Katsumi Yoshida's 5-year-old Costa Nova puts his unbeaten record at Tokyo Racecourse on the line facing a field that includes defending champion Peptide Nile in the $1.7 million February Stakes (G1) Feb. 23 on dirt. The winner of Japan's first group 1 race of the year will earn an automatic starting position, with fees paid, into the $7 million Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.
The Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races whose winners receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race of the 2025 Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Oct. 31-Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
The 42nd February Stakes, run at a mile, will be televised live on FanDuel TV with a scheduled post time of 1:40 a.m. ET.
Costa Nova, trained by Tetsuya Kimura, has won five starts on the dirt at Tokyo Racecourse. The son of Lord Kanaloa comes into Sunday's race off a sparkling four-length win in the Feb. 2 Negishi Stakes (G3) going seven furlongs to improve his record to six wins in nine starts.
"Things were a bit tight on the turn for home in the Negishi Stakes," assistant trainer Yu Ota told the Japan Racing Association, "but he showed what he could do by running on well to win comfortably. He came out of the race with no tiredness, and it wasn't long before he was training again as usual."
Costa Nova has won three races over the track at the mile distance, including the 2023 Applause Sho, and last February's Hakurei Stakes.
Kazuhiko Numakowa's 7-year-old Peptide Nile will try to become just the third horse to win this race in consecutive years after taking the 2024 edition over Gaia Force at odds of 38-1.
Last fall, the son of King Kamehameha finished second to Lemon Pop in the Mile Championship Nambu Hai at Morioka and closed out the year with a fifth-place finish in the Dec. 1 Champions Cup (G1) at Chukyo.
"He's still running well, despite his age," said his trainer, Hidenori Take. "He maintained his form in the latter half of last year, and even though the Champions Cup was a tough race, he managed to finish fifth. I think he can run well with just the one turn over 1,600 meters, even if the field is bunched together more."
KR Japan's Gaia Force is one of two contenders expected to be entered by trainer Haruki Sugiyama. Following his runner-up finish in last year's race, the 6-year-old gray by Kitasan Black finished fourth in the June 2 Yasuda Kinen (G1). Off until December, Gaia Force finished the year on a down note at Chukyo, finishing 15th in the 1 1/8-mile Champions Cup.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
