Espoir City dominates February Stakes field for 5th straight victory

The Japan Racing Association's first Grade 1 race of the 2010 season turned out to be a one-horse show by outstanding first choice Espoir City, as last year's Japan Cup Dirt champion crushed the February Stakes field on Sunday afternoon at Tokyo Racecourse.

The Akio Adachi-trained Espoir City, by Gold Allure out of Eminent City, followed up his three-and-a-half length victory in the Japan Cup Dirt with another dominating performance by winning the 27th February Stakes by a cozy two-and-a-half lengths over fifth pick Testa Matta.

The 4-year-old runnerup finished more than three lengths ahead of the race's 2009 winner, Success Brocken, who crossed the line five lengths in front of the rest of the pack on firm going in the February chill at the nation's capital.

The field had been reduced to 15 the previous day when 5-year-old Oro Meister, third in the 1,400-meter, Grade 3 Negishi Stakes held last month on the Tokyo dirt course, was scratched because of illness.

Jockey Tetsuzo Sato, who won his first February Stakes thanks to his 5-year-old partner, said Espoir City still has yet to run his best race, which is a scary thought for the domestic competition and a warning shot for his potential competitors in the Dubai World Cup on March 27, if the connections decide to take him to the state-of-the-art Meydan Racecourse.

"I think he's getting stronger and stronger," the 39-year-old Sato said during a post-race interview.

"Last year, his start was poor because he couldn't handle the patch of grass turf very well, so that's something we've been working on all long as we got him ready for this race," he said, referring to last year's race in which Espoir City came in fourth.

"He came out of his stall beautifully today and now that the race is over, I can say in hindsight that he was perfect, but before I was worried really about the grass at the start. But he got through it without a hitch today, and things like that speak about how much better of a horse he has become since last year."

This year's February Stakes had drawn extra attention because several turf specialists threw their hat in the ring: 2009 sprinter of the year Laurel Guerreiro, Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) runnerup Reach the Crown, promising 4-year-old Red Spada and three-time Grade 1 silver medalist Super Hornet all made their debut on the dirt circuit.

Yet the four debutants were given a rude welcome by Espoir City and the remainder of the experienced field, as Laurel Guerreiro, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and Sprinters Stakes champion who dictated the pace for three-quarters of the trip, proved to be the highest finisher of the quartet at seventh place.

The Yutaka Take-ridden Reach the Crown, who went off as the third pick behind Espoir City and Success Brocken, took 10th, looking uncomfortable on the surface like a fish out of water while Red Spada came in 12th and Super Hornet dead last.

The four probably should have picked a better time to test their prospects on dirt as Espoir City was that superior in collecting the winner's check of 94 million yen. He left the No. 4 post smoothly and Sato quickly pushed him into second position behind Laurel Guerreiro, with Success Brocken a couple of horses behind.

Espoir City changed into a higher gear going into the final turn and by then, one could already sense he had the race in the bag, his rate of acceleration so impressive when Sato gave him the greenlight. Espoir City was out in front with 400 meters to go and from that point on, the question wasn't about if he would win, but by how much.

Fellow 5-year-old Success Brocken, who was fourth in the Japan Cup Dirt, tried to challenge Espoir City from the outside, but came nowhere close to catching him. Hiroyuki Uchida, the JRA's leading jockey in 2009, rode his only race of the day with Success Brocken in returning from a broken arm he suffered in a race fall earlier this year. But even if Uchida was 100 percent, it likely would not have mattered given the present form of Espoir City.

Success Brocken was even passed on the long straight by the 4-year-old Testa Matta, who traveled mid-pack and cut a race-best time of 35.5 seconds over the final three furlongs. But such was his form on this day, if Espoir City wanted to, he could have not just dominated but embarrassed his opponents as Sato took his foot off the pedal in cruising to his fifth consecutive victory.

Sato, who has ridden Espoir City in 14 of his 18 career starts including the horse's debut on March 9 at Hanshin two years ago, said it has always been his dream to take his partner to the world's richest race, and now it appears that he will get the opportunity.

"From the moment I rode him, it's the one race in the world I've always wanted to give him a shot at," said Sato, who has also won the Japan Cup with Tap Dance City. "And he's finally reached a level where he's going to have that opportunity."

Sunday's win was the first in the February Stakes for Adachi. Espoir City won his fourth top-level race and took his record to 10 of 18 with earnings of more than 487 million yen.