3 minute read

The dominant win by Japanese star Lys Gracieux in the $5 million WS Cox Plate at Moonee Valley has turned attention to her sire Heart's Cry, one of the budding giants of world breeding.

With the demise this year of Japan's leading stallions Deep Impact and King Kamehama and Stay Gold having passed on in 2015, only three of the top six stallions on Japan's current general sires' premiership remain active.

They are Heart's Cry, Lord Kanaloa and Rulership, sire of the G1 Caulfield Cup winner and leading Melbourne Cup contender Mer De Glace.

Deep Impact,  who died in July at the age of 17 just a week before the sudden passing of King Kamehameha,  is assured of his eighth successive domestic sires title with some 212 winners of 291 races and progeny earnings this year of a staggering $US56 million to October 27.

With Lys Gracieux claiming the Cox Plate first prize prizemoney of $3 million plus a $2 million bonus her sire Heart's Cry has moved to second place with current stats of 186 winners of 300 races and earnings of more than $US27 million.

In third place by prizemoney is King Kamehameha's son and heir apparent Lord Kanaloa (168 winners/268 wins) ahead of Stay Gold, like Deep Impact and Heart's Cry a son of the legendary Sunday Silence and remaining an influence three years after his passing with 108 winners of 186 races.

The late King Kamehameha is in fifth place (131 winners of 206 races) and rounding out the top six is another of his sons Rulership (116/177).

With Australian racing now awake to the depth and strength of Japanese breeding we should expect to see more progeny by Heart's Cry finding their way into our system, either as direct descendants purchased from Japan for racing or stud use or through Australian breeders sending mares to him to be covered to southern hemisphere time.

Heart's Cry has been an outstanding and prolific sire since he went to stud in 2007, producing more than 710 winners from 1058 runners including 10 G1 winners among 40 individual stakes winners.

His progeny have won more than 100 JRA races in Japan every year for six seasons in succession and he has been a top five stallion on the general sires premiership every season since 2014.

He has had only eight runners in Australia but his impact has been notable as they include two G1 winners, Lys Gracieux and the 2014 Caulfield Cup winner Admire Rakti, and the stakes placed A Shin Rook.

A winner over Deep Impact in the G1 Arima Kinen in 2005, Heart's Cry also won the Dubai Sheema Classic in 2006 among his five wins in 19 starts and was placed in the Japan Derby, Japan Cup and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the UK.

Bred and raced by the Yoshida family's Shadai Farm, he was sired by Sunday Silence, the 1989 Kentucky Derby winner who became Japan's champion sire 13 times. Heart's Cry is from the Tony Bin mare Irish Dance, a G3 winner with Northern Dancer blood on her female side.

In the northern hemisphere his G1 stars include Yoshida, a dual G1 winner in America on both turf and dirt in the Turf Classic at Churchill Downs and Woodward Stakes at Saratoga.

Standing at the Shadai Stalion Station since 2007, Heart's Cry is also the sire of other notable G1 winners Cheval Grand (Japan Cup), Just A Way (Teno SHo Autumn, Yasuda Kinen, Dubai Duty Free); Suave Richard (Osaka Hai); One And Only (Tokyo Yushun–Japan Derby); Nuovo Record.(Yushin Himba-Japanese Oaks); Win Variation (Nikkei Sho); Admire Rakti (Caulfield Cup) and Time Flyer (Hopeful Stakes).

The 5YO mare Lys Gracieux is now a triple G1 winner with the Cox Plate complementing her Takarazuka Kinen and Queen Elizabeth II Cup wins and G1 placings in the Oka Sho, Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, Victoria Mile, Shuka Sho, Hong Kong Vase and Hong Kong Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

Trained by Yoshita Yahagi for her owners Carrot Farm, Lys Gracieux (Heart's Cry x Liliside by American Post) has earned more than $A11.5 million from her six wins and 12 placings in 21 career starts.

She is one of five winners from the French stakes winner Liliside (American Post), a sister to the Listed winner Lily America and half sister to the G3-placed The Wise Lady (Ganges).

The Wise Lady is the dam of the G3 winner Ming Zhi Cosmos (Duke Of Marmalade) and Listed winner Melodyman (Green Tune) and is the granddam of G1 winner Robin Of Navan (American Post).

Heart's Cry stood in Japan on a fee of $A108,000 in 2019.