All Eyes On Japanese Queen

[Wandering Eyes]

DUBAI, UAE—The Dubai World Cup may be the richest race run on Saturday but it will be overshadowed in terms of international interest by the Dubai Turf.

A quick sweep of the crowd gathered for trackwork at Meydan on Wednesday left little doubt as to the identity of the horse people are most excited about seeing in action at the weekend. The name Almond Eye (JPN) is emblazoned on a multitude of jackets and caps and her fans had to be up early to catch the queen of Japanese racing as she stepped out onto the turf track just before 5am on Wednesday in company with Christophe Lemaire. The unbeaten daughter of Lord Kanaloa (JPN) has carried all before her in her home country, where last year she won the Triple Tiara, and her first outing since November’s record-breaking romp in the G1 Japan Cup is hotly anticipated as she makes her overseas debut and drops back in trip to nine furlongs for the G1 Dubai Turf.

Once the most important business of the day has been concluded and Almond Eye has been safely returned to her stable, Lemaire, who has three rides on World Cup night but is asked repeatedly about just one of them, returned to the work-watchers’ corner to engage in a succession of media interviews in his native French tongue, as well as English and Japanese.

“She worked very well as usual. She was very relaxed and focused on her job. The track in Dubai looks like the Japanese tracks and the cushion today was good, not too firm, and I was happy with her work,” reported Lemaire, whose one previous victory on Dubai’s biggest raceday came aboard another Japanese raider, Heart’s Cry (JPN), in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic of 2006.

That particular race had been the original intention for Almond Eye but trainer Sakae Kunieda changed his focus to the Dubai Turf after consultation with the jockey who last year rode 215 winners in Japan, breaking the record previously held by Yutaka Take.

“Christophe suggested that the Dubai Turf would be better than the Sheema Classic. She has had a long rest and I wanted to start her off at a shorter distance and then build up through the year,” said Kunieda, who confirmed that his long-term hope is for his filly to face Enable (GB) in the G1 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.

“In Japan she is a bit nervous but she has been relaxed in Dubai and her body weight is good,” he added. “It’s very exciting. Almond Eye has a huge talent. When I saw her first gallop I felt she was special. My dream is to win international races. This race may make my dream come true.”

Lemaire does not disagree with this assertion. “Very few times have I sat on a horse who gives me the feel of Almond Eye,” he said. “She’s a horse with great potential and ability. She has a big stride, covers a lot of ground and is very powerful. Mentally she is also very strong. She understands very well what she has to do, she understands very well where she is and what for, and that’s what makes her so good: the combination of her attitude and her physical ability.”

He continued. “It is very important for a jockey to have such a relaxed horse and an easy ride in a race. I’ve never had any problems so far and hopefully that will be the same on Saturday. She’s already shown a lot of class but we don’t yet know her limits. In the Japan Cup she won very easily, beating the world record for a mile and a half, and after the winning post she was not exhausted. Of course I feel the pressure. I have a great responsibility and I can sense everyone’s expectations.”

On Saturday, Almond Eye, who has drawn stall seven, s will be red-hot favourite in a field of 13 which will include fellow Japanese-trained contender Vivlos (JPN)(Deep Impact {JPN}), the winner of the Dubai Turf in 2017 and runner-up last year to Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).

Lemaire added, “I think she can become the horse of a lifetime, like Winx (Aus) is for Hugh Bowman, or like Sea The Stars (Ire) was for Mick Kinane, or like Zenyatta for Mike Smith. I feel blessed to be able to ride such a good one.”

Lemaire’s compatriot Freddy Head has already taken a step back in trip with his G2 Dubai Gold Cup contender Call The Wind (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who posted an impressive performance on his seasonal resumption at Chantilly on March 5 when second to Trais Fluors (GB) (Dansili {GB}) in the Prix Darshaan. The 5-year-old, who only began racing last year and had to overcome an aversion to the stalls, has run eight times in his life and only once in group company when winning the G1 Qatar Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend for owner-breeder George Strawbridge. Call The Wind will bid to extend France’s winning sequence in the Gold Cup to four after the hat-trick posted by the similarly quirky Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}).

“I’m very happy,” said Head, whose last success at Meydan came with Solow (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) in the 2015 Dubai Turf. “He seems well and is adapting well, so for the moment all the lights are green. I was pleased with his comeback race over a shorter distance but there are some very good horses in the race—the horse that just won the Melbourne Cup winner [Cross Counter (Ire)]—it will be a tough race but I think my horse is still improving. He didn’t run as a 3-year-old and last year he started off in low races and kept improving all year through. He showed that he has plenty of stamina and at the end [of the season] he won the Cadran but he’s not the kind of plodding horse who just stays and stays.”

Godolphin will field four of the ten runners in the Gold Cup, with both Cross Counter and Ispolini (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) representing Charlie Appleby’s powerful stable.

“We are looking forward to getting Cross Counter’s campaign underway following his Melbourne Cup success,” said the trainer. “His preparation has gone well and we’re hoping that this can be a step for some of the major staying prizes throughout 2019. Ispolini is a progressive stayer and we have seen marked improvement since stepping him up in distance. He has the course experience and racing over two miles could see him progress again.”

 

 

 

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