Almond Eye Back In Yasuda Kinen

[Wandering Eyes]

Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), last year’s unanimous Japanese champion 3-year-old filly and Horse of the Year, makes her much anticipated return after winning the G1 Dubai Turf at Meydan in March in Sunday’s G1 Yasuda Kinen at Tokyo Racecourse. Almond Eye has plenty of experience over the Tokyo course, having broken her maiden there and having won last year’s G1 Yunshun Himba (Japanese Oaks) and G1 Japan Cup over 2400 metres there, but she drops back to a mile for the first time since winning the G1 Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) at Hanshin last April.

As if she hadn’t achieved enough in her short career to date, Almond Eye will be shooting for another piece of history on Sunday. She will try to become the third horse in history to win six Group 1s back-to-back, joining her own sire, who won this race in 2013, and T.M. Opera O (Jpn) (Opera House {GB}). Six Japanese horses have previously returned from trips to Dubai and headed straight to the Yasuda Kinen and while that strike rate is not great-two of six were successful at Tokyo-trainer Sakae Kunieda said Almond Eye took the Dubai Turf better than any other race in her career and has been in fine shape since. “She has always surpassed expectations and I’m looking forward to this race as well,” Kunieda said.

Should Almond Eye prove victorious she would also be the first filly in a decade to win this Tokyo feature, and that also proves true for the only other filly in the lineup, Aerolithe (Jpn) (Kurofune {Jpn}). The 5-year-old was second in this last year to the re-opposing Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and looks for her first win since the Oct. 7 G2 Mainichi Okan. A trip to Florida for the inaugural GI Pegasus World Cup Turf in January proved unfruitful, but she was a more encouraging fifth when last seen in the G1 Victoria Mile on May 12.

Likely to go off second choice to Almond Eye is the 2017 champion 2-year-old Danon Premium (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). The lone blemish on that colt’s record came when he was sixth in last year’s G1 Tokyo Yushun, and he has since been kept to 1600 metres to a mile. He was last seen winning the G2 Milers Cup at Kyoto on Apr. 21.

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