Filly Champ Eyes Japan Cup

[Wandering Eyes]

Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) has certainly been the apple of the eye of Japanese racing enthusiasts this year through her filly Triple Crown sweep, and the 3-year-old will elevate her reputation to new heights if she can prevail as the even-money favourite in Sunday’s $5.7-million G1 Japan Cup, the country’s most prestigious race.

Despite being from the first crop of the outstanding sprint champion Lord Kanaloa, Almond Eye has continued to excel as the distances have increased. No rival got within a length of her throughout her Triple Crown sweep, which began with the 1600 metre G1 Oka Sho on Apr. 8, progressed to the G1 Yushun Himba on May 20 over 2400 metres-the same track and trip as the Japan Cup–and concluded with a drop back in trip to 2000 metres for the G1 Shuka Sho on Oct. 14. The country’s leading rider, Christophe Lemaire, partners Almond Eye as per usual, and they will enjoy the advantage of a 117-pound impost-the lightest in the field. Almond Eye exits gate one, which has produced the last two winners of the race: Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) and Kitasan Black (Jpn) (Black Tide {Jpn}).

Cheval Grand is back to attempt a title defense, and a dry spell in the interim has ensured that he is once again long in the odds at 10-1. He has for the most part not been disgraced, however, and comes into this off a fourth behind Satono Diamond (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G2 Kyoto Daishoten on Oct. 8. Satono Diamond, already a dual Group 1 winner, looks to be rounding back into form after a disappointing finish in last year’s G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe over yielding ground behind Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}).

This year’s G1 Osaka Hai winner Suave Richard (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) is worth consideration; the 4-year-old went into last month’s G1 Tenno Sho Autumn the favourite but struggled in 10th after a nightmare trip. That was his first run in almost five months, so improvement could be expected.

Locally trained runners have won the last 12 runnings of the Japan Cup, but that hasn’t stopped a pair of foreign raiders from having a crack. Last year’s G1 Irish Derby and G1 St Leger winner Capri (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is 15-1 off a fifth-beaten 3 1/4 lengths-in the Arc and a fourth behind Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 Champion S., while British fan favourite Thundering Blue (Exchange Rate) is given a longshot chance at 40-1 to go one better than his second in the GI Canadian International on Oct. 13.

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