All Eyes on Japan's Almond Eye in Dubai Turf
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Photo: Mathea Kelley/Dubai Racing Club
Almond Eye March 27 at Meydan
The proof will be in the pudding but it's possible the best horse at Meydan on Dubai World Cup night March 30 will be Almond Eye, a filly who will take on males in the $6 million Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (G1).
At least that's the hope of Japanese fans, who are counting on the 4-year-old Lord Kanaloa filly, heroine of last November's Japan Cup in Association with Longines (G1), to carry their banner in yet another assault on the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) this fall in Paris. After watching her sweep her five starts last year, including a sweep of Japan's filly Triple Crown races, hopes are higher than ever thanks to Almond Eye.
But first things first: a start in the Dubai Turf, an 1,800-meter (about 1 1/8-mile) turf race Saturday at Meydan to begin her 4-year-old campaign. Make no mistake, her sophomore season was spectacular.
After an easy win in January, Almond Eye rather easily ran the table in four straight grade 1 races: The Oka Sho or Japanese 1000 Guineas, the Yushun Himba or Japanese Oaks, the Shuka Sho and the Japan Cup, where she easily whipped a field of older horses in 2:20.6--lowering the course record by 1.5 seconds. She was clear in all five scores.
The second- and third-place horses in the Japan Cup, Suave Richard and Cheval Grand, also are entered on the World Cup card but they'll run in the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic at 1 1/2 miles, rather than the 1 1/8 miles of the Dubai Turf.
No wonder she is mentioned in the same breath as Winx and Enable.
"We don't yet know her limits," said jockey Christophe Lemaire. "She can become unique in the horse racing story. She can become the horse of a lifetime, like Winx is to (jockey) Hugh Bowman ... and Zenyatta to Mike Smith."
Lemaire said the filly has worked well over the Meydan turf. "The track in Dubai is very much like in Japan," he added.
Trainer Sakae Kunieda said the hope is to continue an international campaign with Almond Eye. "Maybe the Arc d'Triomphe will be the target," he said.
The Dubai Turf field should test Almond Eye, who enters off a four-month layoff. Not the least of her worries will be two other Japanese runners—Vivlos and Deirdre, who were second and a dead-heat third in last year's Dubai Turf behind Benbatl (GB). Vivlos, who won the Dubai Turf in 2017, went on to finish second to Beauty Generation in the Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1) in December. Deirdre was second in the Longines Hong Kong Cup (G1) on that same program.
The Godolphin team is represented by Saeed bin Suroor's duo of Dream Castle and Mountain Hunter and the Charlie Appleby-trained Wootton. Dream Castle, a 5-year-old Frankel gelding, has gone 3-for-3 during the Carnival, culminating in a victory in the Jebel Hatta Sponsored by Emirates Airline (G1) over the distance on Super Saturday. Wootton was second in that race. Mountain Hunter steps up in class after two wins in a row.
Aidan O'Brien brings I Can Fly from Ireland. The 4-year-old Fastnet Rock filly was second behind Roaring Lion in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes Sponsored by Qipco on British Champions Day at Ascot in October, then was off the board in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) at Churchill Downs. She warmed up for this with a win on the Dundalk all-weather surface.
A few eyebrows were raised when Almond Eye was entered for the Dubai Turf, rather than the $6 million Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) at 1 1/2 miles—the distance at which she won the Japan Cup. Kunieda said Lemaire suggested the filly would be better served by starting her 4-year-old season at the shorter distance.
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That leaves nine for the Sheema Classic, which arguably is the deeper race. Among those nine are the aforementioned Japanese rivals, Suave Richard and Cheval Grand, as well as two-time grade 1 winner Rey de Oro. The latter is owned by former Seattle Mariners pitcher Kazuhiro Sasaki.
O'Brien has Magic Wand and Hunting Horn for the Sheema Classic. Magic Wand, a 4-year-old Galileo filly, was fourth in the Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) in November, then second in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1T) at Gulfstream Park in her most recent start. Hunting Horn, a 4-year-old by Camelot, exits a third-place finish in the H. H. the Emir's Trophy Feb. 19 in Doha, Qatar.
The longest race on the night is the Dubai Gold Cup Sponsored by Al Tayer Motors (G2) at 3,200 meters (about two miles) on the grass, featuring Godolphin's Cross Counter, winner of the Lexus Melbourne Cup (G1) Nov. 6. That two-mile race was a breakthrough for the 4-year-old Teofilo colt and he and trainer Charlie Appleby still have something to prove in this company which includes runners from Hong Kong, South Africa and France as well as the third-place horse from the Melbourne Cup, Prince of Arran.
Southern California-based trainer John Sadler will send out San Marcos Stakes (G2T) winner Platinum Warrior.