February Stakes Preview: The 1st of Japan's 24 G1 Races in 2025

The much-anticipated first Japan Racing Association Grade 1 race of 2025 takes place on Sunday, February 23, when the February Stakes will be run for the 42nd time at Tokyo Racecourse. It's a 1,600-meter race on a dirt track, although the start is on turf. 

The Champions Cup, which is run in December, is the only other JRA G1 race on dirt.

First run in 1984 as a Grade 3 race known as the February Handicap, its status was gradually elevated, and it became a domestic Grade 1 race in 1997. Ten years later in 2007, it became an international Grade 1, open to horses from overseas. In 2023, it welcomed its first runner from abroad, when Shirl's Speight from North America took on the race and finished ninth. 

Since 2016, the race has also been a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, whereby the winner receives an automatic entry to the Breeders' Cup later the same year.

Despite big races in Saudi Arabia and Dubai, there are 23 nominations for this year's Grade 1 February Stakes, with a maximum field of 16 taking part on Sunday. The race is for 4-year-olds and up, and weight is set at 58 kg, with a 2-kg allowance for fillies and mares. Cafe Pharoah holds the record time for the race, with a time of 1 minute, 33.8 seconds in 2022. 

Information about the 42nd February Stakes

Sunday's winner's check is ¥120 million JPY (nearly $800,000 USD), out of a total prize money of ¥260 million ($1.7 million).

First favorites have won the race five times in the past 10 years, and 5-year-olds have been the most successful, with four wins in that same time. 

A couple of races leading into Sunday's big race were the Grade 2 Procyon Stakes, run over 1,800 meters at Chukyo in January, and the Negishi Stakes (1,400 meters) at Tokyo early this February.

The February Stakes will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Tokyo, with a post time of 3:40 PM. 

Here's a look at some of the runners expected to be in the lineup: 

Costa Nova Has Thrived at Tokyo Racecourse

Lord Kanaloa-sired Costa Nova is unbeaten in all five of his starts at Tokyo. The 5-year-old's impressive win in the Grade 3 Negishi Stakes on February 2, although over 1,400 meters, sets him up for a big chance to capture his first Grade 1 win on Sunday. 

Assistant trainer Yu Ota said, "Things were a bit tight on the turn for home in the Negishi Stakes, but he showed what he could do by running on well to win comfortably. He came out of the race with no tiredness, and it wasn't long before he was training again as usual." 

Costa Nova is trained by Tetsuya Kimura.

Mikki Fight to Make 2025 Debut in February Stakes

Four-year-old Mikki Fight, who is trained by Hiroyasu Tanaka, is certainly heading in the right direction to become another big name for the stable. In 2024, Tanaka guided Lemon Pop to a notable national feat, winning the JRA's Best Dirt Horse award.

This will be Mikki Fight's first run of the year, after the colt's win in the Nagoya Daishoten over 2,000 meters last December. That followed his second-place finish to Forever Young two starts ago, in October 2024, in the Japan Dirt Classic at Oi. 

"He's had his usual routine, returning to the stable a month ago," assistant trainer Hiroyuki Yamazaki commented.

Yamazaki added, "He was plus 14 kilograms for his last race, so we've just been training him accordingly and checking his weight. Since some time ago, we thought he would become a better horse, and he's developing well."

Peptide Nile Returns to the Spotlight

As the winner of the February Stakes in 2024, Peptide Nile surprised at odds of 38/1. But this year, his price will be a lot shorter, as he bids for consecutive wins. Although the horse is now a 7-year-old, trainer Hidenori Take still thinks he has what it takes. 

"He's still running well, despite his age," Take said recently, "[and] he maintained his form in the latter half of [2024]. And even though the Champions Cup was a tough race, he managed to finish fifth.

"I think he can run well with just the one turn over 1,600 meters, even if the field is bunched together more."

Peptide Nile aims to become just the third horse in the history of the race to win in consecutive years, In addition, only one other horse has won the February Stakes as a 7-year-old ― Roman Prince back in 1988.

Read the rest of this article about the February Stakes and the Japanese horses in contention on JRA News.

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Author: JRA News