Japan’s Almond Eye wins Group One in Dubai

Japanese star Almond Eye has kept her unbeaten record intact in the Group One Dubai Turf.

Japanese superstar filly Almond Eye has maintained her unbeaten record in the Group One Dubai Turf at Meydan.

The Sakae Kunieda-trained four-year-old was unbeaten in five previous starts in her homeland, including top-level triumphs in the Japanese 1000 Guineas and Japanese Oaks before beating the males in November’s Japan Cup.

Making her first appearance on foreign soil on Saturday (Sunday AEDT), Almond Eye was the 6-5 favourite under regular partner Christophe Lemaire and she lived up to the billing with a dominant display.

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Lemaire buried his mount midfield for much of the nine-furlong (1800m) contest before switching her wide rounding the home turn.

While her rivals began to toil, Almond Eye was still full of running at the top of the straight under her ultra-confident rider, she quickly sealed the deal to score with plenty in hand.

“I always had those in front of me covered and I knew we were going to win from quite a long way out,” Lemaire said.

Connections of Almond Eye have already nominated the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp as a likely long-term target.