Japan: Lemon Pop wins February Stakes; Shirl’s Speight is 9th

Godolphin-owned Lemon Pop (1-1) won for the sixth time in his last seven starts, taking the lead in the final 300 yards and keeping two late closers at bay Sunday to win the Grade 1 February Stakes on the dirt at Tokyo Racecourse.

Shirl’s Speight (6-1), the runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Mile last fall on the turf at Keeneland, was a non-factor finishing ninth in the field of 16. He was the first overseas horse ever to contest the race.

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Lemon Pop’s effort made Hiroyasu Tanaka, 37, the youngest trainer to win in the 40 runnings of the February Stakes. It also was his first Grade 1 victory.

Paired for the first time with jockey Ryusei Sakai, Lemon Pop won by 1 1/2 lengths over second-place Red Le Zele (8-1) and by four over third-place Meisho Hario (13-1), who nearly lost rider Suguru Hamanaka at the start. Dry Stout (3-1) was another length back in fourth.

The winning time was 1:35.6 without a run-up for the mile on a fast track. The race started with 70 yards on the turf before the horses joined the dirt track for the long run to the one left-hand turn.

Bred in Kentucky by Oli and Amber Tait, Lemon Pop is a 5-year-old horse by Lemon Drop Kid who never has finished worse than second in 11 career starts, all in Japan.

João Moreira, a four-time title-winning jockey in Hong Kong, rode Shirl’s Speight on Sunday. It was the 6-year-old Speightstown horse’s first dirt race since he finished third for breeder-owner Charles Fipke and trainer Roger Attfield in the Salvator Mile (G3) on June 18 at Monmouth Park.