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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 this year’s February Stakes. After debuting in January as a three-year-old, the son of King Kamehameha was transferred to dirt racing from his third start and immediately showed potential with a three-race winning streak, 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 wins and 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. Shifting slightly 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 and held 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. His last 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 in eighth 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 make up 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 in seventh 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 final strides
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 kick
8th: (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

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 runners           Going: Standard           Weather: Fine

Turnover for the Race alone: ¥ 16,594,747,000       Turnover for the Day: ¥ 27,588,163,900       Attendance: 48,432

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

* 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 in conjunction 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, and stood 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 to earn 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 Gold Allure; ’10), Transcend (JPN, by Wild Rush; ’11), Copano Rickey (JPN, by Gold Allure; ’14&’15), Gold Dream (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 Award winners.
Last year’s edition welcomed the first foreign participant in the race’s history, Shirl’s Speight (USA, by Speightstown) from North America, who finished ninth.
Although defending champion Lemon Pop was pointed towards the Saudi Cup (G1, dirt, 1,800m) to be held a week later instead, this year’s lineup included proven dirt specialists such as Omega Guiness who came 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.