Tokyo stakes could have Breeders' Cup, Kentucky Derby implications
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The three-time stakes winner Emperor Wakea will start in a Grade 1 for the first time in Sunday’s $1.564 million February Stakes at a mile at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan, that nation’s first top-level race of the year.
The February Stakes, for 4-year-olds and older, may have international ramifications. The winner receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar on Nov. 1, provided the horse is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program.
Earlier on the program, the Hyacinth Stakes for 3-year-olds will be run. The race is part of Japan’s qualifying series for the Kentucky Derby.
Emperor Wakea, a winner of 7 of 10 starts, is nominated to the Breeders’ Cup. A 5-year-old horse by Lord Kanaloa, Emperor Wakea has won four of his last five starts, including a Grade 3 race at seven furlongs at Tokyo Racecourse in his most recent appearance on Nov. 9.
In the February Stakes, Emperor Wakea is part of a field of 16 that includes Costa Nova, a winner of six of nine starts; Mikki Fight, a winner of four of six starts; Derma Sotogake, who was second in the 2023 BC Classic at Santa Anita; and Peptide Nile, who won the 2024 February Stakes but has been beaten in his last three starts.
Derma Sotogake has struggled in the last year, failing to finish better than fifth in six starts, including a 13th-place finish in the 2024 BC Classic at Del Mar last November.
The February Stakes is the Grade 1 debut of the promising 5-year-old Costa Nova, who won a Grade 3 race at seven furlongs at Tokyo on Feb. 2.
The race distance represents a challenge for Mikki Fight, who won the minor Nagoya Daishoten Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on Dec. 19. This is Mikki Fight’s first start at a mile since he won his debut at the distance in a race for first-time starters in October 2023.
The February Stakes has a post time of 1:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday or 10:40 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.
Hyacinth Stakes
Ecoro Azel, eighth at triple-digit odds in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar last November, is part of an expected field of 10 Japanese-based 3-year-olds in the $242,800 Hyacinth Stakes at a mile, the third of four races in Japan’s qualifying series for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 3.
Of the 10 runners in the Hyacinth, eight have been nominated to the American Triple Crown.
Ecoro Azel rebounded from his loss in California to win a six-furlong allowance race at Nakayama Racecourse in his 3-year-old debut on Jan. 19. In the BC Juvenile, Ecoro Azel was as close as third on the backstretch before fading.
In the Hyacinth, Ecoro Azel rates as a contender along with Promised Gene and Vilja Lied, who are both unbeaten after two starts. The Hyacinth Stakes will be their first appearances as 3-year-olds.
Happy Man, a winner of 2 of 4 starts, is the only runner in the Hyacinth Stakes field who earned qualifying points in two stakes in Japan’s Kentucky Derby series last fall. Happy Man was second in the Zen-Nippon Nisai Yushun in December to the filly Myriad Love, who was not nominated to the American Triple Crown earlier this year.
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Two others to watch in the Hyacinth are Dragon and Taisei Dorado, both maiden race winners at 1 1/8 miles earlier this winter who are having their first starts in stakes.
The first five finishers of the Hyacinth receive Derby qualifying points (30-15-9-6-3). The series concludes with the Fukuryu Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Nakayama on March 29.
One berth for the Kentucky Derby is available through Japan’s qualifying series. Last year, T O Password qualified through the Japan series and finished fifth in the Kentucky Derby.
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