FROM: Media & Publicity Department, THE JAPAN RACING ASSOCIATION (JRA)DATE: February 18, 2024

SUBJECT: RESULT OF THE 41ST FEBRUARY STAKES (G1)
Japanese horse racing, which is influenced by British racing, is held mainly on turf. However, dirt tracks
that were popular in the U.S., quickly became widely used around the country since the Tokyo
Racecourse implemented a new dirt track in 1960. While the mainstream of major JRA races remained
over turf, the February Stakes (then called February Handicap), which was established in 1984 inconjunction with the new grading system, was one of just three graded dirt races at the time—the current
number of graded dirt events is 15. The race was upgraded to G2 in 1994 and then to G1 in 1997, andstood as the highest-prized event until the Japan Cup Dirt (called the Champions Cup from 2014) took
over in 2000. The race also joined the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in 2016, enabling its winners toearn automatic starting position in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1, dirt, 2,000m).
Past winners include Wing Arrow (JPN, by Assatis; ’00), Agnes Digital (USA, by Crafty Prospector; ’02),Gold Allure (JPN, by Sunday Silence; ’03), Admire Don (JPN, by Timber Country; ’04), Kane Hekili(JPN, by Fuji Kiseki; ’06), Vermilion (JPN, by El Condor Pasa; ’08), Espoir City (JPN, by GoldAllure; ’10), Transcend (JPN, by Wild Rush; ’11), Copano Rickey (JPN, by Gold Allure; ’14&’15), GoldDream (JPN, by Gold Allure; ’17), Cafe Pharoah (USA, by American Pharoah; ’21&’22) and Lemon Pop(USA, by Lemon Drop Kid; ’23)—all twelve are winners of multiple-G1 races as well as JRA Awardwinners.
Last year’s edition welcomed the first foreign participant in the race’s history, Shirl’s Speight (USA, bySpeightstown) from North America, who finished ninth.
Although defending champion Lemon Pop was pointed towards the Saudi Cup (G1, dirt, 1,800m) to beheld a week later instead, this year’s lineup included proven dirt specialists such as Omega Guiness whocame off a second in the trial Tokai Stakes (G2, dirt, 1,800m), marking 3-2-0 out of all his five career
starts, as well as last year’s Champions Cup (G1, dirt, 1,800m) runner-up Wilson Tesoro, 2022 Hopeful
Stakes (G1, 2,000m) winner Dura Erede and 2023 JBC Classic (dirt, 2,000m) champion King’s Sword
who finished second, third and fifth, respectively, in the year-end Tokyo Daishoten (G1, dirt, 2,000m,Dec.29). The field also included two-time graded victor Don Frankie; last year’s runner-up Red le Zel;
2022 St. Lite Kinen (G2, 2,200m) victor Gaia Force who ran over dirt for the first time in this race; 2023
Kashiwa Kinen (dirt, 1,600m) runner-up Tagano Beauty; and three contenders from the NAR—Igniter,
Mick Fire and Speedy Kick.
THE 41ST FEBRUARY STAKES (G1)4-year-olds & up, 1,600 meters (about 8 furlongs), dirt, left-handed
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Tokyo Racecourse
11th Race
Post time: 15:40
Total prize money: ¥ 259,200,000 (about US$ 1,839,000 <US$1=¥141>)
4-y-o & up: 58kg (about 128 lbs), 2kg allowance for Fillies & Mares,
1 kg allowance for Southern Hemisphere-bred born in 2020
Course Record: 1:33.5
Race Record: 1:33.8 [Cafe Pharoah (USA, by American Pharoah), 2022]
Safety factor: 16 runnersGoing: Standard
Weather: Fine
FP

BKPP

HorseJockey

159B

Peptide Nile (JPN)
Yusuke Fujioka

247

Gaia Force (JPN)
Yoshihito Nagaoka

348Sekifu (JPN)
Yutaka Take

4510B

Tagano Beauty (JPN)
Shu Ishibashi

S&A
Color
Wgt

Odds(Fav)

Margin(L3F)

H6b.
58.0
H5g.
58.0
H5ch.
58.0

38.0
(11)

1:35.7(37.5)

13.0
(5)

1-1/4
(37.2)

48.2(13)

Neck(36.4)

H7b.

17.1
(7)

Nose(37.0)

Sire
Dam(Dam’s Sire)

Owner
BreederTrainer

King Kamehameha
Queen Olive(Manhattan Cafe)
Kitasan Black
Natale(Kurofune)
Henny Hughes
Siyabona(Kingmambo)

Kazuhiko Numakawa
Kineusu Bokujo
Hidenori Take
KR JapanOiwake Farm
Haruki Sugiyama
Akira Nakatsuji
Bamboo Stud
Koshiro Take

Henny Hughes
Special Dinner

Ryoji Yagi
Ryoji Yagi

5611

King's Sword (JPN)
Mirai Iwata

6713

Red le Zele (JPN)
Yuichi Kitamura

723

Mick Fire (JPN)
Takayuki Yano

8714

Wilson Tesoro (JPN)
Kohei Matsuyama

9815

Don Frankie (JPN)
Kenichi Ikezoe

10816

Alpha Mom (JPN)
Rachel King

1111Igniter (JPN)
Atsuya Nishimura

1224

Dura Erede (JPN)
Bauyrzhan Murzabayev

13612

Speedy Kick (JPN)
Norifumi Mikamoto

1435

Omega Guiness (JPN)
Christophe Lemaire15

36

Karate (JPN)
Akira Sugawara

16

12Champagne Color (JPN)
Hiroyuki Uchida

58.0
H5b.
58.0
H8b.
58.0
C4b.
58.0
H5b.
58.0
H5ch.
58.0
M5b.
56.0
H6b.
58.0
C4d.b.
58.0
M5ch.
56.0
C4ch.
58.0
H8d.b.
58.0
C4ch.
58.0

9.4
(4)

1/2(37.0)

13.5(6)3(36.9)34.4(9)Nose(37.6)

3.9(2)

Head(38.5)

36.0
(10)

Head(38.7)

41.7
(12)

3/4(37.0)

34.1
(8)

Neck(38.6)

5.5
(3)

Neck(38.5)

107.0
(15)

5(38.9)

3.2
(1)

1-3/4
(39.5)

122.1(16)

2(39.2)

61.3
(14)

1/2
(40.0)(Special Week)
Sinister Minister
Kings Berry(King Halo)
Lord Kanaloa
French Noir
(French Deputy)
Sinister Minister
Mariage(Brian's Time)
Kitasan Black
Chesutoke Rose(Uncle Mo)
Daiwa Major
Weemissfrankie(Sunriver)
Majestic Warrior
Diopside(Fuji Kiseki)Espoir City
Bianco(Warning)
Duramente
Marchesa(Orfevre)
Taisei Legend
Desert Flower(Silent Deal)
Logotype
Start Up(Harbinger)
To the Glory
Lady no Punch(French Deputy)
Duramente
Memorial Life(Reckless Abandon)

Masato Nishizono
Hidaka Breeders Union Co., Ltd.
Nisshin Farm
Ryo Terashima
Tokyo Horse Racing Co., Ltd.
Shadai Farm
Takayuki Yasuda
Koichi Hoshika
Kazuyoshi Yamagami
Kazuo Watanabe
Ryotokuji Kenji Holdings Co., Ltd.
Ryoken Farm
Hitoshi Kotegawa
Makoto Hayano
Northern Racing
Takashi Saito
Yu Hirai
Kanaishi Stud
Shozo Sasaki
Yoshiki NodaHaruki Farm
Masashi Atarashi
Three H Racing Co., Ltd.
Northern Racing
Manabu Ikezoe
Suzuyuki Kato
Suzuyuki Kato
Tomoyuki Fujihara
Reiko Hara
Shadai Farm
Naru Owada
Hikaru Odagiri
Yuichi Odagiri
Yasuyuki Tsujino
Yoichi Aoyama
Yoichi Aoyama
Tsuyoshi Tanaka

FP: Final Position / BK: Bracket Number / PP: Post Position / B: Blinker / S&A: Sex & Age / Wgt: Weight (kg) / L3F: Time of Last 3 Furlongs(600m)
Color: b.=bay / bl.=black / br.=brown / ch.=chestnut / d.b.=dark bay / d.ch.=dark chestnut / g.=gray / w.=white
NOTE 1: No Foreign Contenders.
NOTE 2: Figures quoted under Odds are shown in form of decimal odds (single unit is ¥100), and Fav indicates the order of favorites.

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 16,594,747,000

Turnover for the Day: ¥ 27,588,163,900

Attendance: 48,432

Pay-off (for ¥100)
WinPlace

No.9¥ 3,800

No.9

¥ 850

No.7

¥ 510

No.8

¥ 1,030

Bracket Quinella
Quinella Place

4-5¥ 6,140

Quinella

7-9¥ 27,850

7-9¥ 5,500

Exacta9-7¥ 62,030

8-9¥ 11,050

Trio

7-8-9

¥ 197,060

7-8¥ 4,820

Trifecta

9-7-8¥ 1,530,500

Winner= 20 starts: 8 wins, 1 second & 1 third / Added & stakes money: ¥ 123,612,000 / Career earnings: ¥ 262,596,000

Eleventh Pick Peptide Nile Upsets in Dirt G1 February Stakes
Lightly regarded Peptide Nile turned in an astonishing performance in claiming his first G1 title in thisyear’s February Stakes. After debuting in January as a three-year-old, the son of King Kamehameha wastransferred to dirt racing from his third start and immediately showed potential with a three-race winningstreak, but was only able to claim a win in his four-year-old campaign. Last season, including the Onuma
Stakes (Listed, dirt, 1,700m) and the Betelgeuse Stakes (Listed, dirt, 1,800m), the bay landed three winsand had just come off a sixth in his latest outing, this year’s Tokai Stakes (G2, dirt, 1,800m) on January

21. The six-year-old has given his trainer Hidenori Take, who opened his yard in 2018, his seventh
flat-race graded title and first G1 victory while jockey Yusuke Fujioka celebrates his second JRA-G1 win
since his NHK Mile Cup triumph with Keiai Nautique in 2018.
First to enter the dirt track was Don Frankie who led the 16-horse field with a fast pace all the way into
the stretch while Wilson Tesoro, Igniter, Dura Erede and Peptide Nile sat in close pursuit. Shiftingslightly outside for room turning the final corners, Peptide Nile slipped into the lane in fourth in good
striking position, accelerated with a good turn of foot to seize command before the furlong marker andheld on well to win by a 1-1/4-length margin.
“The pace was tough but he ran a great race. We were able to sit in a better position than expected but I
didn’t imagine he would take over the lead that early and that easily, the wire seemed very far today. Hislast start didn’t turn out as hoped, but as long as he’s able to run in good rhythm as he did today, I’m sure
we can look forward to solid performances in the future,” commented Yusuke Fujioka after the race.
Fifth choice Gaia Force, who ran over dirt for the first time in this G1 event, settled three-wide and ineighth before switching paths to the outside entering the straight. The five-year-old gray gradually closed
in on the leaders and although failing to threaten the eventual winner, showed good speed in the last 200
meters to rally with Sekifu and Tagano Beauty to secure the runner-up seat by a neck.
13th pick Sekifu saved ground third from the rear and angled out while still having much ground to makeup but launched the fastest late kick and dug in well to the wire in a fierce rally for a photo-finish third.
Race favorite Omega Guiness dropped away disappointingly to finish 14th after racing prominently inseventh and two-wide up to early stretch.
Other Horses:
4th: (10) Tagano Beauty—raced around 11th, launched late kick in center of lane, weakened in finalstrides
5th: (11) King’s Sword—settled 3-wide around 11th, met traffic 300m out, accelerated thereafter
6th: (13) Red le Zele—trailed in rear, circled wide, launched 2nd fastest late drive but belatedly
7th: (3) Mick Fire—hugged rails around 10th, lacked needed kick8th: (14) Wilson Tesoro—stalked leader in 2nd, rallied for lead, outrun in last 200m
9th: (15) Don Frankie—set fast pace, showed tenacity until 100m out
10th: (16) Alpha Mom—positioned 2nd from rear, passed tired rivals at stretch
11th: (1) Igniter—chased leader in 2nd, rallied for lead up to 200m pole, weakened
12th: (4) Dura Erede—tracked leaders around 4th, outrun in last 200m
13th: (12) Speedy Kick—raced 3-wide in 9th, showed brief effort until 300m out
15th: (6) Karate—traveled around 11th, unable to reach contention
16th: (2) Champagne Color—broke poorly, advanced to 6th, faded after 400m pole
Fractional time (sec./furlong): 12.0 - 10.8 - 11.1 - 11.7 - 12.3 - 12.5 - 12.4 - 12.9
Last 4 furlongs: 50.1
Last 3 furlongs: 37.8
Positions at each corner:

3rd corner
4th corner

15(1,14)(4,9)(2,5)-7,12,3(10,6,11)-8-16,13
15(1,14)(4,9)(2,5)7(3,10,12)(6,11)-8(16,13)

NOTE 1: Underlined bold number indicates the winning horse.
NOTE 2: Horse numbers are indicated in the order of their positions at each corner, with the first position listed first. Two or more horses inside
the same parentheses indicate that they were positioned side by side. Hyphens between the horse numbers indicate that there isdistance between the former and the latter. The asterisk indicates a slight lead.