Lys Gracieux Crowned Horse of the Year in Japan
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Photo: Masakazu Takahashi
Lys Gracieux wins the Arima Kinen Grand Prix at Nakayama
Lys Gracieux has been named Japan's 2019 Horse of the Year in a landslide, garnering 271 of the 274 votes from Japanese racing journalists. The previous year's winner, Almond Eye, received only two votes this time around.
As a 5-year-old last year, the Yoshito Yahagi-trained Lys Gracieux won the Takarazuka Kinen (G1) by three lengths before landing her first top-level score abroad in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate (G1) in Australia. The mare then easily won the Dec. 22 Arima Kinen (G1), with Almond Eye back in ninth, though that rival was heavily eased once her chance of winning had gone.
Lys Gracieux was also named best older mare after her impressive haul of three group/grade 1 strikes.
Yahagi said: "I was proud to receive such a prestigious award as a trainer, and I would like to say thank you to Lys Gracieux.
"I am a little sad at her retirement, but I expect her future success as a mother."
Her retirement ceremony will be held Jan. 19 at Kyoto Racecourse, where the daughter of Heart's Cry gained her first top-level victory in the 2018 Queen Elizabeth II Cup (G1).