Almond Eye Dominates Tough Field in Tenno Sho

Almond Eye, under a gusty ride by Christophe Lemaire, dominated a tough field in the grade 1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) Oct. 27 at Tokyo Racecourse, spurting away in the final 200 meters to win by three lengths.

The 2017 2-year-old champion, Danon Premium, returned to form to finish second, with Aerolithe holding on for third after leading though most of the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles). You Can Smile, Wagnerian, and Saturnalia finished fourth through sixth, respectively. The field included 10 grade 1 winners.

Almond Eye, the reigning Japanese Horse of the Year, broke cleanly from gate 2, and Lemaire placed her right against the rail, running fifth behind a steady pace. The 4-year-old daughter of Lord Kanaloa was still in that spot as the field turned for home, with every possibility of traffic problems heading up the hill early in the stretch run.

Aerolithe, however, left a narrow opening just inside the 300-meter mark, and Almond Eye responded willingly as Lemaire pointed her to that sliver of daylight. By the 200-meter mark, Almond Eye was on the lead and then gone. Sent off as the heavy favorite, she finished in 1:56.20, just one tenth of a second off the course record, to the cheers of a throng of 103,920.

"She was well rested after a long break and showed her true strength today," Lemaire said. "We were able to follow Aerolithe and Saturnalia in a good position, found a good opening on the rails, and she just stretched beautifully from there."

Almond Eye, bred by Northern Racing, is out of the Sunday Silence mare Fusaichi Pandora. Trained by Sakae Kunieda, she races for Silk Racing.

The bay swept last year's Japanese filly Triple Crown, then dominated older males in the Japan Cup (G1) in November going 2,400 meters (about 1 1/2 miles) on the Tokyo turf.

She opened her 2019 campaign with an equally impressive win in the Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (G1) at Meydan on World Cup night, then suffered only her second loss June 2, finishing third in the Yasuda Kinen (G1) after being compromised at the start.

The victory in Dubai prompted immediate speculation that Almond Eye might be the one to finally place Japan's mark on the winners' roll in the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1)—an elusive goal. Kunieda, however, said the trip to the Middle East took too much out of the filly and ruled out a European visit.

After the Tenno Sho performance, the Arc talk will renew with a vengeance.

The Tenno Sho translates to "Emperor's Prize," and Almond Eye's victory came just days after the formal accession to the Chrysanthemum Throne of Naruhito as the nation's 126th emperor. Lemaire was fully aware of the significance of the occasion.

"Personally, I'm delighted to have won the last Tenno Sho of the Heisei era and the first of the Reiwa era," Lemaire said.