ALMOND EYE アーモンドアイ JAPAN CUP | RECORD BREAKING JAPANESE RACEHORSE RETIRES IN 2020’S BEST HORSE RACE

アーモンドアイ ALMOND EYE - A dazzling end to a glittering career in the 2020 Japan Cup at Tokyo Racecourse.

騎手 競馬

1st Japan Cup 2020 / 2018
1st Tenno Sho (Autumn) 2020 / 2019
1st Victoria Mile 2020
1st Dubai Turf 2019
1st The Shuka Sho 2018
1st Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) 2018
1st Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) 2018
1st Shinzan Kinen

Almond Eye, (Sire - Lord Kanaloa) cemented her place among the Japanese horse racing immortals, charging home to win a second Japan Cup.

The thoroughbred mare retires having won a Japanese record nine Grade 1 turf contests, and the highest earning Japanese horse in history, her total of 1,915,263,900 yen (approx £13.6m/€15m) surpassing Kitasan Black's haul of 1,876,843,000 yen.

Almond Eye held a prominent position throughout the race at Tokyo, on the swing for home front-running Kiseki held a huge advantage but, as he tired, jockey Christophe Lemaire and Almond Eye powered up the centre of the track, hitting the front inside the final furlong and holding off rivals Contrail and Daring Tact.

Almond Eye becomes only the second horse to win two Japan Cups, joining 2012 and 2013 heroine Gentildonna; the success is a third for Lemaire and second for trainer Sakae Kunieda. Almond Eye's previous victory had come in 2018.

The Triple Crown winner made up a lot of ground from a midfield position but could get only to within a length and a quarter of Almond Eye. Contrail's jockey Yuichi Fukunaga said: "He never gave up but Almond Eye was strong.”

Daring Tact, a neck away in third, had also come into the race as an undefeated Triple Crown winner, having won the fillies' version. Her rider Kohei Matsuyama reflected: "I think it was a good run to finish not far behind such strong horses, and I expect her to mature."

Japan Cup roll of honour:

2005 Alkaased
Frankie Dettori / Luca Cumani

2006 Deep Impact
Yutaka Take / Yasuo Ikee

2007 Admire Moon
Yasunari Iwata / Hiroyoshi Matsuda

2008 Screen Hero
Mirco Demuro / Yuichi Shikato

2009 Vodka
Christophe Lemaire / Katsuhiko Sumii

2010 Rose Kingdom
Yutaka Take / Kojiro Hashiguchi

2011 Buena Vista
Yasunari Iwata / Hiroyoshi Matsuda

2012 Gentildonna
Yasunari Iwata / Sei Ishizaka

2013 Gentildonna
Ryan Moore / Sei Ishizaka

2014 Epiphaneia
Christophe Soumillon / Katsuhiko Sumii

2015 Shonan Pandora
Kenichi Ikezoe / Tomokazu Takano

2016 Kitasan Black
Yutaka Take / Hisashi Shimizu

2017 Cheval Grand
Hugh Bowman / Yasuo Tomomichi

2018 Almond Eye
Christophe Lemaire / Sakae Kunieda

2019 Suave Richard
Oisin Murphy / Yasushi Shono

2020 Almond Eye
Christophe Lemaire / Sakae Kunieda

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