Almond Eye looms large in Yasuda Kinen

Almond Eye makes it easy for jockey Christophe Lemaire to brag about her ability.

A winner of seven consecutive races, the most recent of which was the $6 million Dubai Turf at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on March 30, Almond Eye will be an odds-on favorite to win Sunday’s Grade 1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse.

Lemaire, who has ridden the 4-year-old Almond Eye in seven of her eight starts, thinks the filly is in peak form.

“She has matured and I’d say she’s pretty near perfect,” Lemaire told Japan Racing Association publicity. “I’m confident she can win.”

In the Group 1 Dubai Turf at 1 1/8 miles on turf, Almond Eye closed from the middle of a field of 13 to take the lead in the final furlong. She won by 1 1/4 lengths over Vivlos, another Japanese-based runner who won the Dubai Turf in 2017.

During her winning streak, Almond Eye has won at distances ranging from a mile in the Grade 1 Japanese 1000 Guineas in April 2018 to 1 1/2 miles in the Grade 1 Japan Cup against males last November, a win that clinched her title as 2018 Japanese Horse of the Year.

Trained by Sakae Kunieda for Silk Racing Co. Ltd., Almond Eye was second in her debut in August 2017 and has not lost since.

Almond Eye will start from post 14 in a field of 16 in the $1.96 million Yasuda Kinen. The betting is expected to be lopsided even with a large field. The only other runner likely to have single-digit odds is Danon Premium, who has won two Grade 2 races this year – the Kinko Sho at 1 1/4 miles on March 10 and the Yomiuri Milers Cup at a mile on April 21.

Aside from Almond Eye, Aerolithe, who was ninth in the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational at Gulfstream Park in January, is the only other filly or mare in the field. A 5-year-old, Aerolithe was fifth in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile for fillies and mares on May 12 in her first start since the trip to Florida.