SINCE she was placed in the Hanshin Juvenile Fillies in 2016 as a two-year-old, Lys Gracieux has always performed competitively and consistently at the highest level. She had to be content with the runner-up spot on five separate occasions before making her Group 1 breakthrough in the Queen Elizabeth II in November of 2018.

Beaten on her first two starts in 2019, normal service then seemed to have resumed for the daughter of Heart’s Cry. But very few could have foreseen, nor predicted, her rise to the pinnacle of racing in Japan and further afield in the latter half of the year.

First of her trio of Group 1 wins in 2019 came in the Takarazuka Kinen in June. Lys Gracieux then travelled down under and successfully claimed one of Australia’s most prestigious titles, the Cox Plate. However, her best performance of the year and her career, was reserved for a devastating win in the season ending Arima Kinen. Lys Gracieux was deservedly awarded the crown of JRA Horse of the Year, receiving 271 of the 274 votes cast by racing journalists.

Retired to the breeding paddocks for 2020, fans of the four-time Group 1 winner had their chance to say farewell as she was paraded before racing at Kyoto Racecourse.

A packed stand broke into applause and laughter in equal measures when Lys Gracieux appeared in the parade ring ridden by her trainer, Yoshito Yahagi.