Triple Crown Showdown In Japan Cup

The G1 Japan Cup rarely fails to deliver an epic clash of sexes and generations at Tokyo Racecourse on the last weekend in November, and this year’s lineup on Sunday features a historic showdown of three individual Triple Crown winners.

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

Asian Notebook: Almond Eye Confirmed For Japan Cup

Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) is likely to have the final start of her illustrious career in the G1 Japan Cup (2400m) at Tokyo Racecourse, her trainer Sakae Kunieda announced through the Twitter account of the Silk Horse Club syndicate that campaigns her.

The 5-year-old daughter of Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) swept the Japanese Filly Triple Crown in 2018 and capped a Horse of the Year campaign with a smooth 1 3/4-length defeat of front-running Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) in the Japan Cup. She added the G1 Dubai Turf and G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) last season and most recently became the first horse in the history of the Japanese turf to win eight Group 1 races when successfully defending her Tenno Sho title Nov. 1.

Also confirmed for the Japan Cup are the twin Triple Crown winners of 2020, the colt Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}), neither of whom has tasted defeat in their careers.

Almond Eye’s connections opted for the Japan Cup over a trip to Hong Kong for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup Dec. 13, a race for which she was entered last term, but did not ultimately make the journey. Sha Tin is the destination for another Asian-based runner, as connections confirmed that three-time defending champion Hong Kong jockey Zac Purton has accepted the call aboard Inferno (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint. Trained by Cliff Brown for owner Glenn Whittenbury’s Barree Stable, the 4-year-old is eight-for-nine lifetime and exits a flashy success in the Oct. 25 Lion City Cup at Kranji Racecourse in Singapore.

The post Asian Notebook: Almond Eye Confirmed For Japan Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Fans Welcomed For Daring Tact Bid

Sunday’s G1 Shuka Sho will mark the first time since February that limited fans will be permitted to attend a Group 1 race in Japan, and it is fitting that it coincides with a fillies’ Triple Crown bid by Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}). Daring Tact is unbeaten in four runs including the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) over a mile and the G1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) at 2400 metres. There is little that appears to be causing fear for connections-she recorded the fastest-ever final three furlongs in the Oka Sho, indicating that a drop back in trip to 2000 metres here shouldn’t pose a problem. While fillies typically prepare for this race with a sharpener off a summer break, trainer Haruki Sugiyama said it is by design that Daring Tact is going straight to the Shuka Sho from the Yushun Himba.

Among those looking to thwart Daring Tact’s bid for history is Ria Amelia (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Silk Racing’s daughter of the American champion 2-year-old filly Ria Antonia (Rockport Harbor). Ria Amelia was herself a Group 3 winner at two and though she faltered when 10th over the yielding ground in the Oka Sho, she was a good fourth after a slow break in the Yushun Himba and put in a seamless prep when winning the G2 Sho Rose S. over this trip at Chukyo on Sept. 20. This will be her first time running at Kyoto but she broke her maiden at Hanshin, also a right-turning track.

The Yushun Himba second and third Win Marilyn (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) and Win Mighty (Jpn) (Gold Ship {Jpn}) are back to re-oppose, as is Maltese Diosa (Jpn) (Kizuna {Jpn}), who was unplaced in both prior Classics but won a key prep for this, the G3 Shion S., over 2000 metres at Nakayama on Sept. 12.

The post Fans Welcomed For Daring Tact Bid appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights