By Heather Anderson
Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) pounced inside the final 50 metres and earned her first Group 1 tally in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Kyoto on Sunday. The Carrot Farm runner was sent off as the 9-2 third choice after being placed at the top level four times earlier in her career. The pacesetting Crocosmia (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) clung stubbornly to second a neck behind, while last year's winner, Mozu Katchan (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) was three lengths back in third.
The dark bay settled in midpack two off the fence and was content to bide her time behind splits of :23.5, :49.1, and 1:13.90 set by Crocosmia. Tenth rounding the final bend in the 2200-metre feature, the 4-year-old improved a spot 400 metres from home and was absolutely flying late under Joao Moreira. She surged past Crocosmia close home and was always holding the game frontrunner.
“Today was her day,” said Moreira, who was winning the first Group 1 of his short-term license and had just marked his 100th JRA winner earlier on the card. “We were in a good position, two off the fence, and she had plenty left in the tank after angling out at the last turn. Under pressure, she responded very well and I had every confidence from the 300-meter point
that we were going to win. She's a real champion.”
The Yoshito Yahagi trainee kicked off her year with a win in the G3 Tokyo Shimbun Hai in February, and ran a solid third to Miss Panthere (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn}) in the G2 Sankeisports Hai Hanshin Himba S. at Hanshin on Apr. 7. She went one better in the G1 Victoria Mile-her fourth placing at the Group 1 level in her career on May 13. Only eighth in Tokyo's G1 Yasuda Kinen at the beginning of June, Lys Gracieux was off just over four months, but returned to play bridesmaid in the G2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba S. on Oct. 13 before Sunday's score.
Pedigree Notes…
Lys Gracieux is the ninth Group 1 winner by Heart's Cry (Jpn), who has celebrated a pair of Grade I wins this term by his son Yoshida (Jpn) in the GI Turf Classic S. and the GI Woodward S. Out of the three-time French listed heroine Liliside (Fr) (American Post {GB}), Lys Gracieux is followed by half-sister Satono Comet (Jpn) (Daiwa Major {Jpn), who has won twice to date and a 2-year-old filly by Orfevre (Jpn). Liliside is a half-sister to the dam of GSW Ming Zhi Cosmos (Fr) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) and SW Melodyman (Fr) (Green Tune). Italian highweight and G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud victor Robin of Navan (Fr) (American Post {GB}) is also under the second dam. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
Sunday, Kyoto, Japan
QUEEN ELIZABETH II CUP-G1, ¥204,660,000 (US$1,798,635/£1,392,185/€1,588,785), Kyoto, 11-11, 3yo/up, f, 2200mT, 2:13.10, fm.
1–LYS GRACIEUX (JPN), 123, f, 4, by Heart's Cry (Jpn)
1st Dam: Liliside (Fr) (MSW-Fr, $144,882),
by American Post (GB)
2nd Dam: Miller's Lily (Fr), by Miller's Mate (GB)
3rd Dam: Lymara (Fr), by Lyphard
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Carrot Farm; B-Northern Farm (Jpn);
T-Yoshito Yahagi; J-Joao Moreira; ¥108,612,000. Lifetime
Record: 16-4-6-3. Werk Nick Rating: F. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Crocosmia (Jpn), 123, m, 5, by Stay Gold (Jpn)
1st Dam: Developpe (Jpn), by Boston Harbor
2nd Dam: Shoei Mizuki (Jpn), by Nashwan
3rd Dam: Arvola (GB), by Sadler's Wells
O-Ryoichi Otsuka; B-Kojima Farm (Jpn); ¥43,032,000.
3–Mozu Katchan (Jpn), 123, f, 4, by Harbinger (GB)
1st Dam: Site Dealer (Jpn), by King Kamehameha (Jpn)
2nd Dam: Best Boot, by Storm Boot
3rd Dam: Bright Tiara, by Chief's Crown
O-Capital System; B-Meguro Farm (Jpn); ¥26,516,000.
Margins: NK, 3, NK. Odds: 3.70, 40.80, 2.60.
Also Ran: Red Genova (Jpn), Normcore (Jpn), Cantabile (Jpn), Frontier Queen (Jpn), Corcovado (Jpn), Smart Layer (Jpn), Vafuram (Jpn), One Breath Away (Jpn), Miss Panthere (Jpn), Reiho Romance (Jpn), Admire Lead (Jpn), Eterna Minoru (Jpn), Happy Yunibansu (Jpn), Primera Azul (Jpn).
Click for the Racing Post chart. JRA Video.
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