page_title: Lys Gracieux
section_title: 2019: five-year-old season
hierarchical_section_title: Lys Gracieux / Racing career / 2019: five-year-old season
caption_attribution_description: ダミアン・レーン騎手（2019年5月26日東京第6競走口取り）Damian Lane Jockey at Tokyo Racecourse.
context_page_description: Lys Gracieux is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. As a two-year-old in 2016 she showed top-class form, winning two of her four starts and finished second in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies. In the following year she failed to win but was placed in several major races including the Oka Sho and the Shuka Sho. As a four-year-old she won the Tokyo Shimbun Hai and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup as well as running second in the Victoria Mile and the Hong Kong Vase and was awarded the JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare. In 2019 she had her most successful season as she took the Takarazuka Kinen in Japan and the Cox Plate in Australia before ending her track career with a victory in the Arima Kinen. Lys Gracieux is the third highest earning racehorse in the world among the racehorses born in 2014.
context_section_description: On her first run as a five-year-old in the Grade 2 Kinko Sho over 2000 metres at Chukyo Racecourse on 10 March she started at odds of 7.7/1 in a thirteen-runner field and finished second to the four-year-old colt Danon Premium. For her next run the mare was sent to Hong Kong for the second time to contest the Queen Elizabeth II Cup over 2000 metres at Sha Tin. Ridden by Oisin Murphy she was restrained in mid-division before making progress in the straight and came home third behind Win Bright and Exultant, beaten a length by the winner. On her return to Japan she was one of twelve horses to contest the 60th running of the Takarazuka Kinen over 2200 metres at Hanshin on 23 June. She was partnered by Damian Lane and went off the 4.4/1 third choice in the betting behind Kiseki (2017 Kikuka Sho) and Rey de Oro, while the other contenders included Al Ain, Suave Richard and Makahiki. After racing in second place behind the front-running Kiseki, Lys Gracieux challenged the favourite in the straight, gained the advantage 200 metres from the finish and drew away in the closing stages to win by three lengths. Lane commented "She broke well and I thought I might as well use that to my advantage. I was very confident turning in that she had plenty left in the tank and I was worried that there were a lot of good horses chasing and I thought that they would challenge but she was just too strong".
  In the autumn of 2019 Lys Gracieux was sent to Australia to contest the Cox Plate over 2,040 metres at Moonee Valley on 26 October. She was given a special exemption to compete as horses who had raced in Hong Kong were banned from entering Australia unless they had spent at least 180 days in a third country in the interim, after the Australian Government raised concerns over China’s biosecurity regulations. With Lane again in the saddle she was made the 6/4 favourite against thirteen opponents including Mystic Journey (Australian Guineas), Castelvecchio (Champagne Stakes (ATC)), Magic Wand (runner-up in the Irish Champion Stakes), Avilius (Tancred Stakes), Danceteria (Bayerisches Zuchtrennen), Verry Elleegant (Australian Oaks), Cape of Good Hope (Caulfield Stakes) and Kings Will Dream (Turnbull Stakes). Lys Gracieux raced towards the rear before beginning to make rapid progress on the outside approaching the final turn. She overhauled the three-year-old Castelvecchio 70 metres from the finish and kept on well to win by one and a half lengths. After the race Yoshito Yahagi said "I was confident beforehand as she has thrived since she arrived in Australia and was in even better form than when she was in Japan. I've been wanting to win this race for many years, ever since I saw Kingston Town win in 1982... I thought she was not going to make it, but Damian is a top jockey and Lys Gracieux is a very good horse. We will aim her at the Arima Kinen".
  As Yahagi had suggested, Lys Gracieux ended her season in the Arima Kinen over 2500 metres at Nakayama on 22 December. Ridden by Lane she went off the 5.7/1 second favourite behind Almond Eye in a sixteen-runner field which also included Saturnalia, World Premiere, Suave Richard, Fierement, Kiseki, Rey de Oro, Cheval Grand and Al Ain. Lane settled the mare on the inside rail towards the rear of the field as Aerolithe set a fast pace, and then switched to the outside in the straight. Lys Gracieux accelerated into the lead just inside the last 200 metres and drew right away from her opponents to win easily by five lengths. Lane said  "I just had so much confidence in this horse... I just knew she was going to run a big race. It was a really good pace and I found a lovely spot back in the rail... a space opened up and she did the rest".
  In January 2020 Lys Gracieux was awarded the title of Japanese Horse of the Year, receiving 271 of the 274 votes as well as winning the  JRA Award for Best Older Filly or Mare for the second time. In the 2019 World's Best Racehorse Rankings Lys Gracieux was given a rating of 126, making her the fifth best racehorse in the world. Lys Gracieux is the third highest earning rac
caption: Damian Lane, who rode Lys Gracieux to her three major wins in 2019
exif: {}