A full field of 16 dirt specialists will load the gate Sunday afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse for the running of the G1 February S. (1600m), which offers the winner a fees-paid berth in the 2018 GI Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.
Gold Dream (Jpn) is by 2003 February S. hero Gold Allure (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) and looks to successfully defend his title, having defeated Best Warrior (Majestic Warrior) by a neck 12 months back. Off the board in his next three runs through the middle of the season, the 5-year-old was last seen just getting the better of T M Jinsoku (Jpn) (Kurofune) in the G1 Champions Cup (1800m) Dec. 3. He'll have to work out a trip from gate 14 beneath Ryan Moore, whose short-term contract in Japan expires this weekend.
“I think we've established that the Tokyo 1,600 is his best race,” trainer Osamu Hirata said. “There is a problem with the gate though. If he doesn't miss the break too badly, I think he has a chance this year too.”
Best Warrior was third to retired dirt star Copano Rickey (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) when that one was winning his second February S. in 2015 before improving by one spot last year.
Sunrise Nova (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) will be well backed and is another that could give his sire a remarkable fifth winner of this race since 2010. Course-and-distance winner of the G3 Unicorn S. last June, the chestnut prepped for this with a solid runner-up effort behind Nonkono Yume (Jpn) (Twining) in the G3 Negishi S. (1400m) over this track Jan. 28.
London Town (Jpn), a son of 2006 February S. winner Kane Hekili (Jpn) (Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}), was the easy winner of the Keeneland Korea Cup (1800m) at Seoul in September, but needs to do better than his last two, including a fifth in the G1 Tokyo Daishoten Dec. 29.
Gold Dream, London Town and Nonkono Yume have also been given entries for the $10-million G1 Dubai World Cup at Meydan Mar. 31.
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