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 - JRATrained 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.


Advertisment
More Reading...
Almond Eye Makes the Dubai Turf Her Own
The Japanese love to showcase their best on the world stage and they don’t come much better than Almond Eye.
Sires With Winners - Thursday June 19
Here is the full list of 37 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Tassort 2YO Wins on Debut in NZ
Shaune Ritchie and Colm Murray wouldn’t usually present a horse to the races without a trial, but that indicated how much they thought of Love The Sort, and she bolted in on debut at the Cambridge Synthetic on Wednesday.
One to Watch – Gosford
Hawkesbury trainer Blake Ryan is known for sourcing nice yearlings and turning them over at the two year-old breeze up sales, but a Written Tycoon colt purchased from Inglis Easter for $425,000 has remained in the stable and made a winning debut at Gosford on Thursday.
Breeding To Win - 2025 Royal Ascot G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes
In the depths of our Aussie winter nights there is nothing better than tuning in to all the pomp and glory of Royal Ascot and as we have passed the halfway mark it's time to look towards Saturday night and the iconic sprint that has been won four times previously by an Aussie bred horse.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Rosehill
It’s a busy time of year for late season juveniles looking get a run on the board before they turn three and eight heats at the Rosehill trials on Friday were won by two year-olds including some unraced youngsters by gun first season sires Wootton Bassett (GB), Ole Kirk and Farnan.
Lord Kanaloa's Tagaloa Eyes Off The Magic Millions 2yo Classic
Lord Kanaloa’s champion daughter Almond Eye will not make the trip to Sha Tin for the Hong Kong Cup after spiking a temperature however Lord Kanaloa’s 2yo son Tagaloa did make it to Moonee Valley on Saturday to open his winning account in the Strath Haven Preston Plate (1000m).
New 2YO Stakes Winner for Hello Youmzain
The Listed John Turkington Forestry Castletown Stakes (1200m) was one of the few age-group features in the lower North Island that was missing from Lisa Latta’s CV, but the fast-improving filly Platinum Diamond dealt to that unfinished business at Otaki on Friday.
Coolmore 2YO Domination at Royal Ascot
Coolmore continued their domination of the juvenile features at Royal Ascot overnight with an impressive win in the Group II Norfolk Stakes (5f) for Charles Darwin, the full brother to 2022 Champion European 2YO Colt Blackbeard.
Royal Ascot Day 3 – Record Smashed and Bluebloods
More glamour and galloping overnight at Royal Ascot with four Group races decided and the Coolmore juggernaut won three of them, but not the prized feature on the card, the Group I Ascot Gold Cup (2m4f) which was won in dazzling course record time.