Lord Kanaloa Filly Wins Japan Cup

Tara Madgwick - Monday November 26

To sire a Japan Cup winner from your first crop is a fairytale start to a stud career for a Japanese sire and it's a feat achieved by former champion sprinter miler Lord Kanaloa, whose outstanding three year-old filly Almond Eye took out the prestigious 2400 metre contest on Sunday.

Almond Eye - JRA

Almond Eye - JRA

Trained by Sakae Kunieda and ridden by Christophe- Patrice Lemaire, Almond Eye scored a dominant length and three quarter win in the brilliantly fast time of 2.20.06, breaking the Tokyo course record.

She is only the second three-year-old filly to win the Cup and, like previous champion filly Gentildonna in 2012, did so after capturing the Triple Crown with wins in the Shuka Sho, Oka Sho (Japanese 1000 Guineas) and the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks) earlier in the season.

Almond Eye has the overall record of six wins and a second from seven starts.

She comes with a big female pedigree and is the best of seven winners from stakes-winning Sunday Silence mare Fusaichi Pandora, a grand-daughter of influential North American matriarch Sex Appeal, the dam of triple Group I winner El Gran Senor and Group I winner Try My Best, the sire of champion sire Last Tycoon (IRE).

Almond Eye is the best offspring to date for Lord Kanaloa, who was the Champion Japanese First Season Sire in 2017.

By the Kingmambo stallion King Kamehameha, Lord Kanaloa has four Australian yearlings bred by Arrowfield and partners, one of which is entered for Magic Millions. Lot 266 is a bay colt from Japanese winner Vaslissa, a half-sister to Japanese stakes-winner Tricolore Bleu from English Group III winner Penkenna Princess.

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