Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 8, 2026

February Stakes

The February Stakes (フェブラリーステークス) is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan.

Last revised
Jul 8, 2026
Read time
≈ 5 min
Length
1,171 w
Citations
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
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 mares1
Purse¥ 259,200,000 (as of 2025)
  • 1st: ¥ 120,000,000
  • 2nd: ¥ 48,000,000
  • 3rd: ¥ 30,000,000
February Stakes
2026
Costa Nova Wilson Tesoro W Heart Bond

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

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

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 1999, Meisei Opera, made history by becoming the first horse from trained in the NAR to claim victory in a JRA Grade 1 race.6

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 JRA.3

Many top contenders at this race make expeditions to Dubai World Cup Night, particularly to the Dubai World Cup, one of the world's richest horse race. In 2011, Transcend, the winner of this race finished second at the 2011 Dubai World Cup, making a close finish with the winner Victoire Pisa, another Japanese contender.7

In February 2025, Australian jockey Rachel King made history by becoming the first female rider to win a flat Grade 1 race in Japan.8

Trial races

Trial races provide automatic berths to the winning horses.9

Race Grade Racecourse Distance Condition
Procyon Stakes GII Kyoto Dirt 1,800 metres Winner
Negishi Stakes GIII Tokyo Dirt 1,400 metres Winner

Records

Speed record:

Most wins by a horse (2):

Most wins by a jockey (5):

Most wins by a trainer (3):

  • Akira Murayama (2012, 2014, 2015)

Most wins by an owner (4):

Winners

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 Glove 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 5 Yutaka Take 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 5 Yuichi Fukunaga 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
2026 6 Christophe Lemaire 1:35.4
# 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

See also

References

References

  1. February Stakes
  2. "List of JRA Graded Races 2025｜List of JRA Graded Races｜Horse Racing in Japan". Horse Racing in Japan. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  3. "February Stakes winner gets Breeders' Cup Entry - SAHorseracing.COM - South African Horseracing and Betting". www.sahracing.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
  4. "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. "未来に語り継ぎたい名馬 みちのくの英雄 メイセイオペラ". JRAレーシングビュアー. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  7. Greg Wood (25 March 2011). "Victoire Pisa leads home one-two for Japan in Dubai World Cup". The Guardian. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  8. "Rachel King Makes History as First Female Jockey to Win Grade 1 Race in Japan". 24 February 2025.
  9. "競馬番組一般事項(Horseracing Program General Information) - Page 22" (PDF). JRA. Retrieved June 17, 2026.
  10. "フェブラリーS". Netkeiba.
  11. "February Stakes". Netkeiba.