Almond Eye makes point with Japan Cup triumph

Almond Eye, who swept the Triple Crown for 3-year-old fillies in Japan earlier this year, scored an emphatic win in Sunday’s Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse to confirm her status as that country’s leading runner.

The win is certain to lead to a 2018 Horse of the Year title for Almond Eye when the prizes are announced in January.

Ridden by Christophe Lemaire, Almond Eye won the $5.37 million Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles on turf as the 2-5 favorite, finishing 1 3/4 lengths in front of Kiseki, the 8-1 fourth choice. Suave Richard (5-1) was third, clear of fourth-place Cheval Grand, the winner of the 2017 Japan Cup.

Lemaire had Almond Eye near the front throughout after a start from the inside post. Almond Eye caught pacesetter Kiseki with a furlong remaining.

“Today, I was a little bit anxious, but I think we saw the best Almond Eye in the race and it was a great show,” Lemaire said. “I don’t really like the number one draw because it is very hard to make a plan and can depend on how you break.

“She broke well, and I saw that Kiseki was taking the lead, which was good because Kiseki is a good horse and a leader with a good pace, so I had the best leader for Almond Eye and was happy with how the race went.

“By the backstretch, I thought the race was over and ours. This is a very special filly.”

Almond Eye is the first filly to win the Triple Crown for that sex and the Japan Cup in the same year since Gentildonna in 2012. Owned by Silk Racing Co., Ltd, Almond Eye, by Lord Kanaloa, is trained by Sakae Kunieda, who said the filly could start outside of Japan in 2019.

Almond Eye has won 6 of 7 starts. She has won six consecutive races after finishing second in her career debut in August 2017.

The Japan Cup field had two international runners in Thundering Blue and Capri, but neither ran well. Thundering Blue, second in the Grade 1 Canadian International at Woodbine on Oct. 13, finished 10th at 51-1 for trainer David Menuisier of England.

Capri, the winner of the 2017 Irish Derby, finished 11th at 30-1 for trainer Aidan O’Brien. Capri was fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in Paris last month.