, a series that includes the Japanese Derby. This was his first loss in his eighth start. Daring Tact won the Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies earlier this year. She was beaten for the first time in her sixth start in the Japan Cup.

Almond Eye won the 2018 Japan Cup, the year she won the Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies and was named Japanese Horse of the Year. This year’s Japan Cup was the first meeting of three Triple Crown winners in Japan.

By Lord Kanaloa, Almond Eye won 11 of 15 starts and earned approximately $18.4 million for owner Silk Racing Co., Ltd., and trainer Sakae Kunieda.

Lemaire was aboard Almond Eye for all nine of her Grade 1 or Group 1 wins. Almond Eye won the Group 1 Dubai Turf at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates in 2019, her only start outside of Japan.