43rd February Stakes G1 Set for Tokyo Racecourse on February 22, 2026

Christophe Lemaire will attempt his fifth victory on Costa Nova when the 43rd running of the February Stakes (G1) is staged at Tokyo Racecourse over 1,600 meters on dirt on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026, the Japan Racing Association’s first Grade 1 on dirt of the year. The Tokyo mile begins on turf in the backstretch and has just one turn, a layout that can alter tactics compared with tighter four-corner tracks.

The February Stakes is one of just two JRA Grade 1 races run on dirt each season - the Champions Cup in December is the other - and it sits among 15 graded dirt races in Japan’s calendar. Tokyo’s dirt course has been in operation since 1961, and the race itself evolved from the February Handicap, run as a Grade 3 in 1984, upgraded to Grade 2 in 1994, elevated to domestic Grade 1 in 1997 and granted international Grade 1 status in 2007.

The confirmed field includes multiple high-profile dirt performers. Costa Nova arrives as the 2025 February Stakes winner and finished second in the Musashino Stakes at the end of last year with Lemaire aboard; the pairing stays intact for Sunday. W Heart Bond, the 2025 Champions Cup winner who also captured the Miyako Stakes in her ascent, exercised at the JRA Ritto Training Center on February 12. Wilson Tesoro, a 7-year-old with a 2024 JBC Classic win and the 2025 Mile Championship Nambu Hai at Morioka on his résumé, lost the Champions Cup in a tight photo-finish and is back targeting the mile at Tokyo.

Trainer Noboru Takagi framed Wilson Tesoro’s narrow Champions Cup loss in clear terms: “He ran on the inside last time, and while the advantage was with the eventual winner on his outside, he did his best right up to the finish in a heads up, heads down situation. It has been three years in a row that he’s finished second in the race, so it’s a bit frustrating. The lighter dirt surface in JRA races is better for him. He has had a break at the farm, with this race as his next target.” JRA coverage also notes Wilson Tesoro has not won a JRA dirt race since 2023, even as he added major non-JRA dirt victories in recent seasons.

Ramjet, third in last year’s Champions Cup, brings late-running form and an upward training plan after the race. Assistant trainer Yu Ota said: “Prior to his last race, his balance was a bit off, and his weak point is his right hindquarters. It’s taken some time to get things right with him. We’ll start to up his training from now, but he’s a tough character who doesn’t give up easily.” Other runners listed for the card include Lord Couronne, Natural Rise and Sixpence.

Preparations for the Feb. 22 card have shown key contenders active on local training grounds: W Heart Bond exercised at Ritto on February 12 and Wilson Tesoro trained at Miho on February 11. Sunday’s barrier draw and final jockey confirmations will shape tactics for the single-turn mile, but the headline story is clear - Lemaire and Costa Nova return to Tokyo with a target of repeating 2025 success in Japan’s early-season dirt championship.