Japan Horse Racing Tips-Umanity.jp|NAKAYAMA KINEN(G2) is held this weekend

Grade 1 horseracing action in Japan returns for the first time in 2019, when the February Stakes will be run at Tokyo Racecourse next Sunday (February 17). The 36th running of the race kicks off the top level races which increase in frequency from March. The February Stakes is run over a mile on the dirt course, although the start is on turf, just off the main oval dirt track. The race was originally known as the February Handicap back in 1984, when it was a Grade 3. It was upped to Grade 2 status in 1994, when it became known as the February Stakes. Final changes came when it was made a Grade 1 race in 1997, and an international Grade 1 in 2007.

This year there have been 18 nominations for a maximum field of 16, and another competitive field of top class dirt horses looks sure to line up at Tokyo on Sunday. The race is for 4-year-olds and up, with a set weight of 57 kg, with fillies and mares claiming a 2 kg allowance. Since the year 2000, nine 5-year-olds have won, while next best have been 4-year-olds, claiming the race seven times over that period. First favorites lack a bit of a grip on the race, with just three winning in the last ten years, the last being Copano Rickey in 2015. Record time for the February Stakes is 1 minute 34.0 seconds, set by Moanin in 2016.

Some of the step races leading up to this year’s February Stakes have included the Grade 1 Tokyo Daishoten, held at Oi last December over 2,000 meters, the Grade 3 Negishi Stakes over 1,400 meters at Tokyo in January, and the Grade 2 Tokai TV Hai Tokai Stakes run over 1,800 meters at Chukyo, also last month. A number of the runners are coming off runs in these races and will be battling it out again for this Sunday’s ¥100 million winner’s check. The February Stakes will be Race 11 on the Sunday card at Tokyo, with a post time in Japan of 15.40.

Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to head the betting market:

Inti: Something of a revelation on the dirt racing scene in Japan, Inti keeps being given stronger tests and keeps passing them with flying colors, as the 5-year-old has now won six straight races, five of them as favorite. His latest win came in the Grade 2 Tokai TV Hai Tokai Stakes over 1,800 meters at Chukyo in January. Trainer Kenji Nonaka is hoping the horse can give him his first Grade 1 victory. “It was a real test for him last time, but he got to the front and put in a strong run to win the race. There’s a slight concern with him racing left-handed and how he corners out of the backstretch, but I was satisfied enough last time,” the trainer said. Inti will be ridden by four time February Stakes winner, Yutaka Take.

Gold Dream: The 6-year-old needs no introduction to racing fans in Japan, taking out the Grade 1 dirt double of the February Stakes and the Champions Cup in 2017, as well as finishing second in last year’s February Stakes. He’s finished first or second in his last six races, and his recent partner, Christophe Lemaire, will be in the saddle again. Trainer Osamu Hirata commented on the horse: ”It’s been the usual pattern with him, giving him a break at Northern Farm Shigaraki. He came back to the stable on the 23rd of last month, and everything’s fine with him, including a piece of uphill work in around 52 seconds on the 30th, when he moved very well.”

Omega Perfume: The 4-year-old colt by Swept Overboard has only been unplaced once in nine starts (which have included five wins) and that was when he was fifth in last year’s Grade 1 Champions Cup. The Shadai Farm bred colt was a great buy at the 2017 Chiba Thoroughbred Sale. His trainer Shogo Yasuda said, “He had a break at the farm after the Tokyo Daishoten, and has come back refreshed, weighing about 460 kg, which is good for his workload. I’m not worried about the race over 1,600 meters at Tokyo.”

Copano Kicking: Nanako Fujita will make history when she rides Copano Kicking on Sunday, becoming the first ever female JRA jockey to ride in a Grade 1 race. Copano Kicking is an American bred by Spring At Last, and has won his last four races, which have included two Grade 3s, the latest the Negishi Stakes over 1,400 meters at Tokyo in January. All three Grade 1 wins for trainer Akira Murayama have come in the February Stakes, and he’s hoping he can grab the headlines here. He recently commented: “The horse took up a good position in his last race before going on to win well. It was a strong performance, and while not perfect, it shows me he’s capable of running a good race from any position.”

Sunrise Soar: The Symboli Kris S 5-year-old chased home Best Dirt Horse for 2018 Le Vent Se Leve to finish third in last year’s Grade 1 Champions Cup, and is a horse that likes to be prominent in a race and give it his all, no matter what the distance. He’ll be ridden for the first time on Sunday by jockey Hironobu Tanabe, who teams up with trainer Hiroshi Kawachi. The trainer said, “In the horse’s races last autumn, he didn’t win, but put in some good runs against Grade 1 performers. He’s getting better as he matures, and he hasn’t been losing weight between his last workouts and getting to the track on race days.”
A couple of other horses should also be mentioned. Worthy of note is the other Sunrise runner, Sunrise Nova, and last year’s February Stakes winner, Nonkono Yume. While the former could only finish eighth last time in the Grade 3 Negishi Stakes, it shouldn’t detract from his overall good record of finishing in the first three 13 times from 20 starts, and a generally good track record at Tokyo. Nonkono Yume would just need a slightly better break from the gate and to not be too far behind turning for home, when the now 7-year-old gelding really finds his best turn of foot to finish strongly down the long Tokyo homestraight.

On Jan. 8, Almond Eye was announced as a double winner for the JRA Awards for 2018. Almond Eye won both the Japan Racing Association's Horse of the Year for 2018 and Best Three-Year-Old Filly award. In the voting for the Horse of the Year award, Almond Eye received all 276 votes.

The Horse of the Year title is the highest honor given to JRA-registered race horses and is selected by the Horse of the Year Selection Committee represented by journalists of various dailies and magazines.

The JRA Awards ceremony will be held on January 28.

Heavy favorite Saturnalia won his first G1 title while undefeated in three career starts since debuting in June and coming off his latest victory in the Hagi Stakes in October. The son of legendary sprinter Lord Kanaloa is out of Cesario, winner of the Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks)-American Oaks double in 2005, who has also produced two previous G1 winners, Epiphaneia [2013 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St. Leger), 2014 Japan Cup] and Leontes [2015 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes]. Trainer Kazuya Nakatake claimed his second career JRA-G1 title after saddling Jo Cappuccino to victory in the 2009 NHK Mile Cup. Jockey Mirco Demuro landed his fourth G1 victory of the season and 28th overall—his latest being the Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes with Admire Mars.

Saturnalia broke sharply to secure a good position among the front group, allowed Cosmo Calendula to set a considerably slow pace while settling well a length behind in second position early. Still unhurried as the field began to close in before the final turn, the Lord Kanaloa colt found another gear passing the furlong pole, instantly dislodged Admire Justa 100 meters out and drew away easily to a 1-1/2-length victory to conclude his two-year-old debut season with three wins in as many starts.

“I feel great. I knew I was riding the strongest two-year-old of the season but it was his first time over 2,000 meters so I was a little worried. He really showed his strength though squeezing his way through the narrow opening. I am really looking forward to his three-year-old season,” commented Mirco Demuro.

Admire Justa broke smoothly and was positioned smartly outside the eventual winner in third, moved up to close in on the leader rounding the third corner, sprinted out to take command in the early stretch but was unable to sustain his bid as the winner flew past his outside while holding well for second.

Nishino Daisy took advantage of an inside draw and saved ground inside at the heel of the eventual winner as the three top favorites formed the front group chasing Cosmo Calendula. The Harbinger colt dropped back briefly as the runners outside began to make headway approaching the last corner but showed impressive turn of speed to come out from between horses and track the winner once again, just short of pinning Admire Justa.

Other Horses:
4th: (13) Cosmo Calendula—set slow pace, showed tenacity until 100m pole, weakened in final strides
5th: (2) Breaking Dawn—raced in 6th behind winner, in contention with leaders at top of stretch, weakened in last 200m
6th: (11) Vin de Garde—sat 2nd from rear, checked at early stretch, met traffic 200m out, quickened thereafter
7th: (4) Hiruno Dakar—ran 3-wide in 7th, turned to straight in good striking position, failed to respond
8th: (3) King Listeia—was off slow, trailed in rear, advanced on outer route, passed tired rivals
9th: (7) Mikki Black—settled in 10th, made headway after 3rd corner, found little room at early stretch, even paced
10th: (10) Madre Voice—traveled in 11th, lacked needed kick
11th: (9) Just a Gigolo—raced 4-wide in 9th, checked at final corner, lost momentum
12th: (6) Hakusan Taiyo—hugged rails in 8th, outrun after 3rd corner
13th: (12) Tanino Drama—sat 4-wide in 5th, faded after 3rd corner

There’s one last piece of Grade 1 action in Japan on Friday, Dec. 28, to round out 2018, when the Hopeful Stakes will be run at Nakayama Racecourse. The race is for 2-year-olds and is run over 2,000 meters on the inner turf course. Nominations for the final Grade 1 of the year are 17 in total, and it looks to be a strong looking field of colts, bidding to prove themselves worthy of a tilt at next year’s Classic races, the first of which for the colts is also held at Nakayama – the Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas). Connections will have this in mind when they take on this Friday’s race.

This year sees the 35th running of the race, which has had a varied history so far. Formerly run at the Hanshin track over 1,600 meters, the distance was changed to 2,000 meters in 1991. The race was run at Hanshin up until 2013, after which it was moved to Nakayama, and got its current name after the switch in venues. It was formerly known as the Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai Stakes. It received the ultimate accolade just last year when it was promoted to Grade 1 status.

Some famous horses have started their careers by marking victories in the Hopeful Stakes – Agnes Tachyon (2000), Victoire Pisa (2009), One and Only (2013), and Rey de Oro (2016), to name a few. The latter also holds the race record since it has been run at Nakayama, when he won in a time of 2 minutes, 1.3 seconds. A couple of favorites have scored since the race moved to Nakayama, the latest being Time Flyer last year. All runners are set to carry 55kg.

Lead-up races to this year’s Hopeful Stakes have included the Open Class Hagi Stakes, run over 1,800 meters at Kyoto in October, as well as the Grade 3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes, run over 1,800 meters, and the Grade 3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai Stakes, run over 2,000 meters, both those races being run in November. There are JPY70 million up for grabs for the winner, and the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes will be Race 11 on Friday’s card at Nakayama, with a post time of 15:30 local time.

Here’s a look at some of the runners expected to catch the eye:

Saturnalia: A half brother to Epiphaneia (2012 race winner and 2014 Japan Cup winner), Saturnalia has started his career with two wins from two starts, the latest being the Hagi Stakes over 1,800 meters at Kyoto in October. He also notched a good win on his debut over a mile at Hanshin in June. The Lord Kanaloa colt is highly regarded at the stable of trainer Kazuya Nakatake. “He came back to the stable at the beginning of this month from Northern Farm Shigaraki. He’s just a 2-year-old, so a little playful. In recent work, the woodchip course was a little heavy, but it didn’t matter at all, and he ran very well. He gets his power from his hindquarters and seems different to other horses,” said assistant trainer Yasuyuki Tsujino.

Nishino Daisy: The Harbinger colt has already won two Grade 3 races, including his latest race, the Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes over 1,800 meters in November. He started eighth in the betting that day, taking a few people by surprise. His trainer, Noboru Takagi, said, “There wasn’t a horse that really wanted to go on in that race, but he bided his time and didn’t get irritated. Overall it was a good win with some strong horses in the race.” Trained at Miho Training Center, Nishino Daisy clocked a five furlong time of 67.9 seconds on the woodchip course on Dec. 20, with a final furlong time of 12.7 seconds. “His movement is good and he’s in great shape. He’s run in Sapporo, and I think he’ll be suited to Nakayama,” the trainer said.

Admire Justa: An expensive purchase at the 2016 Select Sale, Admire Justa has already proved his price tag might not be that high. A two-time winner from three starts (he finished second in his other race on his debut in June), the powerful colt weighs in at around 500kg, and is coming off a win in the Shigiku Sho last time, over 2,000 meters at Kyoto in October. The Just a Way colt was bred at Northern Farm and is trained by Naosuke Sugai. Jockey Christophe Lemaire has partnered the horse twice already and is expected to take the ride on Friday.

Breaking Dawn: Trainer Kazuya Nakatake has another possible runner in the well-bred colt, Breaking Dawn. The trainer is currently in second spot in the trainers’ table, and amazingly he only has one Grade 1 victory to his name, that being Jo Cappuccino in the NHK Mile Cup back in 2009. Breaking Dawn is by Victoire Pisa, and has just had the two starts, winning on his debut at Hanshin over 1,800 meters in June, and then finishing second in the Grade 3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai Stakes over 2,000 meters in November. The colt is expected to be ridden by this year’s Derby winning jockey, Yuichi Fukunaga.

Mikki Black: The Black Tide colt is two wins from three starts, and one of his wins came over the course and distance of the Hopeful Stakes, when he won the Open Class Fuyo Stakes two starts ago in September. He finished fourth most recently over 2,000 meters in the Grade 3 Radio Nikkei Hai Kyoto Nisai Stakes. Visiting jockey Oisin Murphy, who notched a double at Nakayama last Saturday, is lined up for the ride.
Vin de Garde: Racing in the Shadai Race Horse Co. Ltd. colors, the Deep Impact colt made his debut just in September, when he won at Hanshin over 1,600 meters. In his only other race, he finished third to Nishino Daisy in the Grade 3 Tokyo Sports Hai Nisai Stakes over 1,800 meters in November. He might not be the biggest of horses, but he packs a punch. He’s trained by leading trainer, Hideaki Fujiwara, and Cristian Demuro is expected to ride him again this time.