FROM: Junichi Takada
General Manager, Media & Publicity Department, THE JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION (JRA)DATE: November 29, 2020

SUBJECT: RESULT OF THE 40TH JAPAN CUP (G1)
The Japan Cup, in its 40th year, continues to attract some of the top turf horses from around the world—67
runners from North America, 146 from Europe, 26 from Oceania and five from Asia—while a number ofrunners have made this race their starting point towards further international success in following years.
Last year’s version was won by Suave Richard (JPN, by Heart’s Cry), marking his second G1 victory afterclaiming the Osaka Hai (G1, 2,000m) in 2018. Behind in second was three-year-old filly Curren
Bouquetd’or who registered her third runner-up effort at the G1 level—the other two were the Yushun Himba(Japanese Oaks, 2,400m) and the Shuka Sho (2,000m)—and was followed by 2018 Tokyo Yushun (JapaneseDerby, G1, 2,400m) victor Wagnerian (JPN, by Deep Impact) in third.
This year, the Japan Cup welcomed French contender Way To Paris. After finishing second to subsequent
Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (G1, 2,400m) winner Sottsass (FR, C4, by Siyouni) in the Prix Ganay (G1,2,100m) in June, the gray registered his first group-one title in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (2,400m) before
turning in a ninth in his latest start, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Meanwhile, the focus was centered on the three Triple Crown winners. Three-year-old filly Daring Tactclaimed the Shuka Sho (G1, 2,000m; Oct.18) to become the sixth filly to capture the fillies’ Triple Crown title
and moreover, the first in JRA history to do so undefeated. Contrail, with his Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger,
G1, 3,000m; Oct.25) victory, also added his name in the history book as the third undefeated Triple Crown
winner and the eighth colt to sweep all three titles. Both strived in becoming the first undefeated Japan Cupwinner.
While capturing a consecutive Tenno Sho (Autumn) (G1, 2,000m; Nov.1) title this year, the fillies’ Triple
Crown winner of 2018 Almond Eye became the first JRA horse ever to capture eight G1 turf titles over turf.
The legendary mare aimed for her second Japan Cup victory following her 2018 win before capping off her
brilliant racing career.
Also, from the Tenno Sho (Autumn), fifth-place finisher Kiseki made his second Japan Cup challenge
following a runner-up effort behind Almond Eye in 2018.
Last year’s Japan Cup runner-up Curren Bouquetd’or was second in her previous start, the All Comers (G2,2,200m; Sep.27) in which two-time G3 winner Crescendo Love and 2018 Japan Cup fifth-place finisher
Mikki Swallow finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
2019 Hong Kong Vase (G1, 2,400m) champion Glory Vase came off a win in the Kyoto Daishoten (G2,2,400m; Oct.11), followed by Kiseki in second and the Naruo Kinen (G3, 2,000m) winner Perform aPromise in sixth.
Last year’s Japan Cup fifth-place finisher You Can Smile came off a fourth in the Copa Republica Argentina(G2, 2,500m; Nov.8), his kick-off start of his fall campaign.
Also among the field were: 2019 Kikuka Sho victor World Premiere who commenced his four-year-old
season in the Japan Cup after finishing third in last year’s Arima Kinen; 2016 Tokyo Yushun champion
Makahiki, coming off an 11th in his previous Osaka Hai start in April; Taurus Gemini who came off aneighth in the Fukushima Kinen (G3, 2,000m; Nov.15); and Yoshio, making first start on turf since his debut
start while registering 6-4-11 out of 67 starts on dirt.
The 40th Japan Cup (G1) in association with LONGINES – Japan Autumn International –3-year-olds & up, 2,400 meters (about 12 furlongs), turf, left-handed
Sunday, November 29, 2020
Tokyo Racecourse
12th Race
Post Time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 648,000,000 (about US$ 6,000,000 <US$1=¥108>)3-y-o: 55 kg (about 121 lbs), 4-y-o & up: 57 kg (about 126 lbs)
2 kg allowance for Fillies & Mares, 2 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2017
Course Record: 2:20.6
Race Record: 2:20.6 [Almond Eye (JPN), 2018]
Safety factor: 18 runners
Going: Firm
Weather: Cloudy

S&AColor
Wgt

FP

BKPP

HorseJockey

122

Almond Eye (JPN)
Christophe Lemaire

2

4

6

Contrail (JPN)
Yuichi Fukunaga

M5b.
55.0
C3br.
55.0

335

Daring Tact (JPN)
Kohei Matsuyama

F3br.
53.0

41

1

Curren Bouquetd'or (JPN)
Akihide Tsumura

5815

Glory Vase (JPN)
Yuga Kawada

623

World Premiere (JPN)
Yutaka Take

747

Mikki Swallow (JPN)
Keita Tosaki

834

Kiseki (JPN)
Suguru Hamanaka

F4b.
55.0
H5d.b.
57.0
C4d.b.
57.0
H6b.
57.0
H6d.b.
57.0

9712

Makahiki (JPN)
Kosei Miura

H7b.
57.0

1058

Way To Paris (GB)*
Mirco Demuro

11610

Perform a Promise (JPN)
Mirai Iwata

H7g.
57.0
H8ch.
57.0

12713

You Can Smile (JPN)
Yasunari Iwata

H5b.
57.013611

Crescendo Love (JPN)
Hiroyuki Uchida

1459

Taurus Gemini (JPN)
Hironobu Tanabe

15814

Yoshio (JPN)
Masaki Katsuura

H6b.
57.0
C4b.
57.0
H7b.
57.0

Sire
Dam(Dam’s Sire)

Owner
BreederTrainer2(38.9)Lord Kanaloa
Fusaichi Pandora(Sunday Silence)
Deep Impact
Rhodochrosite(Unbridled's Song)
Epiphaneia
Daring Bird
(KingKamehameha)
Deep Impact
Solaria(Scat Daddy)
Deep Impact
Mejiro Tsubone(Swept Overboard)
Deep Impact
Mandela(Acatenango)
Tosen Homareboshi
Madre Bonita(Jungle Pocket)
Rulership
Blitz Finale(Deep Impact)

226.1
(11)

Neck(35.1)

Deep Impact
Wikiwiki(French Deputy)

136.9
(9)

2-1/2
(35.1)312.5(12)1(35.6)Champs Elysees
Grey Way(Cozzene)
Stay Gold
I'll Be Bound(Tanino Gimlet)

101.1
(8)

1(35.7)King Kamehameha
Mood Indigo(Dance in the Dark)

432.9
(14)

2(37.0)

460.3
(15)

1-3/4
(37.5)

321.6(13)

DS(40.0)

Silk Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Racing
Sakae Kunieda
Shinji Maeda
North Hills Co,. Ltd.
Yoshito Yahagi
Normandy Thoroughbred
Racing Co., Ltd.
Hasegawa BokujoHaruki Sugiyama
Takashi Suzuki
Shadai Farm
Sakae Kunieda
Silk Racing Co., Ltd.
Lake Villa Farm
Tomohito Ozeki
Ryoichi Otsuka
Northern Racing
Yasuo Tomomichi
Mizuki Noda
Northern Farm
Takanori Kikuzawa
Tatsue Ishikawa
Shimokobe Farm
Katsuhiko Sumii
Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co.,Ltd.
Kaneko Makoto Holdings Inc.
Yasuo Tomomichi
Paolo Ferrario
NoDataAndrea Marcialis
Sunday Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Farm
Hideaki Fujiwara
Kaneko Makoto Holdings Co.,Ltd.
Kaneko Makoto Holdings Inc.
Yasuo Tomomichi
Hiroo RacePANGLOSS Y.K.
Toru Hayashi
S.ShibaharaKawakami Bokujo
Satoru Kobiyama
Yusuke Iwami
Japan Racing Association
Hideyuki Mori

Odds(Fav)

Margin(L3F)

2.2
(1)

2:23.0(34.7)

2.8
(2)

1-1/4
(34.3)

3.7(3)

Neck(34.4)

24.9
(5)

Nose(34.8)

17.2
(4)

Neck(35.2)

45.4
(7)

3(35.0)

216.2
(10)

Neck(34.7)

44.6
(6)

Stay Gold
Higher Love
(Sadler's Wells)
King's Best
Erimo Etoilee(Manhattan Cafe)
Johannesburg
Floral Home
(Came Home)

FP: Final Position / BK: Bracket Number / PP: Post Position / S&A: Sex & Age / Wgt: Weight (kg) / L3F: Time of Last 3 Furlongs (600m) /DS=Distance
Color: b.=bay / bl.=black / br.=brown / ch.=chestnut / d.b.=dark bay / d.ch.=dark chestnut / g.=gray / w.=white
NOTE 1: *Foreign contender
NOTE 2: Figures quoted under Odds are shown in form of decimal odds (single unit is ¥100), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 27,274,334,600
Pay-off (for ¥100)
Win
No.2
No.2
Place
No.6
No.5

¥ 220
¥ 110
¥ 110
¥ 120

Bracket Quinella
Quinella PlaceTurnover for the Day: ¥ 37,169,195,300

2-4
2-6
2-55-6

¥ 350
¥ 170
¥ 190
¥ 220

Quinella
ExactaTrio
Trifecta

Attendance: 4,604

2-6
2-6
2-5-6
2-6-5

¥ 330
¥ 610
¥ 300
¥ 1,340

Winner= 15 starts, 11 wins, 2 seconds, 1 third / Added money: ¥ 303,234,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 1,915,263,900

Almond Eye Crowns Spectacular Career with Japan Cup Victory
Race favorite Almond Eye claimed this year’s Japan Cup, the first race in history to feature three Triple
Crown winners, while capping off a brilliant career. The 2018 fillies’ Triple Crown winner boasts a JRA
record of eight JRA-G1 victories and nine G1 triumphs overall when adding the 2019 Dubai Turf title tothe list. Topping Kitasan Black’s record, she has marked the most career earnings of JPY 1,915,263,900
as of today. This Japan Cup victory is trainer Sakae Kunieda’s 19th JRA-G1 title while jockey Christophe
Lemaire celebrates his 35th JRA-G1 and third Japan Cup victory—with Vodka (2009) and Almond Eye(2018). Lemaire has also won four G1 titles in a row after the Tenno Sho (Autumn) win with the starmare this year, the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with Lucky Lilac and the Mile Championship with Gran
Alegria which adds up to a total of eight G1 wins in a single year, a tie to his own 2018 record.
Breaking smoothly from stall two, Almond Eye traveled in fourth to fifth on the rails in the backstretch
while 2018 Japan Cup runner-up Kiseki set a strong pace outdistancing the rest of the field by a good 20lengths. With Kiseki still up front, the others drifted out rounding the final turn, giving the star mare, whoentered the lane in third, a clear path to launch her bid. Under confident handling by Christophe Lemaire,for the last time Almond Eye displayed her signature turn of foot to take command 150 meters out anddrew away to triumph by 1-1/4 lengths.
“She looked good since arriving at the racecourse—she has definitely matured mentally. We wereworried about the rough going near the rails, but Christophe did a good job in finding a good path. Thepace was ideal for Almond Eye and her response was totally different from that in the Tenno Sho(Autumn). Since expectations of an eighth G1 title were enormous in her last Tenno Sho start, we did feelpressure but today, all we wanted was for her to come back safe and sound. The victory is such a bonus,
we couldn’t be happier. She has given us so much excitement and joy and it has been fulfilling to be apart of her career. It would be great if I could be involved in training her colt or filly someday,”commented trainer Sakae Kunieda.
“Since this was her final start, it was very special for me and I’m thrilled we were able to win. After
winning the Victoria Mile in the spring, we had three weeks to get her prepared for the Yasuda Kinen inwhich she was second. She had an extra week this time and was tuned up beautifully. She was relaxed in
the gate, broke smoothly and was able to sit in a good position. The turf condition near the rails was muchbetter than last week so I don’t think the inner draw was a problem. The pace was just right for her andshe responded well in the stretch. The others closing in on us didn’t worry me at all. Almond Eye is aperfect mare and doesn’t have any weak points. Her career as a race horse ended today but I look forward
to riding her children,” said jockey Christophe Lemaire.
This year’s Triple Crown winner Contrail ran in mid-field a couple of lengths behind rival Daring Tactand was on her heels at the final turn. Sent off second favorite, the undefeated colt unleashed an explosive
kick down the middle of the straight pinning Glory Vase and Curren Bouquetd’or in the final strides,
while holding off the strong challenge by Daring Tact and finished second, his first defeat in his eighth
career start.
Third favorite and fillies’ Triple Crown champion Daring Tact was settled in mid-field up to the last
corner, was bumped by Contrail 300 meters out and was forced to alter her path to squeeze between
rivals but accelerated strongly thereon, tagging Glory Vase in the final strides and nosing out Curren
Bouquetd’or at the wire for a neck third.

Reluctant to load, ninth favorite and French contender Way To Paris broke from stall eight, sat at the far
rear and improved position in the stretch but never reached contention, finishing 10th.
“Everything was different from what he’s used to when racing at home, so he was very nervous and took
a lot of time to get into the stall. He broke poorly and even though the pace was so fast, he did respond in
the last 300 meters. He was used up trying to get into the stall and the bad break also affected theoutcome,” commented Zoe Pfeil after the race.
“The horse seemed laid back up to the gate. He just didn’t want to get in and got worked up,” added
Mirco Demuro.
Other Horses:
4th: (1) Curren Bouquetd’or—ran inside Daring Tact, angled out for stretch run, chased eventual winnerand rallied with two three-year-old Triple Crown winners for runner-up seat, weakened before wire
5th: (15) Glory Vase—traveled in 4th, accelerated at stretch and sustained bid after overtaken by eventualwinner, weakened in final strides
6th: (3) World Premiere—hugged rails around 10th, showed effort but no match for top finishers
7th: (7) Mikki Swallow—raced in 12th, passed tired rivals at stretch
8th: (4) Kiseki—set fast pace, led until 150m out, outrun thereafter
9th: (12) Makahiki—saved ground in 13th, showed effort but was checked 200m out
11th: (10) Perform a Promise—sat around 10th, even paced
12th: (13) You Can Smile—settled 2nd from rear, circled wide, unable to reach contention
13th: (11) Crescendo Love—traveled near eventual winner, never fired at stretch
14th: (9) Taurus Gemini—chased leaders in 3rd, ran out of steam at top of stretch
15th: (14) Yoshio—tracked distant leader in 2nd, faded after 3rd corner
Fractional time (sec./furlong):

12.7 - 10.8 - 11.8 - 11.3 - 11.3 - 11.5 - 11.8 - 11.9 - 12.1 - 12.3 - 13.2 - 12.3
Last 4 furlongs: 49.9
Last 3 furlongs: 37.8

Positions at each corner:

1st corner
2nd corner
3rd corner
4th corner

4-14-9(2,15)11(1,5)-6(3,10)-7-12,13,8
4=(9,14)-15(2,11)5,1-6,3,10,7-12,13,8
4=(15,9)(2,11)14(1,5)-6,3,10,7-(12,13)8
4=(15,9)(2,11)1-(3,5)6(12,7)(14,10,13)8

NOTE 1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse.
NOTE 2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses inside
the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicate that there isdistance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.