Heavy favorite Almond Eye won the 15th running of the Victoria Mile on Sunday to tie the all-time record for most Grade 1 victories by a Japanese racehorse on turf.
Ridden by jockey Christophe Lemaire, Almond Eye finished the 1,600-meter race at Tokyo Racecourse in 1 minute and 30.6 seconds, four lengths ahead of fourth-favorite Sound Chiara.
With seven G1 titles, including her win in last year's Dubai Turf, she is tied for the Japanese record with six other horses, including Deep Impact.
Making her first start of the year, the win was her first G1 victory since October's Tenno-sho.
"Almond Eye is a legendary horse. She is special," Lemaire said. "We started the race well today and kept a good position. She ran at her own pace."
"Her career is not over, so I think she can win a G1 again."
Fifth-favorite Normcore finished third, a neck behind Sound Chiara, with Trois Etoiles coming fourth.
Almond Eye was scheduled to compete at the Dubai Turf in March, but the race was canceled due to the new coronavirus pandemic. The 5-year-old mare's previous race was last year's Arima Kinen where she finished ninth.