Wikipedia

February Stakes

February Stakes
フェブラリーステークス
2023 February Stakes winner Lemon Pop
ClassGrade 1
LocationTokyo Racecourse
InauguratedFebruary 18, 1984
Race typeThoroughbred
Race information
Distance1,600 meters
SurfaceDirt
TrackLeft-handed
Qualification4-y-o+
Weight4-y-o & up 58 kg
Allowances
2 kg for fillies and mares[1]
Purse¥ 259,200,000 (as of 2025)
  • 1st: ¥ 120,000,000
  • 2nd: ¥ 48,000,000
  • 3rd: ¥ 30,000,000

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

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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

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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

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Speed record:

Most wins by a horse (2):

  • Copano Rickey (2014, 2015)
  • Cafe Pharoah (2021, 2022)

Most wins by a jockey (5):

Most wins by a trainer (3):

  • Akira Murayama (2012, 2014, 2015)

Most wins by an owner (2):

Winners

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Year
 Winner
 Age
 Jockey
 Trainer
 Owner
 Time
G3 - February Handicap
1984 Robaria Amon 5 Masato Yoshinaga Kichisaburo Matsuyama Uraichi Suga 1:40.1
1985 Andre Amon 6 Hiroyuki Nakajima Yasuhisa Matsuyama Amon Inc. 1:36.9
1986 Hatsuno Amoy 5 Eizaburo Otsuka Yoshio Nakazumi Hatsutaro Nakagawa 1:36.7
1987 Rikisan Power 6 Masato Shibata Kunio Takamatsu Saburo Iwai 1:36.5
1988 Roman Prince 7 Sueo Masuzawa Seizuke Sato Long Shoji co. 1:37.7
1989 Velvet Glob 6 Hiroyuki Gohara Fusamatsu Okubo Hideo Kuribayashi 1:37.2
1990 Carib Song 4 Masato Shibata Shuho Kato Ogifushi Bokujo RC co. 1:36.7
1991 Narita Hayabusa 4 Norihiro Yokoyama Kentaro Nakao Hidenori Yamaji 1:34.9
1992 Russian Gold 4 Masayoshi Ebina Yokichi Okubo Akihiro Ohara 1:35.4
1993 Meisho Homura 5 Masato Shibata Shigetada Takahashi Yoshio Matsumoto 1:35.7
G2 - February Stakes
1994 Cheers Atom 5 Masaru Honda Kaoru Hoshikawa Kiyoko Kitamura 1:37.8
1995 Lively Mount 4 Mamoru Ishibashi Fujio Shibata Tetsuo Kato 1:36.4
1996 Hokuto Vega 6 Norihiro Yokoyama Takayoshi Nakano Kanamorimori Shoji 1:36.5
G1 - February Stakes
1997 Shinko Windy 4 Yukio Okabe Kiyotaka Tanaka Osamu Yasuda 1:36.0
1998 Gourmet Frontier 6 Yukio Okabe Kiyotaka Tanaka Masayoshi Ishii 1:37.5
1999 Meisei Opera # 5 Isao Sugawara Shuichi Sasaki Meisei Shoji co. 1:36.5
2000 Wing Arrow 5 Olivier Peslier Yoshimi Kudo Minoru Ikeda 1:35.6
2001 Nobo True 5 Olivier Peslier Hideyuki Mori Ikebata 1:35.6
2002 Agnes Digital 5 Hirofumi Shii Toshiaki Shirai Takao Watanabe 1:35.1
2003 Gold Allure * 4 Yutaka Take Yasuo Ikee Shadai Race Horse co. 1:50.9
2004 Admire Don 5 Katsumi Ando Hiroyoshi Matsuda Riichi Kondo 1:36.8
2005 Meisho Bowler 4 Yuichi Fukunaga Toshiaki Shirai Yoshio Matsumoto 1:34.7
2006 Kane Hekili 4 Yutaka Take Katsuhiko Sumii Makoto Kaneko 1:34.9
2007 Sunrise Bacchus 5 Katsumi Ando Hidetaka Otonashi Takao Matsuoka 1:34.8
2008 Vermilion 6 Yutaka Take Sei Ishizaka Sunday Racing 1:35.3
2009 Success Brocken 4 Hiroyuki Uchida Hideaki Fujiwara Tetsu Takashima 1:34.6
2010 Espoir City 5 Tetsuzo Sato Akio Adachi Yushun Horse Club 1:34.9
2011 Transcend 5 Shinji Fujita Takayuki Yasuda Koji Maeda 1.36.4
2012 Testa Matta 6 Yasunari Iwata Akira Murayama Katsumi Yoshida 1.35.4
2013 Grape Brandy 5 Suguru Hamanaka Takayuki Yasuda Shadai Race Horse co. 1.35.1
2014 Copano Rickey 4 Hironobu Tanabe Akira Murayama Sachiaki Kobayashi 1.36.0
2015 Copano Rickey 5 Yutaka Take Akira Murayama Sachiaki Kobayashi 1.36.3
2016 Moanin 4 Mirco Demuro Sei Ishizaka Yukio Baba 1.34.0
2017 Gold Dream 4 Mirco Demuro Osamu Hirata Katsumi Yoshida 1.35.1
2018 Nonkono Yume 6 Hiroyuki Uchida Yukihiro Kato Kazumasa Yamada 1.36.0
2019 Inti 5 Yutaka Take Kenji Nonaka Shigeo Takeda 1.35.6
2020 Mozu Ascot 6 Christophe Lemaire Yoshito Yahagi Capital System 1.35.2
2021 Cafe Pharoah 4 Christophe Lemaire Noriyuki Hori Koichi Nishikawa 1.34.4
2022 Cafe Pharoah 5 Yuichi Fukunaga Noriyuki Hori Koichi Nishikawa 1.33.8
2023 Lemon Pop 5 Ryusei Sakai Hiroyasu Tanaka Godolphin 1.35.6
2024 Peptide Nile 6 Yusuke Fujioka Hidenori Take Kazuhiko Numakawa 1:35.7
2025 Costa Nova 5 Rachel King Tetsuya Kimura Katsumi Yoshida 1:35.5
# 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.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ February Stakes
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ a b "February Stakes winner gets Breeders' Cup Entry - SAHorseracing.COM - South African Horseracing and Betting". www.sahracing.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  4. ^ a b c "2015.02.17 2015 February Stakes (G1) - Preview - News - Horse Racing in Japan". japanracing.jp. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  5. ^ "February Stakes | Past Winners | Results | Japan". www.skyracingworld.com. 2025-02-23. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  6. ^ "Rachel King Makes History as First Female Jockey to Win Grade 1 Race in Japan". 24 February 2025.
  7. ^ "フェブラリーS". Netkeiba.
  8. ^ "February Stakes". Netkeiba.