Contrail returns to races after sole defeat, to Almond Eye in 2020 Japan Cup

It took a loss to a Horse of the Year to derail the unbeaten record of the Japanese star 3-year-old Contrail last year.

The winner of the 2020 Triple Crown in that country, Contrail was second by 1 1/4 lengths to Almond Eye in the Grade 1 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse last November, his only setback in eight starts.

Almond Eye was retired after the Japan Cup. Contrail begins his 2021 season in Sunday’s Grade 1 Osaka Hai at 1 1/4 miles at Hanshin Racecourse. Contrail will be favored, but has another champion to contend with in Gran Alegria, the top sprinter or miler of 2020 in Japan.

Contrail, the champion 3-year-old male of 2020, has won two Grade 1 races at 1 1/4 miles – the Hopeful Stakes as a 2-year-old in December 2019, and the Japanese 2000 Guineas in April 2020, the first race of the Triple Crown. Contrail later won the Japanese Derby in May and the Japanese St. Leger in October to sweep the series.

A colt by Deep Impact, Contrail is trained by Shinji Maeda for Yoshita Yahagi. In the Japan Cup at 1 1/2 miles, Contrail closed from ninth to be closest to the front at the finish. Regular rider Yuichi Fukunaga has the mount on Sunday.

Gran Alegria has never raced at 1 1/4 miles in her 10-race career, which includes seven wins. A 5-year-old mare by Deep Impact, Gran Alegria will have her first outing in the Osaka Hai since a win in the Grade 1 Mile Championship at Hanshin last November, her third consecutive Grade 1 win.

Gran Alegria has won 6 of 7 starts at a mile.

The $2.3 million Osaki Hai drew a field of 13, smaller than a typical Japanese Grade 1 race.

The lineup includes Salios, who was second to Contrail in the Japanese Derby, but has not started since a fifth in the Mile Championship.

Post time for the Osaki Hai is 2:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, or 11:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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