Kostanova efficiently defended her title in Sunday’s Group 1 February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse by main inside the closing 100 meters of a one-mile grime race and profitable by half a size over Wilson Tesoro. With this win, the 6-year-old earned an computerized beginning place on this 12 months’s $7 million Breeders’ Cup Traditional by the Breeders’ Cup Problem Sequence “Win-Get-Forward.”
The Breeders’ Cup Problem Sequence consists of a global sequence of stakes races during which winners earn an computerized beginning place and a paid entry into the corresponding race on the 2026 Breeders’ Cup World Championship, scheduled for Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kostanova is the primary of three horses to obtain an computerized berth on this 12 months’s Breeders’ Cup Traditional, together with Skippy Longstocking, winner of the Jan. 24 Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), and Perpetually Younger, winner of the Feb. 14 Saudi Cup (G1).
In entrance of a crowd of 58,224, 3.4-1 second-choice Costanova, skilled by Tetsuya Kimura and ridden by Christophe Lemaire, rigorously weaved her approach by a pack of 16 horses, with Sixpence securing the lead and staying inside by the primary half-mile, settling for eleventh. Getting into the homestretch, Lemaire took a large course and Costanova started accelerating inwards over the wall of horses. As they approached the wire, Kostanova overtook Wilson Tesoro and the favored 3-1 mare W Hartbond took third place.
Jockey Lemaire instructed a spokesperson for the Japan Racing Affiliation, “I am completely happy to have the ability to win the primary G1 race this season with Costanova, who has been my associate for a while.” “He broke in nicely so I used to be in a position to loosen up whereas working behind Wilson Tesoro. As quickly as I moved the horse to the surface for the stretch drive, I bought an incredible response from the horse and from then on the horse was very robust all the best way to the wire.”
Kostanova, who gained her eighth of 14 races, accomplished the mile in 1:35.4 on the course designated as the usual course. The Lord Kanaloa-bred horse grew to become the third horse to win the February Stakes back-to-back, following Copanoricki (2014-2015) and Cafe Pharaoh (2021-2022).
As a part of the Problem Sequence profit, Breeders’ Cup can pay an entry payment for Costanova to run within the 1 1/4-mile Breeders’ Cup Traditional. The Breeders’ Cup additionally gives journey allowances for all starters based mostly outdoors of North America to compete within the World Championship. Problem winners should be nominated to the Breeders’ Cup program by the pre-entry deadline of October 19, 2026 to obtain their reward.
