February S.

With the cream of the Japanese dirt crop readying for next weekend's G1 Saudi Cup, Sunday's G1 February S. presented a golden opportunity for gallopers perhaps just a cut below the very best to shine, with a trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Classic on the line. When the dust had settled, the majority of the market leaders faltered and it was the unheralded Peptide Nile (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) that proved the chief beneficiary at boxcar odds. Away cleanly from stall nine, Peptide Nile raced prominently through the early...

The plane carrying the Japanese contingent to Riyadh for next Saturday's Saudi Cup meeting touched down at King Khalid International Airport, and each of the nation's four entrants for the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup appear to have taken the flight in good order. Looking to make it back-to-back successes in the world's richest horse race following the stunning all-the-way victory by Panthalassa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) last February are Japan's champion dirt horse Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid); reigning G1 Dubai World Cup winner Ushba Tesoro (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}); Derma...

Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah--Mary's Follies, by More Than Ready), a two-time winner of the G1 February S. at Tokyo, has been retired from racing and will stand the 2024 breeding season at Arrow Stud on the island of Hokkaido. Bred in Kentucky by the late Paul Pompa, Cafe Pharoah was consigned by Eddie Woods to the 2019 OBS March Sale and was hammered down to Emmanuel de Seroux's Narvick International for $475,000. Trained by Noriyuki Hori for owner Koichi Nishikawa, Cafe Pharoah made an immediate impact, winning his maiden by...

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES -- Answer: The G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen. Question: What is the only race in the history of the Dubai World Cup that has never been won by the host? That statement feels like an enormous anomaly, given all the success down the years at old Nad Al Sheba Racecourse and here at Meydan Racecourse, but true it is all the same. It is a record that Harry Sweeney, the president of the Japanese arm of Sheikh Mohammed's global operation, hopes will change this weekend when American-bred...

Stepping up to the top level for the first time in what has already been a productive career, Godolphin's Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) ran a strong 1600 metres and comfortably held a final-furlong rally from the classy Red le Zele (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) to land Sunday's February S. at Tokyo Racecourse. A fourth consecutive American-bred winner of the 'Win and You're In' qualifier for the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, Lemon Pop will remain over shorter trips and holds an invitation to the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen in...

Tokyo Racecourse plays host to the first of 24 Group 1s on the JRA circuit, Sunday's February S. going a one-turn mile on the dirt track, and with the race's two-time defending champion Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) preparing for next Saturday's G1 Saudi Cup and with would-be favourite Gilded Mirror (Jpn) (Orfevre {Jpn}) having recently been retired due to injury, the race is there for the taking for the wonderfully consistent US-bred Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid). The 5-year-old, purchased for $70,000 as a weanling at the 2018 Keeneland November...

From the first time he first set foot on the racetrack in late 2020, Lemon Pop (Lemon Drop Kid) has always hinted at top ability, and the beautifully bred 5-year-old scooped the first major prize of his career with a hard-fought victory in Sunday's G3 Negishi S., a stepping-stone to the G1 February S. in three weeks' time. Away awkwardly from the 13 hole, the $70,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase on behalf of Godolphin improved to race in the second flight of horses about three away from the inside for...

Consistent as the day is long, with just three finishes outside the top three from 19 career starts, Red le Zele (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) looks to give his outstanding sire a first top-level scorer on the dirt in Sunday's G1 February S. at Tokyo Racecourse. Victorious in the 1400-meter G3 Negishi S. at headquarters last January, Red le Zele ran on to finish fourth behind Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) in this event, then shipped to Dubai, where he was an excellent runner-up beneath Ryan Moore in the G1 Dubai...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here is one horse of interest for this weekend running Saturday at Hanshin Racecourse, while Sunday's program at Tokyo features the first Group 1 of the new year--the February S.--and the Listed Hyacinth S., with Kentucky Derby points on the line. Cafe Pharoah (American Pharoah) defends his title in the former,...

There will be an infusion of new American blood into the Japanese stallion ranks in 2021 with retirements to stud of Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}) and Mr Melody (Scat Daddy). Each is the first of their respective sires' progeny to take up stud duty in the island nation. Bred in Kentucky by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm, Mozu Ascot was led out unsold on a bid of $275,000 at the 2015 Keeneland September sale before being acquired privately by Capital System Co. Ltd. A maiden winner at third asking under...

Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}), winner on turf of the G1 Yasuda Kinen in 2018, returns to the dirt for the first time since winning the G1 February S. in Tuesday's ¥102 million (US$955k) Kashiwa Kinen (1600m) at Funabashi Racecourse. Bred by Summer Wind Farm, the 6-year-old son of MGSW India (Hennessy) was winless in eight starts following the Yasuda Kinen, but put pay to that streak when defeating the smart Copano Kicking (Spring At Last) at odds of 8-1 in the G3 Negishi S. (1400m) at Tokyo Feb. 2. The...