Three-Peat On The Line For Rickey

The Japanese Group 1 season opens Sunday with the G1 February S. going a mile on the dirt at Tokyo, and Copano Rickey (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn})–victorious in this the last two years–will look to become the first horse to win the same JRA Group 1 race in three successive seasons. His recent form may not fill punters with confidence–the 6-year-old was seventh in the G1 Champions Cup Dec. 6 and fourth when last seen in the G1 Tokyo Daishoten Dec. 29–however, trainer Akira Murayama said some time spent away from the training centre has freshened the veteran galloper. “He was at the farm but he was still getting his work in,” Murayama explained. “Getting away from the training centre, I think he managed to freshen up mentally. He's coming along fine.” Copano Rickey has proven his ability to overcome long odds in the past: he was the longest shot in the field when he won the February for the first time in 2014.
Coming in behind Copano Rickey in this event the last two years has been Best Warrior (Majestic Warrior). The 6-year-old finished 13th two years ago and improved to be third in 2015, and also won last year's G3 Procyon S. and Listed Mile Championship (the dirt version). He has not been seen since finishing second to Corin Berry (Jpn) (South Vigorous) in the Listed JBC Sprint Nov. 3. Best Warrior will be joined in this year's lineup by stablemate Moanin (Henny Hughes), who is lighter on experience but long on talent, having won five of his six starts since debuting last May. Moanin opened his 4-year-old campaign with a win in the G3 Negishi S. two weeks ago, and trainer Sei Ishizaka said, “He was clearly marked in his last start but still found a way to win; it was a strong performance from him. It won't be easy with just two weeks in between starts, but we're up for the challenge. He came back to the stable looking fresh after a break of 2 1/2 months. He's gotten stronger, as one would expect from a foreign-bred.”