Costa Nova can become the third horse to win the Grade 1 February Stakes for the second time on Sunday at Tokyo Racecourse in Japan, provided he can beat the ultra-consistent mare W Heart Bond.
A 5-year-old, W Heart Bond has won 7 of 8 starts, with her only loss a second in the Breeders Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles last August. W Heart Bond won her next two starts, ending her 2025 season with a win in the Grade 1 Champions Cup at 1 1/8 miles on dirt at Chukyo Racecourse on Dec. 7.
W Heart Bond took the lead with more than a furlong remaining and was fully extended to win the Champions Cup by a nose over Wilson Tesoro, who is part of a field of 16 in the one-mile February Stakes on dirt. The winner of the February Stakes receives a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Oct. 31.
As of Friday, W Heart Bond was the 2-1 favorite over Costa Nova (5-2) and Wilson Tesoro (9-2). Ramjet, third in the Champions Cup, was 5-1.
W Heart Bond will be ridden by Ryusei Sakai, the regular rider of the international star Forever Young, winner of the BC Classic at Del Mar last November and the $20 million Saudi Cup in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 14.
Costa Nova, a 6-year-old horse, has won 7 of 13 races but is winless in three starts since the 2025 February Stakes. Costa Nova was second by 3 1/2 lengths to Luxor Café in the Grade 3 Musashino Stakes at a mile at Tokyo in November in his last start. Luxor Café was 12th in the Kentucky Derby last May and fifth in the Saudi Cup earlier this month.
With a win on Sunday, Costa Nova would join Copano Rickey (2014 and 2015) and Café Pharoah (2021 and 2022) as two-time winners of the February Stakes. The race is worth $1.87 million this year, an increase from $1.56 million in 2025.
The February Stakes has a post time of 1:40 a.m. Eastern on Sunday.
Arcadia Café leads Hyacinth Stakes
Arcadia Café, a Kentucky-bred half-brother to Café Pharoah and Luxor Café, is among 10 nominees to Sunday’s $244,900 Hyacinth Stakes at a mile on dirt for 3-year-olds at Tokyo Racecourse, part of the Japan qualifying series for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 2.
Arcadia Café, purchased for $550,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale, was third in the Cattleya Stakes at a mile at Tokyo in November and has 3 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Pyromancer, winner of the Zen Nippon Nisai Yushun in December, has 20 qualifying points but is not nominated to the Hyacinth.
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Of the 10 nominees to the Hyacinth, four were nominated to the American Triple Crown earlier this year. There is a second nomination stage in early April.
Aside from Arcadia Café, the one-time winners Itterasshai, Lucky Kid, and Seize the Throne are nominated to the American Triple Crown. Itterasshai won a maiden race at Nakayama on Dec. 13 in his second start and most recent appearance.
The first five finishes of the Hyacinth Stakes earn Kentucky Derby qualifying points on a 30-15-9-6-3 scale. The series concludes with the Fukuryu Stakes at Nakayama on March 28. The first five finishers of that race will receive pointd on a 40-12-8-6-4 scale. There is one Kentucky Derby berth eligible through the Japan qualifying series.
Luxor Café won the Hyacinth and Fukuryu Stakes in 2025. Admire Daytona, fourth in the 2025 Hyacinth Stakes, later qualified for the Kentucky Derby by winning the Grade 2 UAE Derby in Dubai. Admire Daytona was 19th in the Kentucky Derby.
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