Almond Eye ready for 'sayonara race' in a Japan Cup for the ages

Superstar mare Almond Eye is ready to take on her nation's rising son and daughter, along with a European challenger, in what has strong claims to be the best Japan Cup (6.40) in its 40-year history.

Sunday's barnstormer at Tokyo brings together 2018 winner and Japanese record-holder Almond Eye with this year's Triple Crown hero Contrail and Triple Tiara heroine Daring Tact, while Group 1 winner Way To Paris is an extremely welcome European raider.

The 40th running of the race is worth JPY300 million (£2.14m/€2.4m) to the winner, and British and Irish bookmakers narrowly favour Contrail over Almond Eye, whose success in this month's Tenno Sho (Autumn) for Sakae Kunieda made her the first horse on the Japan Racing Association circuit to win eight Grade 1s on turf.

Contrail is unbeaten in six starts and mopped up Japan's versions of the 2,000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger, while Daring Tact has won all five outings, including the 1,000 Guineas, Oaks and Shuka Sho, the third leg of the fillies' Triple Tiara.

She is trading at around 7-2 third favourite with British and Irish firms. Contrail is a general 13-8 and Almond Eye 2-1, while it is 20-1 bar. Way To Paris, trained in Chantilly by Andrea Marcialis and winner of this year's Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, is as big as 150-1.

While fans of Contrail and Daring Tact are likely to have 2021 to look forward to, for Almond Eye's legion of supporters, this is it – one last hurrah for the fabulous five-year-old, who has landed ten of her 14 starts for colossal career earnings of around £11.5m.

Contrail (left) toughs it out to become an undefeated Triple Crown heroCredit: Japan Racing Association

The 15 runners were put through their paces during the week, and after Almond Eye had worked under big-race rider Christophe Lemaire, the jockey said: "I feel special every time I sit on her. She was about 80 per cent fit last time, but today she's 99 per cent.

"I want to enjoy her sayonara race. I'd rather be racing in front of lots of fans but they'll cheer her on TV."

Contrail found the mile and seven furlongs of last month's Kikuka Sho a slog, winning by just a neck, but trainer Yoshito Yahagi said he has fully recovered and described his work as "fantastic".

He added: "His best distance would be a mile and a quarter, but the mile and a half at Tokyo is good for him, as he showed when winning the Derby. I'm happy to race with Almond Eye and Daring Tact – I think it's the best race in Japan this century."

Daring Tact: toughest test of career so far awaitsCredit: Japan Racing Association

Daring Tact is taking on colts and older horses for the first time, and trainer Haruki Sugiyama said: "She has to challenge at the top level now after being restricted to the three-year-old fillies category, but I'm sure she's in good enough shape for it."

Also in good shape is French outsider Way To Paris, who will be his nation's 45th runner in the Japan Cup, their only previous winner being Le Glorieux in 1987.

The seven-year-old will shortly begin his second career at Coolagown Stud in County Cork, and was ninth in the Arc last time.

Assistant trainer Zoe Pfeil reported: "The Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud was good for him because the pace was fast, but the Arc was on soft ground and the pace was so slow.

Way To Paris takes in unfamiliar surroundings under assistant trainer and work-rider Zoe PfeilCredit: Masakazu Takahashi

"We think he'll like the ground, and with his best distance being a mile and a quarter in Europe, the mile and a half here should suit.

"I don't know all of the Japanese horses but Almond Eye is well known in France. She's wonderful."

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