.jpg) 2023 February Stakes winner Lemon Pop | |
| Class | Grade 1 |
|---|---|
| Location | Tokyo Racecourse |
| Inaugurated | February 18, 1984 |
| Race type | Thoroughbred |
| Race information | |
| Distance | 1,600 meters |
| Surface | Dirt |
| Track | Left-handed |
| Qualification | 4-y-o+ |
| Weight | 4-y-o & up 58 kg Allowances 2 kg for fillies and mares[1] |
| Purse | ¥ 259,200,000 (as of 2025)
|
The February Stakes (フェブラリーステークス) is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan.[2]
Background
[edit]The February Stakes is a Grade 1 flat race run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 8 furlongs) at Tokyo Racecourse in late February.[2]
History
[edit]Originally inaugurated in 1984 as the February Handicap, it began as a Domestic Grade 3 race.[3] Its status steadily rose over the years: it was promoted to Domestic Grade 2 in 1994, the same year it was renamed the February Stakes.[4] In 1995, the race was opened to horses registered with Japan’s National Association of Racing (NAR), broadening the competitive field.[5] It was further elevated to Domestic Grade 1 in 1997.[4]
In 2007, the race achieved international Grade 1 status and was opened to horses trained outside Japan, significantly enhancing its global profile.[4]
Today, alongside the Champions Cup, the February Stakes is one of only two Grade 1 dirt races organized by the Japan Racing Association (JRA).[3]
In February 2025, Australian jockey Rachel King made history by becoming the first female rider to win a flat Grade 1 race in Japan.[6]
Records
[edit]Speed record:
- 1.33.8 – Cafe Pharoah (2022)
Most wins by a horse (2):
- Copano Rickey (2014, 2015)
- Cafe Pharoah (2021, 2022)
Most wins by a jockey (5):
- Yutaka Take (2003, 2006, 2008, 2015, 2019)
Most wins by a trainer (3):
- Akira Murayama (2012, 2014, 2015)
Most wins by an owner (2):
- Katsumi Yoshida (2012, 2017, 2025)
Winners
[edit]Source:[7]
| Year | Winner | Age | Jockey | Trainer | Owner | Time | Netkeiba |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GIII | |||||||
| 1984 | Robaria Amon | 5 | Masato Yoshinaga | Kichisaburo Matsuyama | Uraichi Suga | 1:40.1 | 1984 en |
| 1985 | Andre Amon | 6 | Hiroyuki Nakajima | Yasuhisa Matsuyama | Amon Inc. | 1:36.9 | 1985 en |
| 1986 | Hatsuno Amoy | 5 | Eizaburo Otsuka | Yoshio Nakazumi | Hatsutaro Nakagawa | 1:36.7 | 1986 en |
| 1987 | Rikisan Power | 6 | Masato Shibata | Kunio Takamatsu | Saburo Iwai | 1:36.5 | 1987 en |
| 1988 | Roman Prince | 7 | Sueo Masuzawa | Seizuke Sato | Long Shoji co. | 1:37.7 | 1988 en |
| 1989 | Velvet Glob | 6 | Hiroyuki Gohara | Fusamatsu Okubo | Hideo Kuribayashi | 1:37.2 | 1989 en |
| 1990 | Carib Song | 4 | Masato Shibata | Shuho Kato | Ogifushi Bokujo RC co. | 1:36.7 | 1990 en |
| 1991 | Narita Hayabusa | 4 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Kentaro Nakao | Hidenori Yamaji | 1:34.9 | 1991 en |
| 1992 | Russian Gold | 4 | Masayoshi Ebina | Yokichi Okubo | Akihiro Ohara | 1:35.4 | 1992 en |
| 1993 | Meisho Homura | 5 | Masato Shibata | Shigetada Takahashi | Yoshio Matsumoto | 1:35.7 | 1993 en |
| GII | |||||||
| 1994 | Cheers Atom | 5 | Masaru Honda | Kaoru Hoshikawa | Kiyoko Kitamura | 1:37.8 | 1994 en |
| 1995 | Lively Mount | 4 | Mamoru Ishibashi | Fujio Shibata | Tetsuo Kato | 1:36.4 | 1995 en |
| 1996 | Hokuto Vega | 6 | Norihiro Yokoyama | Takayoshi Nakano | Kanamorimori Shoji | 1:36.5 | 1996 en |
| GI | |||||||
| 1997 | Shinko Windy | 4 | Yukio Okabe | Kiyotaka Tanaka | Osamu Yasuda | 1:36.0 | 1997 en |
| 1998 | Gourmet Frontier | 6 | Yukio Okabe | Kiyotaka Tanaka | Masayoshi Ishii | 1:37.5 | 1998 en |
| 1999 | Meisei Opera # | 5 | Isao Sugawara | Shuichi Sasaki | Meisei Shoji co. | 1:36.5 | 1999 en |
| 2000 | Wing Arrow | 5 | Olivier Peslier | Yoshimi Kudo | Minoru Ikeda | 1:35.6 | 2000 en |
| 2001 | Nobo True | 5 | Olivier Peslier | Hideyuki Mori | Ikebata | 1:35.6 | 2001 en |
| 2002 | Agnes Digital | 5 | Hirofumi Shii | Toshiaki Shirai | Takao Watanabe | 1:35.1 | 2002 en |
| 2003 | Gold Allure * | 4 | Yutaka Take | Yasuo Ikee | Shadai Race Horse co. | 1:50.9 | 2003 en |
| 2004 | Admire Don | 5 | Katsumi Ando | Hiroyoshi Matsuda | Riichi Kondo | 1:36.8 | 2004 en |
| 2005 | Meisho Bowler | 4 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Toshiaki Shirai | Yoshio Matsumoto | 1:34.7 | 2005 en |
| 2006 | Kane Hekili | 4 | Yutaka Take | Katsuhiko Sumii | Makoto Kaneko | 1:34.9 | 2006 en |
| 2007 | Sunrise Bacchus | 5 | Katsumi Ando | Hidetaka Otonashi | Takao Matsuoka | 1:34.8 | 2007 en |
| 2008 | Vermilion | 6 | Yutaka Take | Sei Ishizaka | Sunday Racing | 1:35.3 | 2008 en |
| 2009 | Success Brocken | 4 | Hiroyuki Uchida | Hideaki Fujiwara | Tetsu Takashima | 1:34.6 | 2009 en |
| 2010 | Espoir City | 5 | Tetsuzo Sato | Akio Adachi | Yushun Horse Club | 1:34.9 | 2010 en |
| 2011 | Transcend | 5 | Shinji Fujita | Takayuki Yasuda | Koji Maeda | 1.36.4 | 2011 en |
| 2012 | Testa Matta | 6 | Yasunari Iwata | Akira Murayama | Katsumi Yoshida | 1.35.4 | 2012 en |
| 2013 | Grape Brandy | 5 | Suguru Hamanaka | Takayuki Yasuda | Shadai Race Horse co. | 1.35.1 | 2013 en |
| 2014 | Copano Rickey | 4 | Hironobu Tanabe | Akira Murayama | Sachiaki Kobayashi | 1.36.0 | 2014 en |
| 2015 | Copano Rickey | 5 | Yutaka Take | Akira Murayama | Sachiaki Kobayashi | 1.36.3 | 2015 en |
| 2016 | Moanin | 4 | Mirco Demuro | Sei Ishizaka | Yukio Baba | 1.34.0 | 2016 en |
| 2017 | Gold Dream | 4 | Mirco Demuro | Osamu Hirata | Katsumi Yoshida | 1.35.1 | 2017 en |
| 2018 | Nonkono Yume | 6 | Hiroyuki Uchida | Yukihiro Kato | Kazumasa Yamada | 1.36.0 | 2018 en |
| 2019 | Inti | 5 | Yutaka Take | Kenji Nonaka | Shigeo Takeda | 1.35.6 | 2019 en |
| 2020 | Mozu Ascot | 6 | Christophe Lemaire | Yoshito Yahagi | Capital System | 1.35.2 | 2020 en |
| 2021 | Cafe Pharoah | 4 | Christophe Lemaire | Noriyuki Hori | Koichi Nishikawa | 1.34.4 | 2021 en |
| 2022 | Cafe Pharoah | 5 | Yuichi Fukunaga | Noriyuki Hori | Koichi Nishikawa | 1.33.8 | 2022 en |
| 2023 | Lemon Pop | 5 | Ryusei Sakai | Hiroyasu Tanaka | Godolphin | 1.35.6 | 2023 en |
| 2024 | Peptide Nile | 6 | Yusuke Fujioka | Hidenori Take | Kazuhiko Numakawa | 1:35.7 | 2024 en |
| 2025 | Costa Nova | 5 | Rachel King | Tetsuya Kimura | Katsumi Yoshida | 1:35.5 | 2025 en |
# Meisei Opera, winner of the 1999 race, belongs to the National Association of Racing(NAR) but not Japan Racing Association(JRA).
* The 2003 race took place at Nakayama Racecourse in distance of 1,800m.
* The 2003 race took place at Nakayama Racecourse in distance of 1,800m.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ February Stakes
- ^ a b "List of JRA Graded Races 2025｜List of JRA Graded Races｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ a b "February Stakes winner gets Breeders' Cup Entry - SAHorseracing.COM - South African Horseracing and Betting". www.sahracing.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ a b c "2015.02.17 2015 February Stakes (G1) - Preview - News - Horse Racing in Japan". japanracing.jp. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "February Stakes | Past Winners | Results | Japan". www.skyracingworld.com. 2025-02-23. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "Rachel King Makes History as First Female Jockey to Win Grade 1 Race in Japan". 24 February 2025.
- ^ "フェブラリーS". Netkeiba.