Japanese superstar Almond Eye is set to make her return to racing next month having returned to full training after an aborted trip to Dubai last month and is now slated to run in the Grade 1 Victoria Mile on May 17 in her comeback.
The Sakae Kunieda-trained five-year-old will return to the Japan Racing Assocation’s Miura Training Center on Thursday to prepare for the 1600m race at Tokyo on May 17.
Almond Eye hasn’t raced since finishing ninth, beaten considerably by 11 lengths by Lys Gracieux, in the G1 Arima Kinen (2500m) on December 22.
She was set to defend her crown in the G1 Dubai Turf (1800m) but those plans fell through when the Dubai World Cup meeting was abandoned just one week out from the internationally-acclaimed race due to the corona virus pandemic.
Speaking to Yahoo.jp this week, Kunieda was upbeat about Almond Eye’s return.
“There are no abnormalities in the horse’s body, including the legs,” he said.
Having travelled well back to her native Japan, Almond Eye has had 10 career starts for seven wins, six coming at Group level.
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