2019 Cox Plate Carnival Media Guide

7 JAPANESE MARE LYS GRACIEUX IS BOUND FOR THE LADBROKES COX PLATE Mystic Journey will not have matters all her own way though, especially with two strong overseas challengers in the shape of Japanese mare Lys Gracieux and Danceteria, owned by Australian Bloodstock, trained in England by the Frenchman David Menuisier and ridden by Irishman Jamie Spencer. Lys Gracieux has been given the go ahead to race in Australia by the Federal Department of Agriculture despite not quite meeting the criteria, having raced in Hong Kong in late April. But assurances over her capacity to meet bio-security conditions meant that she was given an exemption to allow her to take her place at The Valley. She is a genuine top flight mare who has proved her worth both at home and overseas. Trained by Yoshito Yahagi, the five-year-old daughter of Heart’s Cry received the invitation to the 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate because she won the Japan Racing Association’s Group 1 Takarazuka Kinen over 2200m in June, a race in which she was ridden by Melbourne-based jockey Damian Lane. She too is eligible for a bonus - in her case AUD $2 million - if she can triumph in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate as she has won one of the key overseas lead-up events nominated in the Ladbrokes Cox Plate International Series. Danceteria is another whose connections have been tempted by the riches on offer in Australia during the carnival. As his trainer, David Menuisier pointed out the Ladbrokes Cox Plate has been a long-term target since he was bought to run in the blue, black and white colours of Australian Bloodstock. AustralianBloodstock bought amajority stake inDanceteria after his first-up victory in the Listed Prix Jacques Laffitte (1800m) at Maisons-Laffitte on April 10, a testament to the patience Menuisier has shown with the son of Redoute’s Choice, who became the Australian super sire’s first Group 1winner inEuropewhenhe scored in theGrosserDallmayr- Preis - Bayerisches Zuchtrennen (2000m) at Munich on soft ground in late July. “We always felt he was a really good horse, but (when he was younger) we just felt he didn’t have the strength to do himself justice,’’ he said about the gelding, who has won seven times in his 14 starts. But it is perhaps his fifth, beaten five and a quarter-lengths, behind the champion Enable which gave his connections confidence that he might be competitive in a W.S. Cox Plate. That day he wasn’t far off the mare many people believe is now the best horse in the world. Menuisier also says having an experienced jockey like Spencer (a former British champion who was also the number one for Aidan O’Brien’s Coolmore operation earlier in his career) also makes things easier. “He absolutely loves the horse... it gives you a lot of confidence. You don’t need to sit for hours making plans, you can keep it simple.” All roads now lead to the 2019 Ladbrokes Cox Plate on October 26 at The Valley and the one thing that is certain is that a new winner will be crowned. The dawn of a new era awaits.