Breeding & Racing Magazine

Cox Plate Could Head to Japan Again

Following last year’s superb win by Lys Gracieux, any hopes by locals that it was a one-off raid by Japan’s trainers is likely to be put to the test with two exceptional mares possibilities to target the Moonee Valley weight-for-age showpiece. Lys Gracieux’s trainer Yoshito Yohagi has already indicated he is keen to bring Gr1 Japan Oaks heroine Loves only You, a full-sister to Gr1 winner Real Steel, a shuttler to Arrowfield Stud last year. On Sunday at Hanshin in Japan, Chrono Genesis emerged as a genuine Cox Plate contender when smashing her rivals by 6-lengths in the Gr1 Takarazuka Kinen (2200m), one of the country’s most sought-after Gr1 events. Now a dual Gr1 winner after capturing last year’s Shuka Sho (2000m) and only unplaced once from seven Group 1 races contested, Chrono Genesis automatically qualified for the Cox Plate with Sunday’s victory.