Written by Bren O'Brien
Almond Eye (Jpn) {Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) has delivered a perfect farewell to her adoring fans, with a thrilling win in her final race start, securing her second G1 Japan Cup in Tokyo.
The 5-year-old mare, who is trained by Sakae Kunieda, made it 11 wins from 15 starts when surging through to tackle runway leader Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) and then withstanding the late challenge from previously unbeaten 3-year-old Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) to win by 1.75l. Champion filly Daring Tact (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) stormed home to snatch third, just a neck shy of second on the line.
It was the most thrilling of 2400 metre spectacles, set up by the daring tactics of Suguru Hamanaka on Kiseki, who led by as much as 12l midway through the race, charging through his first 1000 metres in 57.9s.
Kiseki was still some 9l clear of his rivals as the field came into the straight, but Christophe Lemaire was working Almond Eye into the clear, and she began closing dramatically around 300 metres out.
She swept to the front and while her rivals, including the two star 3-year-olds, had their chance to run her down, she kept on responding to have a clear margin of victory on the line.
It wasn't quite the margin of her first win in the race in 2018 (2l), or the track record breaking time, but it was nonetheless just as impressive in the second quickest time in the race since since 2009, 2:23.00.
She becomes the second multiple winner of the race, joining the legendary Gentildonna (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), who went back to back in 2012 and 2013, and becomes the first horse to win two editions spaced more than a year apart.
She retires with nine Group 1 wins in a stellar career, including the 3-year-old fillies' Triple Crown, with her lone overseas success coming in the G1 Dubai Turf in 2019.
Bred by Northern Farm, Almond Eye is owned by Silk Racing and has become a first crop flagbearer for her sire, Shadai Stallion Station-based Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) whose four Group 1 winners include G1 Blue Diamond S. victor Tagaloa.
Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) | Standing at Shadai Stallion Station, Japan
Her dam Fusaichi Pandora (Jpn) (Sunday Silence {USA}) won the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup for fillies and mares in 2006 and was then fifth behind Deep Impact in the 2006 Japan Cup before finishing ninth in the 2007 edition.
Her fourth dam is the highly influential Best In Show (USA) (Traffic Judge {USA}), who is also the maternal fourth dam of the great Australian stallion Redoute's Choice.
