After a thrilling wrap to 2017, the first of the top-level races are already upon us. Tokyo Racecourse hosts the first of the two biggest dirt events in the Japan Racing Association calendar – the February Stakes. This year marks the 35th running of the 1,600-meter competition and 24 horses age 4 and up have been nominated. Sixteen of them will vie for a first-place prize of 100 million yen.
In addition to last year’s winner Gold Dream and runner up Best Warrior, this year’s gate will see a number of new faces with a lot of talent. The mood is mixed and chances are good the return on the year’s first big race will be an attractive one.
The Tokyo 1,600 meter course itself is a bit of an oddity, with the first 150 meters of the race actually over the turf. And, depending on the gate position, the difference between the inside gate and the outside gate can mean a difference in turf length of about 30 meters.
As for jockeys, no one shines of recent like Mirco Demuro. Demuro, who also won best winning average in 2017, has ridden two February Stakes winners (Gold Dream in 2017, Moanin in 2016) and is the only foreign jockey to have won the race other than Olivier Peslier (2000 and 2001). Yutaka Take holds the record for most wins of the February Stakes. He rode four winners – Gold Allure in 2003 (at Nakayama over 1,800 meters), Kane Hekili in 2006, Vermilion in 2008 and Copano Rickey in 2015. Moanin holds the race record of 1 minute, 34 seconds flat.
| 2017 Rating |
2017 Category |
2018 Rating |
2018 Category |
Horse Name | Sex & Age |
Trainer | Race | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | － | Asukano Roman(JPN) | H7 | Yoshihiko Kawamura | － | － | ||
| 112 | M | 111 | I | Awardee(USA) | H8 | Mikio Matsunaga | KAWASAKI KINEN 2017 CHAMPIONS CUP |
3 5 |
| 115 | M | － | Best Warrior(USA) | H8 | Sei Ishizaka | 2017 FEBRUARY STAKES | 2 | |
| 100 | M | － | Copano Charlie(JPN) | H6 | Akira Murayama | 2017 ASO STAKES | 1 | |
| 106 | I | 109 | M | Cosmo Canadian(JPN) | H5 | Takashi Kanari | TOKAI TV HAI TOKAI STAKES 2017 KAWASAKI KINEN |
2 3 |
| 117 | M | － | Gold Dream(JPN) | H5 | Osamu Hirata | 2017 CHAMPIONS CUP | 1 | |
| - | － | Hideno Imperial(JPN) | H6 | Tomoyuki Umeda | － | － | ||
| 113 | M | － | Incantation(JPN) | H8 | Tomohiko Hatsuki | 2017 KASHIWA KINEN | 2 | |
| 116 | I | 116 | I | K T Brave(JPN) | H5 | Tetsuya Meno | KAWASAKI KINEN 2017 TEIO SHO |
1 1 |
| 114 | M | 104 | M | Kafuji Take(JPN) | H6 | Sachio Yukubo | NEGISHI STAKES 2017 FEBRUARY STAKES |
3 3 |
| 109 | M | － | King's Guard(JPN) | H7 | Ryo Terashima | 2017 MILE CHAMPIONSHIP NAMBU HAI | 3 | |
| 107 | M | 94 | M | Lalabel(JPN) | M6 | Katsunori Arayama | TCK JO-O HAI 2017 JBC LADIES CLASSIC |
4 1 |
| 111 | S(T) | － | Let's Go Donki(JPN) | M6 | Tomoyuki Umeda | 2017 SPRINTERS STAKES | 2 | |
| 110 | M | － | London Town(JPN) | H5 | Kazuya Makita | 2017 KOREA CUP | 1 | |
| 106 | L | － | Meisho Sumitomo(JPN) | H7 | Katsumi Minai | 2017 NAGOYA GRAND PRIX | 1 | |
| 109 | M | 97 | M | Molto Bene(JPN) | H6 | Masahiro Matsunaga | TOKAI TV HAI TOKAI STAKES 2017 TOKAI TV HAI TOKAI STAKES 2017 ANTARES STAKES |
3 2 1 |
| 106 | M | － | Monde Classe(JPN) | H7 | Hidekatsu Shimizu | 2017 SOBU STAKES | 1 | |
| 112 | S | 104 | Ｍ | Nishiken Mononofu(JPN) | H7 | Yasushi Shono | 2017 JBC SPRINT | 1 |
| 109 | M | － | Nobo Baccara(JPN) | H6 | Shoichi Temma | 2017 MILE CHAMPIONSHIP NAMBU HAI | 2 | |
| 109 | M | 113 | M | Nonkono Yume(JPN) | G6 | Yukihiro Kato | NEGISHI STAKES 2017 TOKYO CHUNICHI SPORTS HAI MUSASHINO STAKES |
1 4 |
| 104 | M | － | Saita Three Red(JPN) | H5 | Masao Sato | 2017 TELE TAMA HAI OVAL SPRINT | 1 | |
| 117 | I | 102 | I | Sound True(JPN) | G8 | Noboru Takagi | KAWASAKI KINEN 2017 TOKYO DAISHOTEN |
5 1 |
| 109 | M | 110 | M | Sunrise Nova(JPN) | C4 | Hidetaka Otonashi | NEGISHI STAKES 2017 UNICORN STAKES |
2 1 |
| 116 | M | 111 | M | T M Jinsoku(JPN) | H6 | Kazuyoshi Kihara | TOKAI TV HAI TOKAI STAKES 2017 CHAMPIONS CUP |
1 2 |
1) K T Brave
2) Gold Dream
3) London Town
By Ritesh Jamkhedkar - ritesh.jamkhedkar@secretariatsworld.com