The former Silk Racing Co., Ltd.'s colourbearer is the 35th member of the exclusive club after garnering 200 votes (96.6%) of the 207 available. Fellow Japanese Triple Crown Winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) gained 155 votes, one short of the minimum requirement for entry.

Trainer Sakae Kunieda said, “It is a great honor to have Almond Eye selected for the award. From her debut in 2017 until her retirement at the Japan Cup in 2020, she won the Triple Crown for fillies and nine Group 1 races and was also the representative Horse of the Year twice.

“Almond Eye is outstanding both physically and mentally and has always lived up to our high expectations and kept dreaming about what kind of performance she will show in the next race.

“I have nothing but gratitude for the owners who entrusted me with such a famous horse… and the fans who supported me together. Being involved with Almond Eye as a horse trainer has been a great asset for me and the stable staff, and I will continue to devote myself to it.”

Bred by Northern Racing, the bay electrified the racing world with seven straight victories after breaking her maiden at second asking as a juvenile. In her third start and 3-year-old bow, she won the G3 Shinzan Kinen, her last appearance below Group 1 level. After sweeping the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown (Oka Sho, Yushun Himba, Shuka Sho) in the spring and autumn of 2018, Almond Eye claimed her first Japan Cup and earned her first Horse of the Year title. Sent to Meydan for the Dubai Turf at four, she won again and was third in the Yasuda Kinen back in her native land before taking the Tenno Sho (Autumn).  Uncharacteristically off the board in the G1 Arima Kinen at the end of her 4-year-old season, she won the Victoria Mile, ran second in the Yasuda Kinen, and won both the Tenno Sho (Autumn) and Japan Cup at five, good for her second Horse of the Year laurels. Almond Eye was retired with a mark of 15-11-2-1 and over $17.6 million in earnings.

The daughter of Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) has colts by Epiphaneia (Jpn) and Maurice (Jpn) born in 2022 and 2023, respectively.

The post Champion Almond Eye Elected To Japanese Hall Of Fame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bred by Northern Farm and raced by Silk Racing, the 7-year-old claimed nine Group 1 victories throughout her career. Ridden all bar one race by Christophe Lemaire and trained by Sakae Kunieda, the bay won the 2018 Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown and G1 Japan Cup. Named the Champion 3-Year-Old Filly and Japanese Horse of the Year that year, she returned at four to win the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan. Third in the G1 Yasuda Kinen later in 2019, she signed off with a G1 Tenno Sho Autumn title and was the champion older horse in the UAE from 7-9 ½ furlongs.

Kept in training at five, Almond Eye added the G1 Victoria Mile to her haul in May of 2020, and was second to Gran Alegria (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Yasuda Kinen a month later. Taking her second Tenno Sho Autumn in November of that year, she retired with a 1 1/4-length victory over Japanese Triple Crown Winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown Winner Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) in the Japan Cup, her second.

Out of the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup winner Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (Sunday Silence), who later placed in that race when it was promoted to Group 1 status, Almond Eye is a half-sister to the Japanese listed-placed Unakite (Jpn) (Johannesburg). This is the extended family of blue hen mare Sex Appeal (Buckpasser) and her sons and successful sires El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer) and Try My Best (Northern Dancer).

The post Champion Almond Eye Foals a Colt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bred by Northern Racing and raced by Silk Racing Co. Ltd., Almond Eye now resides at Northern Farm on Hokkaido after retiring at the end of 2020. The Sakae Kunieda trainee captured the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2018, as well as that year's G1 Japan Cup and earned the first of her Horse of the Year titles. She was also named the Japanese Champion 3-Year-Old Filly.

At four, Almond Eye traveled to Dubai for a victory in the G1 Dubai Turf and also captured the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) on her home soil. Kept in training in 2020, she padded her resume with Group 1 wins in the Victoria Mile, another Tenno Sho (Autumn) and a second Japan Cup en route to Horse of the Year and Champion Older Mare honours. In the 2020 Japan Cup, she defeated Japanese Triple Crown hero Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Daring Tact.

The post Japanese Champion Almond Eye In Foal to Epiphaneia appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The post People’s Choice Award Voting Closes Mar. 6 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The post People’s Choice Award Nominees Announced appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bred by the Weld family's Springbank Way Stud from the 2006 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Nightime (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Ghaiyyath won his first four starts in 2020, starting out with a facile victory in the G3 Dubai Millennium S. at Meydan in track record time. Returning to the UK, the 5-year-old beat the previous season's Derby winner Athony Van Dyck (Ire) in the Coronation Cup before claiming an even bigger scalp with his victory over Enable (GB) in the G1 Coral-Eclipse. His championship performance came with his three-length strike in the International, in which fellow Group 1 winners Magical (Ire), Lord North (Ire) and Kameko filled the minor places. Ghaiyyath has now retired to his owner Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum's Kildangan Stud in Ireland.

“In some ways he was the perfect racehorse; he had so many positive attributes,” said Joe Osborne, managing director of Godolphin Ireland. “He campaigned internationally and he was at that age to have reached his peak form. He was the kind of brand ambassador that Godolphin has been famous for down the years. His high cruising speed and his ability to find acceleration at the end of his races was what really set him apart.”

Charlie Appleby added, “It was a great privilege to be involved with a horse like Ghaiyyath. Right from the start he was one of the horses we were very find of and to train a horse like this for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and for Godolphin was a great honour.

“The most pleasing victory in 2020 was the Juddmonte International. I felt it just confirmed what we had seen in the Eclipse when he beat Enable.”

The ongoing Covid-19 restrictions meant that for the first time the awards, organised for the eighth year in tandem by Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), were presented in an online ceremony hosted by Francesca Cumani as Newmarket's National Horseracing Museum instead of in London.

A stellar season for the Bob Baffert-trained Authentic (Into Mischief) saw him win the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Haskell S. but it was his 2 1/4-length victory in the Breeders' Cup Classic which was judged to be his standout performance of the year on 126,. This placed him second overall in the rankings and made him the world's best 3-year-old and highest-rated dirt horse.

Authentic is now at stud at Spendthrift Farm, which comprised one part of his large syndicate of owners during his racing days. The group included Myracehorse Stable, with members in every state in America and from more than 20 countries around the world.

“I used to love looking forward to making that trip to London even though it was always freezing,” said Baffert via video link from his home in California. The trainer was also responsible for Triple Crown and Breeders' Cup Classic winner American Pharoah, who was the Longines World's Best Racehorse of 2015, as well as Arrogate, the world's top-rated horse of 2016 and 2017.

He continued, “Authentic was just getting better and better and better. He had a lot of speed and he could carry a mile and a quarter effortlessly. It takes a really good horse to win the Derby and the Breeders' Cup Classic. Is it's just an honour to be involved in this. Racing is all about bragging rights so to have a horse as good as this is what it's all about.”

There was a seven-way tie for third between horses trained in Britain, France, America and Australia on a ranking of 125. Addeybb (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) won three Group 1 races in two different hemispheres for the William Haggas stable in 2020 but it was his season-closing victory in the QIPCO British Champion S. for which he gained top marks, alongside fellow Newmarket resident Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}). The latter was the top-rated European 3-year-old, gaining his mark for his run in the G1 Prix du Haras Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville. Juddmonte's Kingman is also the sire of Persian King (Ire), ranked equal to Palace Pier on 125 after winning the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp, while Palace Pier's stablemate Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) is again the top stayer in the world having run to 125 when winning the G1 Gold Cup for the third time at Royal Ascot.

The Barclay Tagg-trained Tiz The Law (Constitution) was also awarded 125 for his GI Runhappy Travers S. victory, and  that mark was also achieved by Australian sprinters Bivouac (Aus) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and Classique Legend (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) in the G1 Darley Sprint Classic and The TAB Everest respectively. 

Japan's recently retired Horse of the Year Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), trained by Sakae Kunieda, was judged to have run to a mark of 124 on two occasions, when winning the GI Victoria Mile and GI Longines Japan Cup for the second time. That same mark was awarded to her compatriot, the Triple Crown winner Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), whose first taste of defeat came when finishing runner-up to Almond Eye in the Japan Cup.

Also in equal-tenth place on 124 was Hong Kong star Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro), now the winner of 15 of his 16 races and gaining his top mark in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile. The impressive victory of Mohaather (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the G1 Qatar Sussex S. and of Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}) in the G1 TJ Smith S. also gained marks of 124.

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Sottsass (Fr) (Siyouni {Fr}) headed a quintet in joint-15th place on 123.  They included Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's crack sprinter Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), G1 Prince of Wales's S.winner Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), and the Japanese duo of GI Tenno Sho runner-up Fierement (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

Breeders' Cup Classic runner-up Improbable (City Zip) was another to reach 123, a mark he gained twice, in the GI Whitney S. and GI Awesome Again S.

The best performance of 2020 for Juddmonte superstar Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) was her record third victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S, for which she was awarded a mark of 122. This same rating was given to Love (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for her victories in the Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks, as well as 2000 Guineas winner Kameko (Kitten's Joy) for his G2 Shadwell Joel S. success, and to the previous season's European champion 2-year-old Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal). Also on 122 were Maximum Security (New Year's Day), Anthony Van Dyck (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock {Aus}), Gamine (Into Mischief), In Swoop (Ire) (Adlerflug {Ger}), Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Tarnawa (Ire) (Shamardal), Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) and Tom's d'Etat (Smart Strike).

Of the 56 horses in the world with a rating of 120 or more in 2020, 14 were trained in Britain, 11 in America, 10 in Ireland, and seven in Japan, while France, Australia and Hong Kong accounted for four apiece, and two were trained in South Africa.

Frankel (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who was the Longines World's Best Racehorse of 2011 and 2012, achieved the highest-ever rating of 140.

The post Ghaiyyath Crowned Longines World’s Best Racehorse appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Programmed for a defence of her title in the G1 Dubai Turf last March, Almond Eye returned to Japan following the cancellation of the multi-million dollar race meeting in late March and instead made her 5-year-old debut in the G1 Victoria Mile, where–facing her own sex for the first time since completing the Fillies Triple Crown in the 2018 G1 Shuka Sho–she proved an easy winner, stopping the timer in 1:30.6. Runner-up to Gran Alegria in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June, Almond Eye defeated champion older male Fierement (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to win the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) for the second year in a row and handed Contrail his first career defeat when concluding her career victoriously in the Nov. 29 Japan Cup.

WATCH: Almond Eye wins the 2020 Japan Cup en route to HOTY honours

Gran Alegria put together a Horse of the Year-worthy campaign herself, defeating males in the G1 Sprinters’ S. (1200m) in October, the strength of which was amplified when that race’s runner-up Danon Smash (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) returned to land the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint. Gran Alegria closed a three-for-four season in the G1 Mile Championship, besting the classy Indy Champ (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) with an irresistible late flourish. All but one of the 283 votes were cast for Gran Alegria (one was cast for Almond Eye).

Contrail was untouchable versus his age group, completing the Triple Crown with a hard-fought success in the G1 Kikuka Sho before finding only Almond Eye too strong in the Japan Cup. Fierement, whose retirement was announced Wednesday, made three trips to the post in 2020, winning the G1 Tenno Sho (Spring) over 3000 metres in May and was last seen finishing a close third to ‘Special Award’ winner Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}) in the G1 Arima Kinen. Deep Impact’s three champions for 2020 take his total to 21 in his illustrious career.

Daring Tact’s campaign very much mirrored that of Contrail, as she was untouchable in the Filly Triple Crown series before finishing third in the Japan Cup.

Danon the Kid (Jpn) (Just a Way {Jpn}) and the white filly Sodashi (Jpn) (Kurofune) locked up the 2-year-old male and female divisions, respectively, with victories in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity S. and G1 Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, while Chuwa Wizard (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) was given the nod as the country’s top dirt horse following his win in the G1 Champions Cup last month.

The post Almond Eye Japan’s HOTY For Second Time In Three Years appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

He had already been responsible for former Horse of the Year Gentildonna (Jpn) but Deep Impact’s crowning glory among his many talented colts has come posthumously, with his son Contrail (Jpn) having become his sixth Derby winner–and third in a row–on the middle leg of taking the 2020 Triple Crown. Bred by Koji Maeda’s North Hills Farm, Contrail has been beaten just once in his eight starts when finishing second at the end of November in the Japan Cup to the country’s retiring champion Almond Eye (Jpn). There’s no shame in being defeated by the Horse of the Year and Contrail ended 2020 with a rating of 122, just two behind Almond Eye.

The 5-year-old Almond Eye has a huge following even beyond Japan and she is very much the star performer for her sire Lord Kanaloa (Jpn), who was the leading active sire of 2020. The 13-year-old sired Group 1 winners in three different countries in 2020, with Almond Eye being backed up by Tagaloa (Aus), winner of the G1 Blue Diamond S. in Australia, while Danon Smash (Jpn) took the G1 Hong Kong Sprint.

Like Deep Impact, Lord Kanaloa has been graced with huge books ever since his retirement to stud. From 2014, when he covered 254 mares, he climbed to a high of 307 in 2018.

While Deep Impact’s dominant father Sunday Silence still features as either sire or grandsire of six of the top 10 stallions in Japan in 2020, Kingmambo’s influence remains strong. That comes essentially through his late son King Kamehameha (Jpn), who was champion sire in the two years before Deep Impact’s long reign started and was fifth this time around, and through King Kamehameha’s sons Lord Kanaloa and Rulership (Jpn).

Sunday Silence’s 20-year-old son Heart’s Cry (Jpn) was runner-up in 2019 and slipped a place to third in 2020. His leading performer, Salios (Jpn), chased home Contrail to be second in both the Japanese Derby and 2000 Guineas and won the G2 Mainichi Okan.

The 2011 Triple Crown winner Orfevre (Jpn) was next in the table and among his group stakes winners in 2020 was the durable mare Lucky Lilac (Jpn), who has won at the highest level as a 2-year-old and at four and five. In 2020, she recorded her second win the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup as well as victory in the G1 Osaka Hai, beating subsequent G1 Arima Kinen winner Chrono Genesis (Jpn) (Bago {Fr}).

The aforementioned Rulership (Jpn) is another among the Japanese ranks to have previously been represented by a top-flight international performer with his son Mer De Glace (Jpn) having won the 2019 Caulfield Cup. The 14-year-old’s sixth place finish in the sires’ championship helped boost the sire-of-sires claim of King Kamehameha, who, like Deep Impact, died in the summer of 2019.

Of note among the younger sires bidding to establish themselves, last year’s freshman champion Kizuna (Jpn), a son of Deep Impact, was 12th overall. He improved on his previous season’s tally of 27 2-year-old winners to make it 31 this time around. His second crop of foals, though still large at 138, was down from 184 in his debut season. He is yet to sire a Group 1 winner but had two Group 2 and two Group 3 winners last year.

His contemporary in the stallion ranks, Epiphaneia (Jpn), by Symboli Kris S, may have notched 50 fewer winners than Kizuna but he has the distinction of having a first-crop winner of the Fillies’ Triple Crown, Daring Tact (Jpn), who was also third behind Almond Eye and Contrail in an epic running of the Japan Cup.

Japan’s first-season sires’ list was headed by King Kamehameha’s Japanese Derby and Guineas-winning son Duramente (Jpn), who covered almost 300 mares in each of his first two seasons at Shadai Stallion Station and recorded 35 winners from his first group of runners. Close behind him on 32 was the good-looking Maurice (Jpn), a son of Screen Hero (Jpn) who won six Group 1 races in Japan and Hong Kong and has also shuttled to Arrowfield Stud in Australia.

The post Posthumous Championship for Deep Impact appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

When the gates opened, Almond Eye was away in good order from stall two and pilot Christophe Lemaire positioned the star mare near the rails in a stalking fourth as 2017 G1 Japanese St Leger hero Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) took up his preferred position on the engine. Daring Tact settled a few lengths off Almond Eye in seventh, while Contrail was farther back in ninth. Kiseki quickly opened up a 20-length advantage on the rest of the field, covering the first 1000 metres in a swift :57.90 and getting the mile in 1:33.10.

It appeared for a handful of strides that Kiseki had perhaps poached too great of an advantage a quarter mile from home, but that was an illusion, as the sharp fractions began to viably wear on the frontrunner almost immediately thereafter. Almond Eye was letting down with authority and she set her sights on 2019 G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase victor Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who was gaining on Kiseki with every stride. Out in the middle of the course, Contrail was making his patented run, as was Daring Tact a few paths toward the inside, with last year’s runner-up Curren Bouquetd’or (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) also in the mix.

Almond Eye gained the lead at the 150-metre mark, and asserted from there to withstand the withering late burst from Contrail by 1 1/4 lengths in her career finale. Only a neck separated the 2020 Triple Crown winners, with Daring Tact a nose to the good of fourth-place Curren Bouquetd’or. She in turn was only a neck in front of Glory Vase. The brave pacesetter Kiseki faded to eighth. European raider Way To Paris (GB) (Champs Elysees {Jpn}), a winner of the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and reluctant to load on Sunday, was outrun for the majority of the contest, but passed some tiring rivals to finish 10th.

“Since this was her final start, it was very special for me and I’m thrilled we were able to win,” said Lemaire. “After winning the Victoria Mile in the spring, we had three weeks to get her prepared for the Yasuda Kinen in which she was second. She had an extra week this time and was tuned up beautifully. She was relaxed in the gate, broke smoothly and was able to sit in a good position. The turf condition near the rails was much better than last week so I don’t think the inner draw was a problem. The pace was just right for her and she responded well in the stretch. 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. Her career as a race horse ended today but I look forward to riding her children.”

Added trainer Sakae Kunieda on Almond Eye who was winning her eighth JRA Group 1 and ninth overall, “She looked good since arriving at the racecourse–she has definitely matured mentally. We were worried about the rough going near the rails, but Christophe did a good job in finding a good path. The pace was ideal for Almond Eye and her response was totally different from that in the Tenno Sho (Autumn). Since expectations of an eighth Group 1 title were enormous in her last Tenno Sho start, we did feel pressure but today, all we wanted was for her to come back safe and sound. The victory is such a bonus, we couldn’t be happier. She has given us so much excitement and joy and it has been fulfilling to be a part of her career. It would be great if I could be involved in training her colt or filly someday.”

Second in a newcomers’ race in August of 2017, she rattled off seven straight wins afterward, encompassing a maiden that October, before a score in the G3 Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen to open her 3-year-old year. After winning the Japanese Fillies’ Triple Crown, Almond Eye saluted in her first Japan Cup in November of 2018 and was named the Japanese Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old Filly. She took her show on the road with a win in the G1 Dubai Turf in 2019, before a shock third in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June of 2019. Back on top in the first of two G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) wins, the bay was unplaced in the G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama last December. First in the May 17 G1 Victoria Mile, Almond Eye was second in the Yasuda Kinen locally in June.

A winner of the Tenno Sho (Autumn) last out, Almond Eye became the first JRA horse to capture eight Group 1 races over turf with that race. Adding in the spoils of her second Japan Cup victory, Almond Eye retires with a mark of 15-11-2-1 and ¥1,915,263,900 (US$18,393,937/£13,819,626/€15,374,801) in earnings, becoming the richest runner in JRA history. Breeding plans have not been decided.

Pedigree Notes

One of four Group 1 winners and 23 total black-type winners for her sire, Almond Eye is a member of her sire’s first crop. Fusaichi Pandora has produced 10 foals so far, with eight winners from eight runners. Besides Almond Eye, the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup bridemaid’s next most decorated offspring would be the Listed Anemone S. third Unakite (Jpn) (Johannesburg), while her latest is a juvenile by Rulership (Jpn).

Almond Eye’s second dam is an unraced Nureyev half-sister to champions and successful sires El Gran Senor (Northern Dancer) and Try My Best (Northern Dancer), as well as Irish highweight Solar (Halo). The quartet are out of blue hen Sex Appeal (Buckpasser), herself a half-sister to Malinowski (Sir Ivor), GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}), and GSW Monroe (Sir Ivor).

Sunday, Tokyo, Japan
JAPAN CUP-G1, ¥574,620,000 (US$5,519,130/£4,146,327/€4,613,255), Tokyo, 11-29, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:23.00, fm.
1–ALMOND EYE (JPN), 121, m, 5, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) MSW & G1SP-Jpn,
                                $3,264,457, by Sunday Silence
                2nd Dam: Lotta Lace, by Nureyev
                3rd Dam: Sex Appeal, by Buckpasser
O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Sakae Kunieda;
J-Christophe Lemaire. ¥303,234,000. Lifetime Record:
HotY-Jpn, Ch. 3yo Filly-Jpn, Filly Triple Crown-Jpn, Hwt. Older
Mare-UAE, MG1SW-Jpn, G1SW-UAE, 15-11-2-1,
¥1,915,263,900. *1/2 to Unakite (Jpn) (Johannesburg), SP-Jpn,
$290,564. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the
   eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Contrail (Jpn), 121, c, 3, Deep Impact (Jpn)–Rhodochrosite,
by Unbridled’s Song. O-Shinji Maeda; B-North Hills (Jpn);
¥120,924,000.
3–Daring Tact (Jpn), 117, f, 3, Epiphaneia (Jpn)–Daring Bird
(Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn). (¥12,000,000 Ylg ’18
JRHAJUL). O-Normandy Thoroughbred Racing; B-Hasegawa
Farm (Jpn); ¥75,462,000.
Margins: 1 1/4, NK, NO. Odds: 1.20, 1.80, 2.70.
Also Ran: Curren Bouquetd’or (Jpn), Glory Vase (Jpn), World Premiere (Jpn), Mikki Swallow (Jpn), Kiseki (Jpn), Makahiki (Jpn), Way to Paris (GB), Perform a Promise (Jpn), You Can Smile (Jpn), Crescendo Love (Jpn), Taurus Gemini (Jpn), Yoshio (Jpn).
Click for the JRA chart & video or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

The post Almond Eye Claims Second Japan Cup in Triple Crown Trifecta appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) is the most widely known of those internationally, Silk Racing’s 5-year-old having swept the Japanese fillies’ Triple Crown in 2018 en route to victory in this race. She dropped back in trip to take the G1 Dubai Turf the following spring, and has since added two renewals of the G1 Tenno Sho Autumn over 2000 metres as well as the G1 Victoria Mile. The Japan Cup has been earmarked as Almond Eye’s last race before she retires to stud.

Jockey Christophe Lemaire partnered Almond Eye in a work on Thursday and he said, “I was very happy with the horse’s condition. Riding Almond Eye is always very special for me. Today was the last fast work of her career and she was very focused and she was enjoying herself the whole time. The only difference between her fast work today and her work before the Tenno Sho was the pace. Today, I didn’t want her to overdo it, but wanted her to keep some power in reserve. She has gotten stronger and looks to be in good condition.

“Two years ago she was three years old and she only carried 53 kg in the Japan Cup. This time she’s five and it’s quite a different race. The 3-year-olds this year are incredibly strong and I think it’s going to be a good race.”

Those 3-year-olds are unbeaten stars Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), who one week apart in October swept the fillies’ and colts’ Triple Crowns. While none of the seven prior colts to win the Triple Crown have taken the Japan Cup in the same year, filly Triple Crown winners have done it twice: Almond Eye and Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in 2012. Contrail and Daring Tact have had four and five weeks’ rest, respectively, from their wins in the G1 Kikuka Sho and G1 Shuka Sho. While Daring Tact steps back up in trip, Contrail is coming down from the 3000 metre journey of the Kikuka Sho.

Lemaire said of the opposition, “Both Contrail and Daring Tact are amazing horses and they’ve given us some very good races. They showed us both speed and stamina. The two of them are very talented. So I think this year’s Japan Cup is going to be quite difficult. It’s very hard to tell who will win. I’ll think about my strategy two days before the race.”

This year’s Japan Cup has drawn one international challenger, the French raider Way To Paris (GB) (Champs Elysees {GB}). The 7-year-old entire has been a model of consistency over the past four seasons but has proven better than ever in 2020, winning G2 Grand Prix de Chantilly and, over this trip, the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in June. He was last seen finishing ninth in a heavy-ground G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on Oct. 4.

“After the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud victory in June, it was decided to challenge the Japan Cup and give the horse an opportunity of a lifetime at the end of his career,” said Zoe Pfeil, assistant to trainer Andrea Marcialis. “The race tactics will be Mirco Demuro’s call and whether the horse should fare well against the Triple Crown winners will depend on whether Way To Paris is relaxed in the later stages and able to show his good turn of foot. We are confident that the turf at Tokyo Racecourse, not to mention the 2400-meter distance, will suit our horse and we are looking forward to seeing how he handles it.”

Not to be discounted in a contentious lineup are Glory Vase (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), last year’s G1 Hong Kong Vase winner who won the G2 Kyoto Daishoten over this trip on Oct. 11, and Curren Bouquetd’or (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who rides a frustrating streak of four straight second-place finishes in top company, including last year’s Japan Cup and the G2 Sankei Sho All Comers S. on Sept. 27.

The post Triple Crown Showdown In Japan Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post