Shirl’s Speight makes unprecedented trip to Grade 1 in Japan

Shirl’s Speight, the Grade 1 winner from Canada who finished second in the 2022 Breeders’ Cup Mile, will be the first overseas runner ever to start in the February Stakes, the season-opening Grade 1 race in the Japan Racing Association.

Sunday’s renewal at Tokyo Racecourse is one of only two Grade 1 dirt races on the JRA calendar, the other being the Champions Cup in December.

Owned by Charles Fipke and trained by U.S. and Canada Hall of Famer Roger Attfield, Shirl’s Speight is a 6-year-old Speightstown horse who has a career record of 14: 5-1-2 and purse earnings of $1,010,072. Most of his success came last year, when he won the Tampa Bay (G3) and Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) on the way to missing a 55-1 Breeders’ Cup upset by only three-quarters of a length in his loss to Modern Games.

The February Stakes is run left-handed around a one-turn mile and is a race for 4-year-olds and up. It originally was known as the February Handicap when it was first run in 1984 as a Grade 3 race. It got its current name in 1994, when it also was promoted to the Grade 2 level, and in 1997 it was elevated to its current Grade 1 status.

This year’s race sees 18 domestic nominations. The field will have a maximum 16 runners and this year the set weight is 128 pounds, with a 4 1/2-pound allowance for fillies and mares. In the last 10 years four favorites have won the race, and during the same time-span 4- and 5-year-olds have won an equal number of times, four for each age group.

A couple races leading into the February Stakes have been the Negishi (G3) run over seven furlongs at Tokyo in January and the Tokai (G2), also run in January but over 1 1/8 miles at Chukyo.

The American-bred Café Pharoah, this year taking on the Saudi Cup (G1), won the February Stakes the last two years and set a record time of 1:33.8 for the race last year. This year’s winner’s check is $908,323, and total prize money amounts to $1,959,891. The race is also part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series in which the winner receives automatic entry to the $6 million Classic on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita.

This year is the 40th running of the February Stakes, and the race will be race 11 on the Sunday card at Tokyo with a post time Sunday at 1:40 a.m. EST.

Here’s a look at some of the Japan runners expected to take on the February Stakes:

Lemon Pop. The American-bred 5-year-old just keeps finding more as he showed when winning the Negishi (G3) over seven furlongs at Tokyo in January, making it seven wins from 10 starts. The chances are he will have to find even more with this next step up in class and distance. “He didn’t start particularly well last time, but the jockey made sure things went smoothly enough,” assistant trainer Toshikiko Hokari said. “At the top of the home straight, I thought things looked fine, but the late challenge from Gilded Mirror and other horses made it more difficult, although he was able to hold on and win.” Gilded Mirror misses this next race through injury, and with a number of Japan’s top dirt horses on duty in Saudi Arabia, things could go in favor of Lemon Pop again. Ryusei Sakai has been booked for the ride on the son of Lemon Drop Kid.

Dry Stout. The 4-year-old colt by Sinister Minister got his 2023 campaign under way last month when he finished second in the listed Subaru Stakes over seven furlongs at Chukyo. He has had only six career starts but has won four times and is unbeaten in two races at Tokyo. “It got a bit crowded on the run for home last time, and he had to wait to get his finish in, but when the opening came he ran on well,” trainer Mitsunori Makiura said. “Up to now he’s been able to race from good positions in his races, but I wanted to see how he could finish running from mid-pack. In that sense it was an ideal test for him, and I’m satisfied with how things turned out and to see that he could finish second from where he ran in the trip.” Keita Tosaki will ride Dry Stout and thinks the horse’s good footwork can help him stay over the distance this time.

Meisho Hario. Having his first run of the year in the February Stakes, the 6-year-old Meisho Hario shows plenty of good form as seen in his last run, when he finished third to Ushba Tesoro in the Tokyo Daishoten (G1) at the end of last year. It has been the usual pattern with him since, as assistant trainer Wataru Kurihara noted, “He’s had his break at the farm, and everything’s as expected leading up to this race. Last time he was well forward in the run and became a target for the eventual winner of that race, but overall it was a positive result.”

Speedy Kick. The flying filly from local-level races finished first in her last three starts, she won very easily last time, and she’ll get the 4 1/2-pound allowance given to fillies and mares in this week’s race. She deserves to take her chance here. “She recovered quicker than usual after winning the Tokyo Cinderella Mile at Oi last time, and her appetite’s been good,” trainer Tomoyuki Fujihara said. “Looking to the February Stakes, we’ve been able to match her training load with the condition she’s in, and we could give her some strong workouts with her weight at 1,080 pounds after returning to the stable.” It will be the first race at the higher JRA level for the filly, but the 4-year-old by Taisei Legend is worth respecting.

Red le Zele. The 7-year-old is another having his first race of the year. While generally thought of as a horse who runs over shorter distances, his last two runs over one mile have been in the 2021 and 2022 February Stakes, where he finished fourth and sixth, respectively, and last year’s race was run on a heavy track. He is from the all-powerful stable of trainer Takayuki Yasuda, who said, “I thought about Saudi Arabia with him but then considered that it would be better to go to the February Stakes and to train him on the uphill at Ritto in preparation for this. If all goes well after this next race, we can make the decision to go to Dubai or not.” Yuga Kawada, the horse’s regular jockey, once again takes the ride on Red le Zele.

Shonan Nadeshiko. With Gilded Mirror out of the race, 6-year-old Shonan Nadeshiko and Speedy Kick are the only females in the lineup. Shonan Nadeshiko will be ridden by Takeshi Yokoyama, who will be looking to get the best out of the daughter of Orfèvre. Having run only in lower-level races for the entire 2022 season and finishing just out of the money in her two previous starts at Tokyo, she probably needs to find a bit more. Trainer Naosuke Sugai doesn’t see any problem. “She just ran out of steam in the final 100 meters of the Tokyo Daishoten last time, but up against male horses, I think she did her best,” he said. “She’s had her usual routine at the farm, and returning to the stable it’s been as usual with her.”

Soliste Thunder. The 8-year-old Soliste Thunder finished fourth in last year’s February Stakes and, after that, also managed a fourth-place finish in the Godolphin Mile (G2) in Dubai last March. He’s had only two races since the race at Meydan, and this will be his first run of 2023. “He ran well in his last race despite not being able to run on at the finish,” assistant trainer Juntaro Taira said. “He’s been at the farm for a break, and he seems a little loose, but we haven’t rushed things with him, and from now we can get him tuned up for this next race.”

Helios and T M South Dan are two other runners who deserve a mention with Yutaka Take riding Helios and Christophe Lemaire aboard T M South Dan. Take last won the February Stakes in 2019 with Inti and has won the race five times. Lemaire claimed his second win in the race two years ago on Café Pharoah.